Date: Fri, 01 Jul 2016 08:48:50 -0500 From: Brandon J. Wandersee <brandon.wandersee@gmail.com> To: Allen <bsd_atog@comcast.net> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: "Simple" Languages in FreeBSD Message-ID: <86poqx31vh.fsf@WorkBox.Home> In-Reply-To: <20160630175243.063e07a7@KoggyBSD.org> References: <20160630175243.063e07a7@KoggyBSD.org>
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Allen writes: > I have the book "Learning Perl" that I bought a while back, and I've > also downloaded a bunch of stuff for Perl, Python, Ruby, and others, so > I'm just curious on basically what Languages anyone here would > recommend. I'll echo what some others have said, and recommend that before you learn any language you should learn about the fundamentals and different paradigms of programming itself: variables, loops, branches, and all that. Most programming language tutorials I've seen assume the reader already has a general understanding of how to string logic together when writing a program. Since *nix is your platform, and you're looking for something "simple," I'd have to recommend starting with Bourne shell scripting.[1] Every Unix/Linux implementation uses shell scripts for common tasks, and shell scripting will both teach you more about how Unix-like operating systems work, and save you from being buried in the low-level, highly abstracted, get-your-hands-really-dirty sorts of tasks other programming languages are suited for. The Bourne shell (/bin/sh) is found on all *nix platforms, and anything written in good old Bourne syntax can be interpreted by any other shell (Bash, ZSH, (T)CSH, Kourne...), so it serves as a good starting point for learning how to write scripts for your shell of choice, and your scripts will work anywhere a Unix shell is available. And since many things in FreeBSD---including all the rc(8) and periodic(8) scripts---are written in Bourne shell, learning that will give you insight into how FreeBSD does some things under the hood, and possibly let you change some of your system's behavior with relative ease and without having to hack the operating system itself. The tutorials at Codecademy can also be a fun way to learn a bit while passing the time.[2] I'm a perpetual novice myself when it comes to programming, so that sort of thing appeals to me. [1]: http://www.grymoire.com/Unix/Sh.html [2]: https://www.codecademy.com/ -- :: Brandon J. Wandersee :: brandon.wandersee@gmail.com :: -------------------------------------------------- :: 'The best design is as little design as possible.' :: --- Dieter Rams ----------------------------------
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