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Schol-R-LEA wrote: ...building a better mousetrap is my stated, and sole, purpose...

...and the creed of my OS project, but...

...and practicality be damned.

...here, we differ. I'm not writing this OS because "I want to learn" or "because it's fun" (or at least, not only because of this).

I write it because I feel someone has to do it, because it is needed, because I hope that my OS will be what people will find usefull. Thus, I walk the edge of what's cool, hip, and interesting - and what's proved to work.

(That's why I, even while being interested, haven't had a closer look at e.g. FORTH, Smalltalk, or Oberon: I can't apply them on my job.)

Ouch. Despite what I just said, I am saddened to hear you say this; I think it is as shortsighted as my own obsessive knowledge-gathering is.

I don't think so. While I agree with what you say in the following paragraphs (new languages being easier to learn the more you know, and helping you finding new ways of problem solving), I have several other points to consider:

* C++, Perl, Java, XML et al. are my "professional portfolio", the stuff I earn my family a living with.

* C++ is also the language of my large/huge scale private project.

* I still find things in the depths of C++ I didn't know, or didn't have experience with. While knowing many languages is a benefit, I think a language like C++ is sure worth exploring to full depth.

* I have an accumulated reading backlog of > 1,50 m, just counting the "traditionals" like C++, STL, XML, Perl, OS Design, IA-32 architecture, IA-32 Assembler.

Adding all these points together, it is my responsibility as a family head and project leader to look into the "traditionals" first.

Toss me some hours at leisure and empty my To-Do list, and I will surely (and finally) have a look at other languages that are not requested in job openings and don't apply to my project.

I don't know about you, but between 39 hours / week in the office, 2 hours / day commuting, working on my own OS, and having a wife (and hopefully soon, kids), learning languages for the sake of learning is a luxury I cannot afford.

Besides, learning languages can be a pleasant diversion for it's own sake (though you probably don't want to get quite as 'diverted' as I did).

For "diversion", I prefer medieval re-enactment. I'd like to add archery, martial arts, and role-playing games, but I lack the time even for those.

Opened the promised thread Templates Explained.

Schol-R-LEA wrote:It is also a good idea to know at least one Wirth language (e.g., Pascal, Modula-2, Oberon) or one derived form his work (e.g., Ada, Eiffel)

It's an old thread, but I think this needs to be addressed and people need to be educated. Ada was derived from Algol, as was all of the Wirth languages; hence they are all Algol derived, not Wirth or Pascal derived.

I really wish people would do their research before spewing inaccuracies onto the web.

Luke.

At the risk of prolonging a necro thread, you are just incorrect. Ada is directly descended from Pascal, as is Eiffel, so the statement was 100% accurate. That Pascal, in turn, derived from Algol is irrelevant to the accuracy of that statement.

I do wish that people would do their research before incorrectly "correcting" others.

That is the third trhead necroed in a row, for the sole reason to be defensive about ADA.

Not the best kind of advertising.

iansjack wrote:At the risk of prolonging a necro thread, you are just incorrect. Ada is directly descended from Pascal, as is Eiffel, so the statement was 100% accurate. That Pascal, in turn, derived from Algol is irrelevant to the accuracy of that statement.

I do wish that people would do their research before incorrectly "correcting" others.

doncha just:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALGOL 1958
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal_%28 ... anguage%29 1970
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_%28pro ... anguage%29 1980

From your third link:

"Ada is a structured, statically typed, imperative, wide-spectrum, and object-oriented high-level computer programming language, extended from Pascal and other languages."

Good work - Ada is indeed directly descended from Pascal (amongst other languages). Now let this dead horse rest in peace.