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A comment on The original source code of Microsoft GW-BASIC from 1983. Parent comment

Re:The original source code of Microsoft GW-BASIC from 1983 by int_19h on Friday May 22, 2020 @11:30PM (#23279632)
C doesn't have "public" and "private" at all. Java has them for both functions and variables (so long as they are members), as does Delphi. The only difference between the two in that regard is that Java requires visibility on every declaration, while in Delphi using the keyword sets it for all following declarations, until another keyword changes it.

On the whole, I don't see a problem with doing Delphi (or Free Pascal + Lazarus) in school, especially if students have studied Pascal earlier - it teaches them many of the same concepts they'll later see in the likes of Java and C++, and it gives them powerful tools to create "real" GUI apps. There are better options these days, but it's not the worst one.

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Re:The original source code of Microsoft GW-BASIC from 1983 by mikorym on Saturday May 23, 2020 @07:34AM (#23282105)
You're right about C; I forgot that Java added it.

I think that Delphi could be a good language to teach in, but in practice it doesn't seem to be. You lose a lot of students along the way that feel it's irrelevant. In classes where you have a really good teacher they would add in "modules" of their own, irrespective of whether the syllabus makes sense or not. Often, however, a class barely gets through the standard workload to start off with.

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