Com S 541 -- Programming Languages I			January 18, 1993

		HOMEWORK 0: The Best Programming Language

Due: January 20, 1992

You have been hired as consultants by the owners of a new software company,
which will be making every kind of program.
Your clients are rather hard-nosed (one of them has a Ph.D.
in programming languages, and the other almost has one),
so they wish to learn the truth and be convinced by logic and evidence,
not by unsupported assertions.

Your task is to tell the owners:

	 what the best programming language is and why.

They are willing to implement that language on whatever
machines they will be working on, now and in the future.

This is a group project.  Your group is to make a roughly 5 minute
oral presentation on what you think is the best programming language
and why.  The style of presentation is up to you; you can allow one
person to talk, or several.  The audience for the presentation
is the owners and their employees (all computer scientists).

Your group presentation should focus on the ``why'' part of the question.
You are encouraged to show examples of programs written
in the language you think is best as part of your evidence.

(If you need transparencies or copies made, let Gary know
far enough in advance to have them made in time for the class.)

Your renumeration (and future) contracts depend on making a good
argument for the language you picked.  However as good consultants,
you are bound to tell the truth, above all.


			Alternative Positions

If your group believes that there is no best programming language,
or that most programming languages are equal, your presentation should
present convincing arguments for that point of view.

If your group believes that all languages in a particular subset
(e.g., all functional programming languages) are better than all other
languages, define that subset clearly, and make your case for that subset.
You should give examples in a representative language in that subset,
and argue why you do not think that any one language in that subset is
better than the others