"Simple" Languages in FreeBSD

[Allen]

On Fri, 01 Jul 2016 08:48:50 -0500
Brandon J. Wandersee <brandon.wandersee at gmail.com> wrote:
<*SNIP*>
> 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.

Given the length of my last Mail, I've snipped my portion out to keep
this a little smaller for everyone reading it :)

I agree with you; Every book or how to that I seem to see, assumes from
the get go that you already have an understanding of this, and I don't
really. 

> 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.

OK, this is what I'm aiming for as one of my short term Goals. I want
to be able to customize System Start Up and all that, but also be able
to write things I can use as well, and that seems like it's exactly
what I should do. 

Although I do eventually want to be able to Hack on the Kernel, that's
going to take me some time. It's one of my Long Term Goals. It's one of
the reasons that I asked my question here, because BSD is one of my
main OSs of Choice. I've supported it in every way I have been able to
for a long time (I still have the box and book and CDs that my FreeBSD
PowerPak came in which came with FreeBSD 4.0-RELEASE, heh, and I have
purchased just about everything from the FreeBSD Mall, and helped
whenever I could with Money, but to be able to help with Code, would be
nice).

By the way, slightly OT; If anyone reading this is new to FreeBSD, or
Unix in general, the books and Magazines available on the FreeBSD Mall
are WONDERFUL! I've got like 5 Pairs of the BSD Boxers, Hundreds of
Stickers, Bumper Stickers, the CD-Case, every Book sold there, and a
bunch of the Tee Shirts and I did have a FreeBSD Hoodie but a guy I
used to be friends with stole that, so I'll have to buy another since
the quality and overall feel of those is great. /*End Shameless Plug
for the FreeBSD Mall, which also sells things for Patrick Volkerding at
the Slackware Store*/



> 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/
> 

Thank you :) I'll look into these as well. I think I should have
renamed the thread a little, because "Simple" Was probably not the best
word to use for this, but again, thanks for replying.

-Allen