On Sun, Mar 22, 2015 at 7:23 PM, David Handy <david@handysoftware.com> wrote:
This evening I had an interesting conversation with a very determined 10-year old boy who wants to learn programming in Java and nothing but Java. I told him that I recommend Python as a first programing language, because learning Python is easier. But he was adamant. It's Java or nothing. Why? Minecraft is implemented in Java. That made Java the ultimate in coolness to him. No "risk-averse bureaucratic" thinking there, just a willingness to do hard things to get what he wanted.
So I told him, go for it, more power to you, and offered my assistance. What else could I do? :) In the face of determination like that, it's lead, follow, or get out of the way...
When I was an undergrad at Caltech, we had no good courses in programming or computer science, and I really wanted to understand computers. So I dedicated most of one summer to slugging through several feet of IBM manuals. My first "computer language" was JCL!! It was a total waste. I lost interest in programming for many years. Same thing happened to my interest in literature, after a string of really bad teachers in high school. Give that 10-year old plenty of encouragement, but be ready to catch him when he falls. Write the Java for him, if necessary, but then show him the equivalent in Python.