[CentralOH] First Programming Language

[Joe Shaw]

Hi,

On Thu, May 26, 2016 at 11:43 AM, Len Jaffe <lenjaffe at jaffesystems.com>
wrote:

> There's something to be said for Pascal as a teaching language. It has
> data types, strict typing, pointers and all of the major procedural looping
> constructs.
>

Go might be a more modern stand-in for Pascal.  While influenced by C
syntactically -- curly braces and such -- it's also largely inspired by
Pascal descendants like Modula and Oberon.

If you're into the "etymology" of programming languages, an interesting
talk about this was given by one of Go's designers last year.
https://talks.golang.org/2015/gophercon-goevolution.slide

I have a soft spot in my heart for Pascal.  After learning Basic as a kid
it was my first real programming language.

Once all of those elements are learned, one can change to a dynamic
> language, or an OO language, or a functional language.
>
> I'm a fan of constraining the learner at first, especially since there's a
> lot more learning involved with the "first language" beyond syntax and
> grammar.
> If you can't work out a sorting algorithm on graph paper, learning a
> dynamic/oo/functional programming language won't help, and might hinder.
>

I guess it depends on what your goal for learning to program is.  Are you
looking to just have fun and play around, or do you want to become a
serious programmer and make a career out of it?  I'd argue that a sorting
algorithm isn't important for the former, so a language that "gets out of
the way" in many respects is a better starting place for them.  I think
Python fits very well here.

Joe


>

>
> But really, two or three weeks in Pascal's handcuffs should be sufficient
> to learn the first principle of "computer programming"
>
> On Tue, May 24, 2016 at 10:08 PM, Kurtis Mullins <kurtis.mullins at gmail.com
> > wrote:
>
>> I'm split between a language where you can dive in and get stuff done
>> (e.g. Python) and a "retro" language where you actually learn how computers
>> work in the process (e.g. C). I wasn't exposed to important principles
>> until college and wished I had know them for years. Also, if I never went
>> to college would I have been exposed to them?
>>
>> My son just turned 8 and I've exposed him to Python but had more luck
>> with Tynker (graphical). Maybe this summer off school we can do some "real"
>> coding together
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> > On May 24, 2016, at 7:09 PM, jep200404 at columbus.rr.com wrote:
>> >
>> > What does one want of a first programming language?
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>> > Watch Ken Robinson videos and read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle
>> Maintainance.
>> > _______________________________________________
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>
>
>
> --
> Len Jaffe - Information Technology Smoke Jumper -
> lenjaffe at jaffesystems.com
> 614-404-4214    @LenJaffe <https://www.twitter.com/lenJaffe>
> www.lenjaffe.com
> Host of Code Jam Columbus <http://www.meetup.com/techlifecolumbus/>  -
> @CodeJamCMH <https://www.twitter.com/CodeJamCMH>
> Curator of Advent Planet <http://www.lenjaffe.com/AdventPlanet/> - An
> Aggregation of Online Advent Calendars.
>
>
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