[Edu-sig] Python and OCaml (Was Lisping)

[Danny Yoo]

On Thu, 26 May 2005, Radenski, Atanas wrote:

> > It is fine and good to learn a single language, but this is not
> > computer science. A single language is just a tool. It is necessary to
> > learn several languages in order to have an idea of what computer
> > science actually means.
>
> I believe that introductory computer science should be taught with more
> than one language. Certainly, teaching several languages poses its own
> problems. I believe two languages are just right for CS1/2 courses. My
> personal choice has been Python for CS1 and Java for CS2. In this way,
> students get familiar with the two principal programming language
> cultures: interpreted languages and compiled languages.

Hi Atanas,

Rather than contrasting languages based on compiled vs. interpreted, I
think a comparative course based on the treatment of types would be
interesting.

I've always been curious; has anyone heard of an approach that uses Python
and OCaml?  The two languages have such a different take on the value of
typing; Python does type checking at runtime, and OCaml at compile time.