Myth: Python is ideal for beginners

[eichin at metacarta.com]

> How many times have i seen that statement?
> Is python ideal for beginners?

Google should find you at least one university that evaluated python,
c++, and pascal [what they were already using] as beginner-cs
languages... and came up with a bunch of very good reasons to choose
python.  (I don't know that they *did*, but the eval pointed that way :-)

I think python is an *excellent* BASIC-substitute for total
beginners.  (Of course, *I'm* pushing it at experienced perl
programmers, and they like it, but part of that is just *recognizing*
the elegance from experience; a beginner doesn't need to appreciate
that, they just need to develope a starting point.)

(Of course, I got my start in 8080 hex machine code - gives one a vast
appreciation for hll's, but *also* makes one much more aware of the
extent to which all of the "interesting"[1] problems are at "the next
layer down"...)

			_Mark_ <eichin at metacarta.com>

[1] as in "may you live in interesting times"