Carl Gustafson on 20 Mar 2007 23:34:10 -0000 |
On Tue, Mar 20, 2007 at 06:04:40PM -0400, Alex Launi wrote: > I have the feeling no one else on this list is going to agree with me > but I'm just out of high school and the languages we were taught in our > cs classes were java and C++. Currently the AP Board has java for AP > computer science so for your students (I am assuming these are high or > middle school students) so starting them on java could be beneficial for > them later if they decide to take the ap cs exam. --Alex Launi > Well, I'll agree with you on Java. My take on Java is that it was designed to keep novice programmers from chopping their fingers off, unlike C or C++, which are more like power saws without bladeguards. There are a number of things I don't like about Java, and some things Java does that I think an experienced developer can do better in other languages, but for beginning programmers, especially in high school or middle school, the automatic memory handling (garbage collection, etc.), strong typing, and a development environment that handles a fair amount of the nit-picking makes a good starting point. Also, I'm about to put my money where my mouth is by running an informal class for my son and some of his peers at our church, all in the 7-10th grade range. Carl "Rushing in where angels fear to tread" Gustafson ___________________________________________________________________________ Philadelphia Linux Users Group -- http://www.phillylinux.org Announcements - http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce General Discussion -- http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
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