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Re: Perl as one's first programming languageby ww (Archbishop) |
on Apr 07, 2008 at 16:23 UTC ( [id://678777]=note: print w/replies, xml ) | Need Help?? |
public static void main doesn't mean anything to a beginner. It is a mysterious black box that makes people feel... intimidated? I think this, and your identification of Perl as a language in which a beginner may face somewhat less intimidating introductory challenges is an excellent argument for "Perl first." OTOH, the challenges of memory management -- while valid and important for the CS student; future system architect; and such-like -- are NOT, IMO, fundamental to the objectives for which some (or many?) seek to become programmers. While that distinction may seem inappropriate to the CS-minded academic (or may be reason to consider restructuring curricula to separate the 'wanna-be 'mere programmer' from the CS-complete "computer scientist"), it might mean that, for example, the candidate for an advanced degree in Library Science or physics or whatever, would find "learning to program" a challenge within reach.
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