[clue-tech] Son's PC and intro to programming

[Christopher J Pomasl]

On Wed February 15 2006 11:53 am, Keith Hellman so notably scribed:
> On Wed, Feb 15, 2006 at 09:19:41AM -0800, daniel aguilar wrote:
> > Suggestions on a good BEGINNERS programming language
> > would be welcomed; linux based the better.
>
> I think the programming language he'll have the *MOST* success with is
> the one *YOUR* most familiar with.   I'm willing to bet that at some
> point in the near future your son will become frustrated with a hurdle
> in his programming knowledge, when he turns to you for help and *you*
> have a hard time figuring it out (because he's learning X language, and
> you know R, S, and T) it might give him the impression that programming
> is never easy.
>
> If I were in your shoes, I'd have him learn a first language that I
> know well.  Then if he wants to learn another, perhaps not one I'm
> familiar with, we'd simply sit down and learn it together.
>
> Just my 2c.

I actually like this advice and would add the following:
I was going to say that any language that will teach the basic concepts of the 
logical structures that all/most languages use:
IF/THEN/ELSE
CASE
DO WHILE
DO UNTIL
Function calling
Procedure calling
External calls
OO concepts

Once these are learned CONCEPTUALLY in one language, any other language is 
easier to learn as the differences are usually semantics/syntax rather than a 
true difference of concept.  If you are teaching, teach for CONCEPT as well 
as the syntactical nuances of a particular language to make a more well 
rounded student.

In college I learned COBOL.  I started work by learning 360/ASM and thought it 
would have helped to know the underlying machine concepts BEFORE learning 
COBOL but thinking back I think knowing the concept of the logical structure 
helped immensely in learning ASM and ASM helped me understand how the HLL is 
structured and why.  It's a delicate balance but I think the knowledge of the 
machine's language is most helpful in knowing how to program for efficiency 
rather than bloat!  In other words, know how the HLL is going to treat a 
segment of code so you know what the machine/compiler is going to do with 
it!!

Chris


-- 
Christopher J Pomasl
Senior Software Engineer, Computer Associates
Always remember, you are unique...just like everyone else.
IBM Certified, DB2 Z/OS V7 Administration, User
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