Carlos, I doubt that you'll get much disagreement on this list about Python being an excellent first language choice. Hence, there is unlikely to be much of a "discussion." I wrote a paper titled "Python as a First Language" back in 1998, you can find it at: http://mcsp.wartburg.edu/zelle/python
Carlos Eduardo Sotelo Pinto wrote: > Hi people > i was making a researching about python for computer > science students as a first language, and it coul be > good in Peruvian Universities and Colleges, may you > have some experiences, or articles or ideas about it. > Coul you send me to my personal email address. > Also I propose to you to began a discussion about this > topic. > > I think in my personal opinion, python could be better > for students, for one so imoprtant reazon: Python is > clearly and powerfull; and because of it, students > just think in solve problems and learning programming, > and the language could be an excellent easy learning > progamming tool. Also teachers can use the power of > python for making good problems for the students. > Based on my actual experience, I can say that Python _is_ a much better first language choice than C, C++, Java, or Visual Basic. It has most of the advantages of Scheme, but with a smoother transition to more traditional languages. More and more CS programs are discovering the joy of teaching Python first. So far, I've not heard of any program that tried Python and then went back to something like C++ or Java. Incidentally, I think Python is a marvelous tool throughout the CS curriculum. It's a language that gets out of your way so that you can concentrate on fundamental concepts. I even use Python in my Op Systems class, something I'm frequently told Python isn't good for. Not true. Python is (arguably) the simplest vehicle that allows my students to program directly with underlying Posix system calls. It's simpler than doing systems programming in C or C++. To say nothing of trying to access the OS in Java... While I would not try to write an OS in Python, it sure is a lot easier for teaching _about_ them. That is, I am using the programming as a learning tool, not trying to teach them how to program an OS. --John -- John M. Zelle, Ph.D. Wartburg College Professor of Computer Science Waverly, IA [EMAIL PROTECTED] (319) 352-8360 _______________________________________________ Edu-sig mailing list Edu-sig@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
