What to do after Python?

[D-Man]

On Mon, Feb 19, 2001 at 08:37:00AM +0000, Sheila King wrote:
| On Mon, 19 Feb 2001 09:07:10 +0100, tanzer at swing.co.at (Christian Tanzer)
| wrote in comp.lang.python in article
| <mailman.982570403.27694.python-list at python.org>:
| 
| :
| :Sheila King <sheila at spamcop.net> wrote:
| :
| :> I must say, that I am shocked at the number of apparent *groans* over C++
| :> language, in this thread.
| :> 
| :> I teach C++ as a first programming language to high school students, via the

What part of the country do you teach in?

| :> AP Computer Science Curriculum. (The course I teach is supposed to be
| :> equivalent to a first semester University course for CS majors.) I think that
| :> the trick, is to use a carefully selected subset of the C++ language.
| :
| :- In C++, there are so many low-level issues the programmer has to
| :  take care of that it distracts from the problem to be solved -- not
| :  very helpful for learning how to program.
| 
| I never suggested that C++ was the best choice for a first programming
| language. In fact, I personally don't care for it, myself (as a first

I agree with these, C++ is too low-level to beginning.  Something like
Eiffel, Java or Python (the last shall be first ...) would be better
suited, IMO.

| language). However, the course that I am teaching requires that it be taught
| in that language. For more information about the AP Computer Science program,
| go here:
| http://www.collegeboard.org/ap/computer-science/
| 
| I didn't write the course. I just teach it.

Someone ought to point out to the AP committee(s) the pros and cons of
the various languages, then they would decide that Python is better
;-).


My high school taught BASIC and Pascal on Apple IIe computers until
the year I graduated (I never found the time to take them anyways).
The year after I graduated (1999) they upgraded to Pentium computers
with Windows (95 or 98 I think) and are now offering (MSV) C++ and VB.
(Both with Intro- and Advanced- courses).  My brother and his friend
took the Intro to C++ course (20 weeks, half-year) last year.  I don't
think they should call it C++ because they barely got throuh if,
while, for, and functions and didn't mention classes at all.  I highly
doubt they used any of the C library stuff (like str functions).  They
didn't use new/delete or malloc/free either.  I think the only C++
specific feature they used was cout and cin.  Actually, I think it is
a bit unfair and misleading to tell the students they are learning C++
when they don't even mention 90% of the language to them.  It would be
really cool if they taught a nice, clean, small and very useful
language like Python instead, but ...

-D


PS.  this is/was a very interesting thread to read