Which kid's beginners programming - Python or Forth?

[gatti at dsdata.it]

Ivan Van Laningham wrote:
[...]
>
> Seriously, PostScript is a lot more fun to learn than Forth, and more
> directly useful.  Since the rewards are so immediate, a kid's attention
> could be gained and kept pretty easily.

PostScript is easy, but I'm afraid some technical details could get in
the way of enjoyable exploration, e.g. font types or scaling.
PostScript is also a single purpose language: it can print static
graphics and with a slightly more complex setup it can display static
graphics on the screen, period. No interactivity, no files, no network,
no general computation or data structures.

> But I'd still recommend Python as a first programming language.  Keep to
> the standard stuff--ignore list comprehensions and so on--until he or
> she has the basic control flow down pat.

Python is general purpose; it can do graphics with a path/stroke model
like Postscript's and a whole world of other things. There are many
complex features in Python that shouldn't be introduced before the need
arises.
List comprehensions, however, *are* the basic control flow; loops are
much more verbose and they should be used only when necessary.

Lorenzo Gatti