Do any of you recommend Python as a first programming language?

[7stud]

On Mar 22, 3:34 pm, bsoist <soistm... at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mar 22, 12:40 pm, jmDesktop <needin4mat... at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > For students 9th - 12th grade, with at least Algebra I.  Do you think
> > Python is a good first programming language for someone with zero
> > programming experience?  Using Linux and Python for first exposure to
> > programming languages and principles.
>
> > Thank you.
>
> Absolutely. I love using Python in "the real world" but it is
> fantastic for beginning programmers.
>
> Python enforces good habits and presents many opportunities to discuss
> programming from an academic perspective. Why does Python not have a
> switch or until statement? Why are very common objects (stack, queue,
> linked list) not builtin? etc.
>

Beginning programmers in grades 9-12 are not going to understand
issues like that, and it would be a mistake to try and introduce
them.  Beginning programmers should be concentrating their efforts on
learning the syntax of a language and basic constructs like for-loops
and if statements.  They will begin by writing simple "hello world"
style programs, and as their basic skills improve, the programs will
get a little more complex and require some more thought and some math
to solve the problems presented to them.  String formatting should
probably be introduced to help with formatting the output.  That is
about as far as things are going to go.

Terms like "Touring machines" and "lambda-calculus" are not going to
be mentioned anywhere in the course of study.