What killed Smalltalk could kill Python

[Chris Angelico]

On Fri, Jan 23, 2015 at 4:35 PM, alex23 <wuwei23 at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 22/01/2015 11:45 AM, Chris Angelico wrote:
>>
>> It's not a terrible justification for getting into programming. But
>> writing games is (almost always) a terrible way to start programming.
>
>
> However, modifying games, I would argue, is a great way. The ComputerCraft
> mod for Minecraft, for example, added Lua-based control of in-game entities.
> It allows new developers to focus on internal game logic without being
> overwhelmed by the set up required to make it work.
>

Yes, as long as you have the right structure. I wouldn't just say to
someone "here, have at it, you'll learn to program", but as part of a
properly-designed course, it could be a great way to teach coding.

There's a gentle spectrum from tweaking edit files ("I'm going to make
the shotgun deal ten times the damage") through those kinds of script
files up to actual full programming, and I think it can be a fine way
for someone to get started.

ChrisA