Are the critiques in "All the things I hate about Python" valid?

[Ian Kelly]

On Tue, Feb 20, 2018 at 10:09 PM, Chris Angelico <rosuav at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Wed, Feb 21, 2018 at 6:39 AM, Geldenhuys, J, Prof <geld at sun.ac.za>
> <geld at sun.ac.za> wrote:
>> I think your case illustrates the Python/Mathematica issue well:  you found a job for which Mathematica was not the perfect tool and you used Python.  At the end of the day, both M & P have their place.  For example, we probably won't use either to teach Introduction Computer Science soon, because they both lack features that we expect our students to be familiar with at the end of their first year.
>>
>
> Out of curiosity, what features does Python lack in that area? (I
> don't know anything about Mathematica, and it's only tangentially
> on-topic at best.) For an intro to comp sci, I would generally expect
> to start with a high level language such as Python, or JavaScript
> (because of its ubiquity, primarily due to web browser usage), or Ruby
> (particularly if you're Japanese). You don't learn about how to manage
> memory (because it's done for you), but on the other hand, you don't
> learn about how to manage memory (because hey, it's all done for
> you!). You don't learn how to wade through a crash dump (because you
> have exceptions and tracebacks), you don't learn how to compile for
> different platforms, you don't learn all sorts of other things that
> aren't necessary for someone's first year in comp sci. So I'm
> interested to what such high level languages lack, from the POV of a
> first year of comp sci.

Indeed, MIT famously switched from Scheme to Python for their
introductory class about a decade back, and as far as I'm aware
they're still using it.