[lug] First Programming Language

[Steve Sullivan]

Many thanks for all the great comments on learning a
first programming language.

I agree, whatever the language, a person can write
bizarre spaghetti code or well structured code.

Even in C, a fairly simple language by today's standards, and
with strong static typing, there used to be an "obfuscated C"
contest.  I never had the patience to wade through those
tangled lines!

And conversely even in the much looser interpreted
languages of today, one can write well structured,
intelligible code.

Thanks again,

Steve


On Wed, Jan 03, 2018 at 07:29:01PM -0700, Steve Sullivan wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> This is a bit off topic but I'm hoping for some help ...
> 
> My daughter wants to learn her first programming language.
> She's a business major in college, and as part of an independent
> study class, she can choose which language.
> The demo task is three layers ...
> 
>     1. A front end, probably just HTML/CSS
>     2. A web server -- not her problem.
>     3. A back end, to query a simple DB and return an answer.
>       This is where she would learn her programming language.
> 
> One of her friends is recommending learning Javascript, but I
> think Python3 would be a much better choice.  It's more general
> purpose, and more likely to be useful in her future.  Here are my
> thoughts on the demo project, starting at the back end.
> 
>     3. The backend ... She could learn Python3 and Sqlite, and use
>     the Python WSGI interface from the web server.  The backend might
>     be slow, but it would give her an overview of Python3 and WSGI,
>     and a taste of SQL.
> 
>     2. The web server ... Either find someone else's existing web
>     server, so she doesn't have to fight setting up Apache or
>     whatever, or find a very simple web server offering Python the
>     WSGI API.  She shouldn't waste time fighting web server
>     configuration issues.
> 
>     1. The front end ... She already knows the basics of HTML and
>     CSS, so this should be straightforward.  No Javascript!
> 
> What would you recommend?
> 
> As far as Python3 beginning books and sites, are there any you'd
> recommend?  Looking at Amazon, Matt Harrison's Illustrated Guide
> to Python 3 looks good.
> 
> Rather than ask her to learn a full IDE, my thought is just use
> the Python3 command line interface.
> 
> But then I'm old fashioned ... would you recommend command line?
> Or is there a simple to learn IDE you'd recommend?
> 
> Many thanks,
> 
> Steve
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> 
> ========================================
> Steve Sullivan      steve.sullivan at mathcom.com
> 720-587-7498        http://www.mathcom.com
> ========================================
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-- 

========================================
Steve Sullivan      steve.sullivan at mathcom.com
720-587-7498        http://www.mathcom.com
========================================