Whats the best first language for a programmer?
In other words, no matter how well versed in best practices a programmer might be, programming is as much art as science. Inventing effective software solutions takes insight, inspiration, deduction, and often a sprinkling of luck. Sure, there are good programmers and bad programmers — but to pretend that you can “engineer” a software project the same way a civil engineer designs a bridge is simply folly. As Jeff Atwood puts it, “what we do is craftsmanship, not engineering.” So give the 15-year-old a break, I say. Scheme may be the “best” way to learn programming, but that can wait for college. At such a young age, I think it’s far more important to encourage the student to develop the innate curiosity and love of programming that lies at the heart of any really brilliant programmer. If that means coding in Visual Basic, so be it. Scheme can come later. (Mind you, the very best way to encourage young students to become programmers might be to stop shipping software development jobs o