Is Python a good language for beginning programmers?
Yes. It is still common to start students with a procedural (subset of a) statically typed language such as Pascal, C, or a subset of C++ or Java. Students may be better served by learning Python as their first language. Python has a very simple and consistent syntax and a large standard library and, most importantly, using Python in a beginning programming course lets students concentrate on important programming skills such as problem decomposition and data type design. With Python, students can be quickly introduced to basic concepts such as loops and procedures. They can probably even work with user-defined objects in their very first course. For a student who has never programmed before, using a statically typed language seems unnatural. It presents additional complexity that the student must master and slows the pace of the course. The students are trying to learn to think like a computer, decompose problems, design consistent interfaces, and encapsulate data.
Absolutely! If you want to learn programming yourself, check out the Beginner’s Guide to Python over at the Python Wiki. If you want to discuss Python’s use in education, then you may be interested in joining the edu-sig mailing list. The rest of this article provides some advise for teachers. It is still common to start students with a procedural (subset of a) statically typed language such as Pascal, C, or a subset of C++ or Java. Students may be better served by learning Python as their first language. Python has a very simple and consistent syntax and a large standard library and, most importantly, using Python in a beginning programming course permits students to concentrate on important programming skills such as problem decomposition and data type design. With Python, students can be quickly introduced to basic concepts such as loops and procedures. They can even probably work with user-defined objects in their very first course. For a student who has never programmed before, us
