Re: [Fwd: Re: Re: [seul-edu] Perl for 9th graders]]

[Michael Hall <admin@mulga.com.au>]

G'day All:

I'm new to this list and have been watching the discussion re programming
languages. As someone who has come to programming recently and relatively
late in life, my two cents has a different perspective perhaps. The only
'languages' I know are shell scripting and PHP, though I'm making a start
on Python as well ... I think that those three will do everything I ever
want to do (sysadmin, web applications, and possibly more general
programs).

So what about shell scripting as an introduction to programming ... surely
it has more real life value than LOGO? I know there's a lot it can't do,
but it can certainly teach the basics of variables, flow control, etc.
A lot of the basic Linux/Unix knowledge involved would stand a student in
good stead for later programming in other languages.

PHP is easy to learn and involves much of the essential logic of a
'proper' language (like C in particular), but is of course web-centric ...
but then, so is computing in general these days.

Python is about as powerful and comprehensive a language as most
programmers need, is OO, and has been written to be very clean and clear.
As I understand it, Python is in the same league as C or Java, is it not?

Michael

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Michael Hall - Mulgaweb - mulga.com.au
mick@mulga.com.au - Ph/Fax 08 8953 1442
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