[geeks] Introductory programming language?

[Bob]

 On 08/31/11, Lionel Peterson<lionel4287 at gmail.com> wrote:INHO the only
real problem with BASIC is that it ill-prepares a student for
further work programming. Pascal is great for learning the concepts that
are
very useful if one continues programming with 'better' languages....

Visual BASIC is a ten pound solution to a five pound problem for a casual
'hobbyist' programmer. It requires learning a very unique methodology for
creating an interface and breaking down a problem.

The various 'learning languages' - like Logo and whatever those
principles
have evolved into are too childish for an adult learner to spend any time
with.

I see nothing wrong starting with BASIC, plain old interpreted BASIC and
then
HTML basics, winding up with PHP. The methods used in BASIC are useful in
writing macros in applications, and PHP lets her develop programs with
nice
GUIs with little muss and fuss, and teaching her to work through coding
for a
server (upload source code to another machine) teaches several useful
concepts.

I'd drop a virtualbox Linux LAMP server on her desktop to host the PHP
code.
There's plenty of areas for her to learn (like databases, for example)...

The biggest knock against BASIC/PHP are that they corrupt the students
ability
to learn other languages - I don't think that's a real concern for her
(she
seems more curious than anything, as I read the OP).

At the time the problem with BASIC was the way it was taught.  When
Pascal came along, most if not all other languages were modular or
writing things in macros bur BASIC didn't have to be that way.  To make
examples and test questions, too many books and teachers had the students
trying to write/follow spaghetti code.  Also a lot of teachers barely
knew the language so it was the blind leading the blind. The head of the
math department couldn't handle the different favors of BASIC and had
problems with the difference between BASIC on a TRS-80 and a local
college's mainframe.  Around that time, I took a semester of BASIC and a
semester of COBOL at a local two year college (just because the head of
the math department would bitch all the way up to the central office that
I shouldn't help any students with computer languages since I never took
any at college).  They taught BASIC completly different than the way it
was being taught in high school, more the way you described.  I really
think Pascal came out because BASIC was being taught so badly and, as you
said, students couldn't make the transition to a more structured
language.  I imagine it was similar in too many other schools.  Seeing
what was happening in my school, I winced more than watching a video of
someone being tasered in the jewels.

Bob