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At my university we started with C (and some Assembly) and contiued with Java (and I privatly learn Python). I really liked to start with C and then move to a l

At my university we started with C (and some Assembly) and contiued with Java (and I privatly learn Python). I really liked to start with C and then move to a language with a higher abstraction – so you can understand what these higher languages make easier, and what kind of control you lose when you use them. Now knowing the basics of three languages, I find it easy to transfer concepts like functions/loops etc. beetween them, however, the different syntax can be confusion and I think the switching costs sometimes really decelerate the learning process.

nothrabannosir 8y ago
Couldn’t agree more. We started with java, then moved on to C and it was a colossal failure. They tried to explain concepts like vtables and static methods vs instance methods to people who had never seen a program in their life and it was a disaster. I basically guessed everything on the exam, and I remember thinking “this is such random nonsense, how could anybody ever know how static works?” The next semester we move on to C, they casually explain how you would implement vtables and classes using structs, and suddenly everything clicks. I retroactively retook the Java course in my mind that semester. I have always thought of that first semester as a total waste of time. I am still a bit angry at the sheer stubborn incompetence of our department that led to this curriculum. Jesus. Vtables. Who even thinks of that? Java is so complex. Ugh. Teach your maths freshmen calculus before you cover arithmetic, while you’re at it.