Java is popular as a first language, but I think it's just due to its (bygone?) general popularity. I don't think a language that forces you into a one-class-pe

Java is popular as a first language, but I think it's just due to its (bygone?) general popularity. I don't think a language that forces you into a one-class-per-file mindset from day one has any business being used for teaching; students should start from the basics ("commands"/function calls, if, while, for, ...) and then discover what more complex concepts do within that framework. Java's tooling is nice, but frankly Turbo Pascal (or something at its level) is enough for beginners.