Actually I'd argue that with C, you have to start managing memory manually before you even get to malloc. The abstraction advantage of Java over C (not that I

Actually I'd argue that with C, you have to start managing memory manually before you even get to malloc. The abstraction advantage of Java over C (not that I think Java is necessarily a better intro language) is that you can generally explain the syntax in abstract concepts and then use it like you'd expect. With C, it's far more likely to encounter scenarios that don't fit a simple model of understanding. For example, unless you're concerned with specific performance issues, you're not likely to care how a string is implemented in Java. It's difficult to use strings in C without understanding memory. Without understanding when strings are mutable and when they aren't, what null-terminated means, how "%s" works, and such you will quickly run into some unexpected behavior and will likely just trial and error until you get something that seems to work. When you understand that C is a syntax for allocating and manipulating memory, it tends to make a lot more sense.