On Monday, 4 November 2013 at 17:30:58 UTC, qznc wrote:
On Monday, 4 November 2013 at 16:22:52 UTC, Gary Willoughby
wrote:
On Monday, 4 November 2013 at 15:58:48 UTC, Chris wrote:
"Who D is Not For
- As a first programming language - Basic or Java is more
suitable for beginners. D makes an excellent second language
for intermediate to advanced programmers."
(http://dlang.org/overview.html)
I'd argue against this. I think D would make a terrific first
language. Remember, you wouldn't start with metaprogramming on
day one. If you started with the basics using simple syntax
and introduce the compiler incrementally it would be very
educational. IMHO new programmers should start by learning how
memory works, what binary is, how big built-in types are, etc.
I am continually amazed when working with seasoned developers
who have no idea why floats aren't precise, what a pointer is
or what or bit-shifting does. It's staggering.
We need an environment with lots of instant gratification. This
is more important than language features. People even use C++
as first language due to libraries like Cinder.
http://libcinder.org/
Both are equally important. Instant gratification instead of
frustration is important. And with D you can get both. One can
write simple programs (e.g. readText()) and if needs be dig
deeper and see what's going on under the hood. I wouldn't
sacrifice features for gratification. Good features attract
experienced or highly specialized programmers, while easy high
level features help newbies to get up to speed.
