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blog(first-language): add smallish changes and outline
Signed-off-by: Matej Focko <me@mfocko.xyz>
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1 changed files with 31 additions and 15 deletions
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@ -13,19 +13,20 @@ tags:
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hide_table_of_contents: false
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hide_table_of_contents: false
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---
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---
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Let's talk about the first language beginners come into contact with hands
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on.
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I recall my first-time experience with programming quite vividly and also at the
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I recall my first-time experience with programming quite vividly and also at the
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time of writing this post I have been teaching _Foundations of Programming_ for
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time of writing this post I have been teaching _Foundations of Programming_ for
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5 years already.
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5 years already.
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Let's talk about the first language beginners come into contact with hands
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on[^1].
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<!--truncate-->
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<!--truncate-->
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:::caution Spoiler alert
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:::caution Spoiler alert
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At one point or another, this post will turn into full-blown Python rant as it
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At one point or another, this post will turn into full-blown Python rant as it
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is the most common choice for the first language.
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is the most common choice for the first language and not very suitable in my
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opinion.
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I'm also purposefully leaving out educational “languages” like [Scratch],
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I'm also purposefully leaving out educational “languages” like [Scratch],
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[Baltík] or [Imagine].
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[Baltík] or [Imagine].
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@ -40,20 +41,21 @@ I'll start with my own journey, so you can take in account any bias that I have.
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:::
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:::
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I will describe my journey by taking two _very_ different paths, self-study and
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I will describe it by taking two _very_ different paths, self-study and the high
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the high school experience. Self-study path begins just a year or two before the
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school experience. Self-study path begins just a year or two before the high
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high school and majority of the time they overlap which certainly creates
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school and majority of the time they overlap which certainly creates a unique
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a unique experience.
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experience.
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### Self-study
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### Self-study
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My first time touching a proper programming language was around ‘11 and it was
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My first time touching a proper programming language was around ‘11 and it was
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a VB.NET[^1]. If you have a look at this language, it is a rather verbose
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a VB.NET[^1]. If you have a look at this language, it is a rather verbose
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language. However if you understand English, it is very easy to read because of
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language. However if you understand English, it is very easy to read because of
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the said verbosity. When you dig deeper, you may find some very weird stuff
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said verbosity. When you dig deeper, you may find some very weird stuff
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going on, like indexing of arrays, or even allocating arrays that preallocates
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going on, like indexing of arrays, or even allocating arrays that preallocates
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one more or one less[^2] element than the specified size. Syntax is also quite
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one more or one less[^2] element than the specified size. Syntax is also quite
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unusual with apostrophes marking the comments.
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unusual with apostrophes marking the comments. You could say each language has
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its own peculiarities.
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Overall it's not that bad and the book I've had[^3] was rather nice. In
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Overall it's not that bad and the book I've had[^3] was rather nice. In
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retrospective I would say that VB.NET is very nice first language, because it's
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retrospective I would say that VB.NET is very nice first language, because it's
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@ -71,17 +73,17 @@ that consider C# the _Microsoft's Java_[^5], but you cannot hide the fact that
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in the recent releases there are features that are almost 1:1 taken from the C#
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in the recent releases there are features that are almost 1:1 taken from the C#
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and implemented in the Java. Most of them are _quality of life_ things that make
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and implemented in the Java. Most of them are _quality of life_ things that make
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the life of the developers less painful. All in all, there are still many things
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the life of the developers less painful. All in all, there are still many things
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that you need to workaround in Java by abusing interfaces and design patterns
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that you need to work around in Java by abusing interfaces and design patterns
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and some of those things can be done in a very simple way in other languages[^6]
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and some of those things can be done in a very simple way in other languages[^6]
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Around the time of attending the high school C appeared in my life… I think I've
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Around the time of attending the high school, C appeared in my life… I think
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seen C for the first time in the lectures from FIT CTU[^7]
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I've seen C for the first time in the lectures from FIT CTU[^7]. After C we have
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After C we have a mayhem of anything and everything.
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a mayhem of anything and everything.
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Looking back I have to admit that I've managed to move from Java towards C# as
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Looking back I have to admit that I've managed to move from Java towards C# as
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the preferred language, though this has not been reflected in my professional
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the preferred language, though this has not been reflected in my professional
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experience (both working and teaching) and I haven't even touched the C#
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experience (both working and teaching) and I haven't even touched the C#
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recently apart from the LeetCode challenges.
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recently apart from some LeetCode challenges.
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### High school
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### High school
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@ -89,6 +91,20 @@ Pascal
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Python
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Python
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## Common choices
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### Python
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### JavaScript
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### C or C++
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### Pascal
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## What to look for
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## My picks
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[scratch]: https://scratch.mit.edu/
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[scratch]: https://scratch.mit.edu/
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[baltík]: https://www.sgpsys.com/infovek/index.htm
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[baltík]: https://www.sgpsys.com/infovek/index.htm
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[imagine]: https://imagine.input.sk/index.html
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[imagine]: https://imagine.input.sk/index.html
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