On 29/01/2015 11:03, David wrote:
On Thu, 29 Jan 2015 10:41:51 +0000, Tim Watts wrote:
On 28/01/15 23:59, Jeremy Nicoll - news posts wrote:
Huge wrote:
I'd go for Python. Starting here;
https://www.python.org/about/gettingstarted/
The big drawback I found when I tried to get into Python was that
everything non-trivial needed one to find the right class to add to the
basic language.
On the one hand, it was nice to have classes already written to do more
complex things, on the other hand it's not easy for a beginner in a
particular language to judge which one of (perhaps) a multitude of
extension packages best suits a job.
I think I'd start with some simpler less extensible language where
there's a better chance of getting to grips with a much smaller range
of possible features.
Perl.
Looks like C, low overhead, do a lot without any modules and the basic
core of it's syntax is very similar to C, PHP and Java so, like Latin it
is both not quite dead, and a very useful thing to learn as it makes
learning other languages easier.
Another vote for Perl.
Also a pointer to the Perl Monks for lots of resources.
Maybe - I guess it depends what he wants to do. If you know what problem
you want to solve then you can choose the right tool.
Old SciAm mathematical games columns provide some challenging tasks for
toy and not so toy implementations of gaming algorithms.
Programming Conways game of life is a moderately tricky problem to do
well or solutions for placing N queens on an NxN chessboard.
I notice that nobody has mentioned Basic, designed as an entry level
programming language and much used on the BBC Micro.
And a free evaluation copy is available online. The OP might even be
able to remember how to use it from his school days.
http://www.bbcbasic.co.uk/bbcwin/download.html
Bad memories of Microsoft's take on Basic, then VB?
Or a preference for more modern structured languages?
The suggestion of a RaspPi made elsewhere is a good one if there is any
hint of an interest in making hardware and controlling things.
--
Regards,
Martin Brown