We use Ada as a first language at the University I attend. I think it is a great first language. Perl should be included in university studies, but like most I would agree that it is not a good first language. I would, however, like to see it included in any systems administration course or the like. There is a scripting languages course here that dedicates half the semester to Perl basics. I think further elaboration and exposure to Perl in a university setting would be a great thing, but not to introduce someone unfamiliar with a programming language to programming techniques, algorithms and basic concepts. In my opinion, the first academic language used should be strongly typed, with optional oop, very structured programming that would limit creativity to stray away from the historical concepts at hand. A language that would stay out of the way of the student and allow for the logic of their first several dozen programs to read like a book.

In reply to Re: Academic Formation by coder_
in thread Teaching Perl inside an Academic Course by Mago

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