Python. Why? Here''s some reasons:

- it''s free to download and use for whatever platform you have. Check out the Python Language Website. The Windows version comes with an automated installer.

- there are lots of good quality free learning resources to be found on the web. Again, see the Python website.

- it provides immediate feedback which helps hold interest and encourages experimentation.

- it allows the beginner to experiment with modern programming paradigms such as OO and metaprogramming. Err... OK, the beginner won''t be experimenting with metaprogramming, but it''s there.

- it does not require a high degree of mathematical sophistication to learn. Easy to write, easy to read. There is a lot of latent power in the language which a new user can learn as and when it suits them.

- there are toolkits available for all manner of problem domains: four major GUI toolkits (Tk, MFC, QT and my favourite wxWindows), 3d graphics, SDL and PyGame for writing games, and all manner of other stuff.

- it''s a serious language used in industry settings. I use it for building distributed telecoms development & test products.

- did I mention it''s free?

/me seconds the Python suggestion. The online book "Think like a computer scientist"[1] is very good at teaching programming concepts(using Python) to 'laymen'.

[1]http://www.andamooka.org/reader.pl?section=thinkpython

"The word and works of God is quite clear, that women were made either to be wives or prostitutes."
Martin Luther

[edited by - Arild Fines on July 18, 2002 4:16:53 PM]

I would recommend Lingo for Director. You can get eductational version for very cheap (usually with ''learning Director'' books). Lingo teaches you about programming without making you learn how to load sounds or images.

x86 Assembler and Prolog! Hehe, just kidding.

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Not to mention that Python teaches how to use arguments, nesting, returns, and good coding habits.

quote: Original post by Andrew Nguyen
Not to mention that Python teaches how to use arguments, nesting, returns, and good coding habits.

A language doesn''t teach anything, it merely provides a set of constructs and imparts semantic meaning to those constructs.

I think Andrew means that using those constructs provides a way to consolidate the ideas he lists.
From my experience, reading as many articles as I could did not compare to the experience gained from actually applying them in a particular language and seeing the results.
I think Andrew is implying that starting with a simple language is good, but even better if it contains abstract ideas that will still be very useful when moving to more complex ones (I assume Python is simpler, but have never used it, so please forgive me if I''m mistaken).
You are certainly right in what you say, I''m not disputing it, I just want the original poster to realise that Andrews point is valid, even if his use of the word ''teaches'' is out of place.


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I HATE COLLISION DETECTION!!

For a child that young, Logo would be well worth the effort, provides instant feedback and is surprisingly powerful. I wouldn''t have believed it until my gf said she would like a copy to work with for her teaching ICT, it can certainly teach many of the most useful programming concepts. I found a nice version for windows here, not totally sure of the license but seems free.

quote: Original post by fallenang3l

Original post by yves032784
10 years old????????? tell him to outside and play!

I guess I''m the only one here who shares your opinion. How sad .

Shouldn''t he finish playing Doom first? ;-)

quote: Original post by evaclear
Turbo Pascal is a great beginner language. It doesn''t get you into the bad codeing habbits that Basic/Visual basic do. It''s alot like C which is good should he want to move on, but it doesn''t let you step on your feet. The compiler tells you exactly what needs to be changed. And I''m certian you can find a copy of turbo pascal on the net fairly cheap. 7.0 was the last revision I remember so keep an eye out for that.

What bad habit would those be? And don''t say goto and gosub, thats just dumb.