From: Dave Bass <davebass@...>
Date: 2008-05-28T22:39:19+09:00
Subject: Re: Should I Learn Ruby as a First Language?

MRH wrote:
> I am a beginner in programming. I have read some fundamental theory
> material and mucked around a bit, and now want to move into actually
> learning programming and my first language.

Once upon a time I used to teach C as a first programming language. In 
some ways it's good, as it's close to the hardware (bits and bytes, 
addresses and pointers etc) but in many other ways this can be a 
disadvantage, as you can't see the wood for the trees. However, it 
certainly makes you appreciate higher-level languages when you come 
across them later on!

Java now seems to be the first language of choice for many universities, 
but I would have to disagree with that.

Ruby is much nicer than Java and it will teach you plenty of OO 
concepts.

However, there's no such thing as the "best" language, so you should 
concentrate on mastering one, then go on to your next.
-- 
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