Daniel Carrera wrote:
Hello,
This might be a strange question to ask on a Haskell list, but I do want to hear your opinions. What do you think of Python?
Its good for small scripting tasks. Its good for string processing. I find the dynamic typing a pain.
I have a lady friend who wants to learn how to program. I just decided to teach her Python for practical reasons:
Its a great first language for people who aren't interested in making a career of programming.
But I do hesitate. I would like to teach her Haskell because I think it's a better language.
Its a better language for people who either have a computer science background or intend to study computer science. I would not inflict a language like Haskell on someone who just wants to get the job done with as little fuss as possible.
So I'm thinking that perhaps I can use Python, but try to teach her functional principles, like not changing the value of a variable and not letting her functions have side-effects.
For the majority of tasks she is likely to undertake, the above simply doesn't matter.
Given my circunstances, do you think that's a reasonable approach for teaching her how to program?
Teach her Python. If you try and teach her Haskell she will end up programming in visual basic :-). Erik -- +-----------------------------------------------------------+ Erik de Castro Lopo nospam@mega-nerd.com (Yes it's valid) +-----------------------------------------------------------+ "It has been discovered that C++ provides a remarkable facility for concealing the trival details of a program -- such as where its bugs are." -- David Keppel