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From: shaffer@operations.dccs.upenn.edu (Earl Shaffer)
Newsgroups: soc.college,comp.edu
Subject: First Language Taught in CSC degree track
Message-ID: <1472@super.upenn.edu.upenn.edu>
Date: Wed, 15-Jul-87 15:19:18 EDT
Article-I.D.: super.1472
Posted: Wed Jul 15 15:19:18 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 17-Jul-87 07:30:41 EDT
Sender: root@super.upenn.edu.upenn.edu
Reply-To: shaffer@operations.dccs.upenn.edu.UUCP (Earl Shaffer)
Organization: University of Pennsylvania
Lines: 33
Keywords: language, CSC 101, intro
Summary: Which language to teach first to undergrads
Xref: mnetor soc.college:757 comp.edu:491

I have a questions which should stir up a debate.

Which language should be taught first in the Computer Science
track for incoming freshman?

We are assuming that is possible to teach almost any (exceptions:
Snobol, C++, Forth, etc.) and that it is phyiscally possible to teach
any language (example: CICS COBOL, Burroughs Super Algol).

The point of all of this is that back when I was in school, Pascal
had just replaced Basic as the languages *generally* taught first
in a CSC 101 type class.  I hear that 'C' has gained in popularity
enough that schools are using C rather than Pascal for intro courses.

Remember, this is the course that will teach all the bad habits we
learned from our first language(s)! (happy face)  For example, I
still use "I" for counters because I learned Fortran first. (yech!)

Well, what do all of you think?

(flames to /dev/null)



		cheers,




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Earl Shaffer - University of Pennsylvania - Data Communications Department
"Time was invented so that everything wouldn't happen at once." Steven Wright
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