And the BEST Programming Language is…
Everyone has their favourite: Python, Java, Perl, C++… There are so many! And many languages have been “retired” for different reasons: Fortran, Cobol, Turing… The thing is, there IS no best language!
What’s Your Favourite?
The only thing that matters is your ability to solve the problem regardless of the language you’re using.
Sometimes teachers forget that.
Good Programmers Are…
It's not about teaching all the different code structures, and fancy GUI features, it's about teaching how to think and solve problems – without a computer! Share on XThat’s what makes a good programmer.
Coding is essentially typing. It's how you build a solid and 'uncrashable' program from start to finish that matters. So, the best programming language is really problem-solving. Share on X Teaching is teaching – regardless of the subject. It's the teacher's job to break things into simple steps so the students can grasp the concepts. Share on X
My Favourite Beginner Language is…
I preferred to teach Turing as the introductory language in high school. Yes, I know! It’s old. It’s outdated. To many, it’s not considered the best programming language. It’s whatever term you want to use.
But…
Coding needs to be fun! It's easy to turn kids off. You need to entice kids with something they understand and like. And learning to code with graphics is one of the best "hooks" out there. Share on XThis is something that Turing does well.
It was great for kids and easy to learn. Turing has all the bells and whistles kids love – colour, graphics, GUI widgets like buttons, music capabilities (.wav files), animation, and keyboard arrow control. There are also an impressive array of commands: arrays, data types, procedures, return functions, file input/output, built-in math and string commands, as well as the standard programming structures (if, for, loop etc.).
Best of all, none of the kids had ever used it before! So everyone started learning a new language together. I did have a few students over the years learn Turing before they got to my class, but that was a rare occurrence.
And at University…
Right now, the Advanced Placement exam concentrates on Java. Some universities used to teach Java to first-year students, but they found that it was too hard to cover the concepts in just four months, so they switched to Python. Many move on to Java or C/C++ in the engineering stream, in second-year.
And the Best Programming Language is…
The most important thing for me was the language made programming fun. Kids learn when they’re having fun. Yes, I know learning can be frustrating at times, but I know I changed a few career paths. Some of my students now have fabulous jobs in companies like Facebook, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Apple, to mention a few.
Check Turing out for yourself!
More Resources
I have several posts about Turing as well as Python. Compare them yourself.
If you’re considering Python but want more graphics capabilities, take a look at my posts on Python Turtle.
If you want to compare the two languages, check out my resources:
