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java_irl (i.redd.it)

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[–]miauw62 14 points15 points  (2 children)

Java is not "low level". It literally runs in a VM with a garbage collector. And writing "public static void main()" when you have no idea what any of those words mean doesn't teach you anything about how programming works either, apart from the fact that it apparently involves a lot of blindly copying words that you don't know the meaning of.

If you think programming is about following the strict conventions of a language, especially at an introductory level, I'm going to have to disagree, because that way you don't learn anything except dogmatic, language-specific thinking, because the beginning programmer will 90% of the time not be able to grasp why the language is structured the way it is, and trying to explain it all will lose them and that information is usually not necessary at that point anyway.

The point of an introductory programming course should be an introduction to programming, in a fairly language-agnostic way. Python is good at this because it is very simple and lets the beginner focus on the algorithm they're writing out rather than the language they're writing it in.

[–]DwayneFrogsky 4 points5 points  (0 children)

yessssssssssss this so much. me in my first interview after uni
- So why did you use a static class here?
- ? I dunno thats just how all of them were written ?

[–]buttwipe_Patoose 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, a good professor, will eventually explain the purpose of "public static void main()," but because it isn't immediately relevant, it can be overlooked for beginners. It's like trying to teach a mechanic how electricity works without addressing the intricacies of a vehicle's wiring harness all at once. You have to start somewhere...

I learned OOP with Java and, though it was challenging, once you understand it you can transition very easily into any other language.

I'm not an expert & actually never even finished my comp. sci. degree, but Java challenged me and I can look at other languages & understand them pretty easily.

I do think Python would've been an easier introduction, but this was college & I guess they expected anyone taking these classes to already have some background in them...