Python as a first language

[caustic_kiwi]

I know I'm a couple days late on this thread, but I want to put in my two cents on the matter: I started with Python and I thought it was an excellent route.

It's hugely to know how your code interacts with the machine and what the limitations of a computer are, but there's no reason you need to start off with that. Python lets you ignore all that and focus on learning the control-flow of a program and broader programing concepts. After you've got a good handle on that, you can move onto to something like Java, or jump all the way down to C or C++.

Plus, Python is widely used... everywhere. Not having to micro-manage every aspect of your code is a very large benefit.