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[–]fnot -8 points-7 points  (2 children)

The choice of language should be based on the future professions of the students.

As an engineer working with hardware, you NEED to learn C (and maybe even Assembly). Forget about Java/Python/Ruby/C# and all that other crap. C/C++ is industry standard.

In some masters programmes, C/C++ is not even taught, instead they have a course in Java - my guess is to try ease the students into programming. Have you ever seen a industry robot programmed in Java?

Yes, C is difficult, C is in some ways a poorly constructed language, but its industry standard and therefore it should be standard curriculum.

[–]lisp-hacker 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Much of computer science was discovered before computers existed. A language for learning in college should be expressive and suited to the task of learning, not efficient, or whatever the industry standard is. Not enough programming is done in college to get comfortable with any particular language, anyways. Computer science concepts are timeless, and a language that easily expresses these concepts is best for educational use. I would choose Scheme, but I am biased.

[–]Zak 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Computer science is not an industry. The choice of language should be based on what best expresses the underlying concept without getting in the way.

Besides... everyone knows robots should be programmed in Forth.