yeah, I see your point Bench, but I suggested Pascal because of the simplistic syntax and it will allow people to start coding straight away, allowing the learner to get to grips with a few basics before going on to OOP.
it's not impossible for a complete beginner to go to Java first and I absolutely recommend it - which is why I stated Java would be a good language to start with.
I should have been more specific about what i stated, if a learner starts with pascal it's not necessary to spend years on it, perhaps a couple of months to help them get a feel for a programming language and so they don't feel so 'overwhelmed' at first, also don't forget society has changed, we are in a results society whereby individuals want things done 'NOW' not yesterday.
I would rather start with:
uses crt;
var
num1 : integer;
num2 : integer;
sum : integer;begin
sum := num1+num2;
writeln('Total = ', sum);
end.than:
public class sum
{
int num1;
int num2;
int total;public static void main(String[] args)
{
total=num1+num2;
System.out.println("Total = "+total);
}
}
why not just start with C++
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
using namespace std;
int main ( void )
{
cout << "hello world";
}
