D vs Java

[Unknown W. Brackets]

Here is about the only point at which I disagree.  I learned QuickBASIC 
as my very first language, back quite some years ago.

Today I have a rather low opinion of that language and of BASIC in 
general.  Really, a bias.  I learned a lot of things back then - memory 
management (64k of string memory was rough), how great XMS used to be, 
why Assembler rocked, what the use of optimization was, etc.

My "mother tongue" in programming is nothing like QuickBASIC.  I tried 
to program some in it recently, and ASP more recently, and it was slow 
goings.  C is what I really latched onto.  Perl, PHP, C++, D, and other 
languages all feel the same.

Even so, I think QuickBASIC was a good first language for me.  I'm not 
comparing it to D here, but I'm just saying that the first language and 
the "mother tongue" language need not be the same.

In other words, even for Java programmers... learning D first might be 
better.  Then again, they might not ever actually be able to become Java 
programmers after that.

Still, having trials and tribulations... having to deal with limitations 
that suck, speed that is second rate... it helps.  I work in interactive 
media, and the good Flash/ActionScript programmers are often those who 
had to deal with Flash 5, from what I've seen.  Flash 5 was slow.  Flash 
5 was limited.  Flash 8 is so much better.  But Flash 5 taught you what 
not to do.

Just my opinion.

-[Unknown]


>  - while knowing several programming languages right from the first year 
> is considered a forte, some teachers forget that *one* language that the 
> students *feel* their own [like a mother tongue], is rather important if 
> one is to entertain a life long understanding, comfortability and 
> handiness with programming as such