D vs Java as a first programming language

[torhu]

Nicolas Sicard wrote:
  > I think Python is the right alternative: large audience and docs, easy
> for beginners, libs designed for biological science are available... I 
> just need to start learning it myself ;-) 
> 

Don't forget about the ability to be used interactively. Check out IDLE, 
the interactive IDE that comes with the standard Python download.