Re:Pyret: A new programming language from the creators of Ra...
by skrishnamurthi on Sunday November 10, 2013 @07:03PM
(#6709124)
Defining basic data structures is a pain. See the example on the Pyret homepage.
I am already seeing a trend in Python tutorials where they just stay away from complex data, and stick to what is easy to encode in the data structures that Python does provide (lists, dictionaries, arrays).
We've seen this movie before: it's what happened when languages like Fortran, Pascal, and C dominated programming education, and the fact that they made some data (particularly of the linear kind) really easy and others a nuisance meant that curricula diverted towards the path of least resistance.
It's harder now to spot the pattern because it's better hidden. But it's still there.
I think Python is a very accessible programming language that still has enough depth to go into a lot of interesting CS subjects. That Python doesn't have manual memory management or support for true multiple inheritance means that you can't teach those things effectively with Python, and I'm completely OK with that trade-off.