Principles for Programming Languages for Learners
I've been teaching kids to code for 19 years now, and I still make them do it the hard way.Just two days ago this year's crop of 83 students wrote their first Java programs in Notepad and compiled and ran it from the command-line.And I have a waiting list to get into my class.I do work with older students (aged 14-18) and the key is TREMENDOUS support. I'll happily show them the command-line stuff over and over again for a month if need be.And my curriculum goes through the basics of Java very slowly. As I've said on HN before, I make my students code FizzBuzz, but they will have literally done 106 complete programming projects before it.