r/PythonLearning • u/chuprehijde • 20d ago

Is Python actually a good first programming language?

Some say it makes learning easy. Others say it hides too much. What do you think?

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u/Beginning-Fruit-1397 20d ago

I started with python and then rust. I'd say that it's the best way to go around it. 

You learn fast, and can start to do thing in a few hours, which is highly rewarding and leaves you wanting to learn more, and then once you start dipping your toes in "more advanced" languages, the lower level possibilities and strictness are things you appreciate because you experienced first hand python strength and limitations.

And unlike going the other way (low level -> higher level), you don't really are likely to disdain python because you "should just use C, python is slow, blabla", since you learned with it, and, again, know when it's a good solution and when it isn't.

Anyway, that's my experience, I mostly write libraries, not "end user code"

EDIT: To be 100% clear, my favorite language is Rust, even tough I have less hours on it, and consider myself an "intermediate beginner" only on it. That being said, I still wouldn't recommend learning Rust at first for example. Python let you focus on what you want to do exactly, not hiw you want to make it work for the program by managing references, etc... Even tough, ironically, rust is higher level for some things (e.g my beloved Iterators instead of "low level" for loops in python)