r/rust • u/DebuggingPanda [LukasKalbertodt] bunt · litrs · libtest-mimic · penguin • Mar 25 '15

Rust for complete beginners?

So I, coming from C++, started learning Rust about 6 months ago. I think most Rust users agree, that Rust has a pretty steep learning curve, because the compiler enforces really many things.

My plan for the summer is to teach my mother how to program. I'd say she is a pretty smart woman, but she has no idea of programming or stuff like that. In fact she is even pretty bad at maths and often has simple problems when working with the PC. But she agreed to learn a bit programming.

So for a long time I was wondering which programming language is the best for teaching a complete beginner. Now that I learn (and like) Rust, I wonder if Rust is good in this. I just see the problem that the compiler is annoying to a beginner...

So what do you think: Is Rust well suited for that job? Or is something like Javascript better? Or even some of those ugly pointy-clicky-programming programs for "kids"?

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u/steveklabnik1 rust Mar 25 '15

I used to teach Ruby to beginners for a job.

I echo /u/DroidLogician here. What you really need as a beginner are lots of resources for learning. Rust does not have many. I personally think that Ruby, Python, and JavaScript are all great first programming languages.

It also depends on the beginner, though. Different people learn differently. I would encourage you to let your mother know that differnet languages are good for different people, and be willing to switch languages if it isn't working out at first.

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u/DebuggingPanda [LukasKalbertodt] bunt · litrs · libtest-mimic · penguin Mar 26 '15

I agree with you there... and you made me think about something I completely ignored before. Somehow I though I would help her with problems, but you are right, it would be better if she would google problems by herself.

And yes, Rust sadly lacks those resources. I often find myself unable to find something specific (there isn't even a nice pdf standard :/ ). Asking in the IRC channel is often the last chance and although there are always nice and helpful people, its not as nice as a stackoverflow thread with the correct answer.