Heard a guy at the coffee shop say you should start with C because it teaches you 'how computers really work'

I was grabbing a coffee yesterday and overheard two people arguing about the best first language. One guy was really pushing C, saying it forces you to understand memory and makes other languages easier later. The other person said that's a fast way to scare someone off and you should start with something like Python. I've been doing okay with Python for about 2 months now, but it made me wonder... is starting with a harder language actually better in the long run? What do you all think a beginner should pick?

2 comments

2 Comments

aaron_gonzalez1mo ago

Tbh that guy at the coffee shop is right. I started with C in a community college class and it made pointers in other languages way less scary later on.

emeryp231mo ago

Guess that coffee shop guy deserves a cut of your future coding paycheck, @aaron_gonzalez.