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Thursday, September 14, 2006 12:00 AM

Why Johnny can't code

BASIC used to be on every computer a child touched -- but today there's no easy way for kids to get hooked on programming.
By David Brin

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  • Friday, September 15, 2006 09:13 AM

    Java!!!

    Java applications (as opposed to applets, servlets, etc.) are plenty easy. Two major IDE's are free: Eclipse and NetBeans.

    Java can be used for simple "Hello World" programs as well as very complex graphical and browser-based applications. It runs on nearly all platforms, including many PDA's and cellphones. It's ubiquitous in the enterprise, used by IBM, Oracle, and almost everyone else except Microsoft. It's a very marketable skill.

    About the only downside I can think of is that the IDE's like lots of memory, 512MB minimum, and large displays.

    Greg

    —Greg Ohio

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