Tim Cook: Coding Languages Were 'Too Geeky' For Students Until We Invented Swift (thestar.com)

theodp writes: Speaking to a class of Grade 7 students taking coding lessons at the Apple Store in Eaton Centre, the Toronto Star reports that Apple CEO Tim Cook told the kids that most students would shun programming because coding languages were 'too geeky' until Apple introduced Swift. "Swift came out of the fundamental recognition that coding languages were too geeky. Most students would look at them and say, 'that's not for me,'" Cook said as the preteens participated in an Apple-designed 'Everyone Can Code' workshop. "That's not our view. Our view is that coding is a horizontal skill like your native languages or mathematics, so we wanted to design a programming language that is as easy to learn as our products are to use."

Comments

Congratulations you invented LOGO!

[xxxJonBoyxxx]

>> we wanted to design a programming language that is as easy to learn as our products are to use

Congratulations you invented LOGO!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logo_(programming_language)

Coding is cool bro!

[Austerity Empowers]

Code like a beast Bro! Bro that code into shape! Be awesome! Beer at noon. Pointers? What are you a nerd? Memory management? That's like for the CPU to deal with, bro, be bro! Efficient code? BRO! They keep making faster CPUs! Mutilate that code!

Bro, it's got what your body craves.

Less geeky?

[Daetrin]

I've never used Swift, let's see what the code samples on wikipedia look like...

var str = "hello,"
str += " world"
---
let myValue = anOptionalInstance?.someMethod()
---
let leaseStart = aBuilding.TenantList[5].leaseDetails?.startDate
---
guard let leaseStart = aBuilding.TenantList[5]?.leaseDetails?.startDate else {
//handle the error case where anything in the chain is nil
//else scope must exit the current method or loop
}
---
protocol SupportsToString {
func toString() -> String
}
extension String: SupportsToString {
func toString() -> String {
return self
}
}
---
func !=(lhs: T, rhs: T) -> Bool

Ahh yes, it's very clear how Swift is so much less "geeky" than other languages like C# or Java! I'm sure a student looking at it for the first time would instantly realize how much better it is instead of saying "that's not for me"!

Re:Less geeky?

[mwvdlee]

It's the lack of semicolons. Kids think semicolons are geeky ;)

Agreed, LOLCODE more geeky

[Anonymous Coward]

Probably the students had the (usual) comparison between Swift and LOLCODE. Here is a Wikipedia example of Swift:

guard let leaseStart = aBuilding.TenantList[5]?.leaseDetails?.startDate else { //handle the error case where anything in the chain is nil //else scope must exit the current method or loop
        }

Here is an example of LOLCODE:

HAI 1.0
CAN HAS STDIO?
I HAS A VAR
IM IN YR LOOP
      UP VAR!!1
      VISIBLE VAR
      IZ VAR BIGGER THAN 10? KTHX
IM OUTTA YR LOOP
KTHXBYE

Re:Coding

[Opportunist]

It gets worse when you speak German where the homonym "Kot" literally means excrement.

Re:"coding is a horizontal skill"

[Anonymous Coward]

Prostitution, and painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel are known to be horizontal skills. I'm guessing that Cook is implying that the occupation of computer programming has more in common with the former than the latter.