Processing is really great for people who are starting out with programming as it is really good for visual stuff.
Source: 4th year computer engineering student with no programming experience before 1st year. (Do most of my coding in Python at the moment but prefer Ruby overall).
My university teaches it as out CS101 language, having recently replaced C++. By Comparison to our CS102 course (still taught in C++) we actually wrote much more 'advanced' programs (PAC man level editor/Fire simulation engine compared to writing a linked list class/card deck class in C++) that were more rewarding in terms of feedback.
Main advantages I can see is that it teaches a code style that is similar to java or C++ (I guess still the two most commonly used languages) while allowing for creation of drawings, animations and games from the get go. This is probably going to be more interesting to an 11 year old than say generating the prime numbers up to 1000 or other common 'first program' tutorials.
I would give secondary preferences to Ruby and third to Python - both are great to program in but Ruby might have a slight edge for first timers.
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Processing is really great for people who are starting out with programming as it is really good for visual stuff. Source: 4th year computer engineering student with no programming experience before 1st year. (Do most of my coding in Python at the moment but prefer Ruby overall). My university teaches it as out CS101 language, having recently replaced C++. By Comparison to our CS102 course (still taught in C++) we actually wrote much more 'advanced' programs (PAC man level editor/Fire simulation engine compared to writing a linked list class/card deck class in C++) that were more rewarding in terms of feedback. Main advantages I can see is that it teaches a code style that is similar to java or C++ (I guess still the two most commonly used languages) while allowing for creation of drawings, animations and games from the get go. This is probably going to be more interesting to an 11 year old than say generating the prime numbers up to 1000 or other common 'first program' tutorials. I would give secondary preferences to Ruby and third to Python - both are great to program in but Ruby might have a slight edge for first timers.