[K12OSN] Programming Languages

[Jonathan Bartlett]

> Now I am looking for a replacement for Visual Basic, which will never
> work under Linux.  It doesn't have to be Visual Basic, I was just using
> it before because frankly, it was an easy to learn language with alot of
> mouse work.  The operative word is EASY.  That way I could focus on the
> concepts of programming without having to focus on learning the
> mechanics of the programming language.  With Visual Basic the mechanics
> comes more or less naturally.

There's several things I would look into.  Personally, I think we should
start kids with assembly language (see my book at
http://www.cafeshops.com/bartlettpublish.8640017), but it doesn't seem an
option here.  Some environments that match your wishes are:

 * Python
 * Mono (I think you _Can_ do Visual Basic and C# w/ Mono, and also throw
in SharpDevelop for an IDE)
 * Scheme is a personal favorite of mine.  You can do it in combination w/
the book How to Design Programs, which is EXCELLENT
(http://www.htdp.org/)!  The DrScheme environment is very, very good indeed.
 * Smalltalk w/ Squeak.  This environment is just amazing.  Using their
"Morphic" user interface, you can program by selecting actions from a menu
and dragging them onto buttons.
 * TCL + VisualTCL - very close to visual basic.

I can probably think of others, but these are the ones that hit me off the
top of my head (ouch!).

Jon