The colossus roamed the world with a head shaped like: ‘=>’
It’s body contained many systems, holding itself together while leaving little holes for other creatures to borrow into, giving them access to its insides. It had a symbiotic relationship with many animals which would go on with their lives to return to that head of ‘=>’ when it needed them. It was one full execution of the entire system. The colossus would awake and run its course before falling back into slumber. The wizards were witnessing it. How a plethora of creatures would mount onto its skin, drop a clone of themselves in one of the holes, and how a new creature would exit from the mouth of the colossus. They were breathless with the astonishing view on top of the mountain. The colossus had to be half the height of the apex. It stretched far beyond the ground littered with trees. The creature that came out of its mouth reflected the sun off its skin. The wizards knew the creature that was born would lead them to the place they wished to go. The place where the creatures who mounted the colossus came from. To the origin of where the cycle began.
It was four in the morning and the students waited in the classroom. The door opened, making way for the cool breeze to enter along with a tall and slender figure. He walked on under the screen that was built into the wall. He wore an all green attire, with a symbol of an open book, because he was a teacher. "Glad you could join us!” he said standing upright in front of the class. “You are here to learn the possibilities of programming!” he yelled, a bit too loud in the small classroom.
The students ejected the pens from the side of their desks, which were fully functioning notebooks, and prepared to write on its screen.
“It's easy to get started,” he continued. “The stuff that I will be teaching you can be applied generally! That means they should work across the most popular programming languages,” he said and pointed upward at the screen that displayed in a grid: ‘JavaScript, Python, C#, C++,’ along with their logos. “Calm down, calm down,” he said as if anyone wasn’t calm. “If you don't know what a programming language is, I'll explain everything!” He paused for a couple seconds to look at his phone. “You are all complete rookies,” he said in a different tone. “For now.” His familiar tone came back. “But, in time, you will learn to create your very own applications.”
The notebook of a student at the front row read: ‘Andrew,’ on its top-left corner. Under it, he had written information about: ‘inheritance, polymorphism, encapsulation, abstraction…’
“What you will be taught may make your brain boil.” His voice turned soft. “But, in those times,” he said with a tender voice, as if he was lightening the bad news, “stay strong. If you don't have much experience with tech,” he lifted his arms and smiled, “I welcome you into our world. It is fascinating,” his face grew stoic, “but, can be very frightening. What you will be taught is extremely powerful, and can speed up your productivity hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions of times when used correctly.”
The teacher panned his eyes across the classroom, to get a good look at everyones’ face. The students at the back of the class, for some reason, were usually his favorites.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“So,” he continued as he caught a glimpse of one at the furthest row who was clearly anxious. “Let me clear up the meaning of a programming language for those who don't know.” Unperturbed by his anxiety, he went on to give his mantra like he had done for many years. “A programming language is, you guessed it, a language that the computer can understand and translate into work. Just as spelling and grammar matter in any human language, they also matter in programming languages. Some programming languages are very cryptic-looking.” An onslaught of all types of brackets, commas, and colons appeared on the screen. “Like C, C++, C#, and Java, while others may look pretty, such as Python and Ruby.”
Andrew had written about the languages the teacher uttered about. A simple synopsis of the languages: ‘C,’ it said, and below it: ‘general-purpose language, no classes!’ Then, below that: ‘C++,’ and below it: ‘object-oriented, contains classes!’ This continued, with even more detail. He was not only prepared for class, but ahead of it. The knowledge Andrew had written about was still to be taught to the students around him.
“It is important to note that a language that looks cryptic does not make it better, or vice versa,” said the teacher. “In fact, you can argue that Python still looks very cryptic and not pretty at all.” He began to pace. “As a rookie, you should try as many programming languages as you can, and not hold onto one immediately. You can decide to stick with one after trying a bunch, and if you do, the knowledge that you acquire from that venture is not wasted, since programming languages have many things in common with important differences that you can learn from their documentation. Also, there are a ton of programming languages. A ton!” he said and the screen displayed dozens upon dozens of logos, a lot which Andrew had never seen before. “I suggest you start from one that is popular since you can easily search for help using the internet when you get stuck. And yes!” he burst out. “Search engines are your new best friend! Do not hesitate to search when you are stuck. It does not make you a worse programmer!” He shook his head. “I do it all the time when I'm stuck. Computers are very complicated, and at points where you can't seem to understand, and need that extra help, search!” he yelled. “The great wizards have opened a place for all to contribute to, called: Stackoverflow. It is a great website to get answers for your questions. There are many other sites like it, so use them when needed! You live in a world where the World Wide Web exists! Use it!” He took a moment to breathe. “Anyway, we didn't do any programming this class. For homework, you need to take a look at the popular languages, and decide on one to start with. You can wish to swap later, or swap occasionally between them if you so desire. If you find your favorite, stick with it if you want to. It's up to you, whatever helps you learn the most. Here is a list of programming languages and where to get started with them.” He handed a collection of papers to the nearest student, who took one and passed it on. “Once you pick a language, download any software that is needed to begin. I don't recommend C or C++ as your first language since they are more tricky than the others. Trust me, don't do it!” he said, fully aware that some might take that as a challenge. “But, I won’t stop you. Know that you will be completely lost if you do pick it. Try Python, Java, or C# instead. These are just some languages, you can definitely pick any other not on the list. Any questions?"
"Sir! Do you have a favorite language?" asked Andrew.
"Yes!” exclaimed the teacher. “I’ve been using it this entire time: English. I want you to make your own decision. I'm sure you'll have many more questions for me next class."