Beginning this semester, CSULB Computer Engineering and Computer Science students will have a chance to learn new programming languages. Python will replace Java in “Introduction to Programming and Problem Solving” (CECS 174) and C++ will replace Java in the new CECS 275 class for Computer Engineering majors. Computer Science majors will continue to learn Java, however, in their “Object-Oriented Programming and Data Structures” (CECS 274) class.
Python is replacing Java in the intro class because it’s easier to learn, said CECS Chair Burkhard Englert. According to an article in Communications of the ACM, Python is now the most popular language to use for teaching introductory programming, favored by nearly 70 percent of top U.S. universities. A general-purpose language with a simple code base, Python allows extensions to be added as necessary. Continue reading “New Languages for CECS Students”