Some kids can see through anything, but I think it’s hugely naive to think many kids won’t struggle with it. Do you remember how hard kids find algebra? That syntax is downright trivial compared to explaining why you need to insert a space between angle brackets when composing templates, or why calling your method overloaded for pointers might sometimes call an integer one instead when passed a null literal, or how to debug e.g. memory alignment errors, which are often presented with cryptic segmentation faults.
I think it’s great for a certain crowd, but this could be quite frustrating for many pre teens and ultimately put them off of casual coding.
Besides, kids aren’t exactly leaping at micro controllers. And why should they? Software programming is applicable to more and more prospective jobs every year.
While I tend to agree with you—I started with C++ around that time as well—I do wish they included some type of safer language to play with as some c++ errors/warnings took me days to work around and may have put me off entirely had I a strong social life at the time :) I seem to remember logo working well for mindstorms when I was also that age. Why not support something a tiny bit friendlier than possibly the most complex language in active professional use?
I think it’s great for a certain crowd, but this could be quite frustrating for many pre teens and ultimately put them off of casual coding.
Besides, kids aren’t exactly leaping at micro controllers. And why should they? Software programming is applicable to more and more prospective jobs every year.