> Programming has changed. In first generation languages like FORTRAN and C, the burden was on programmers to translate high-level concepts into code. With modern programming languages—I’ll use Python as an example—we use functions, objects, modules, and libraries to extend the language...
This is the first paragraph. I understand that it's just setting the stage, but it makes so little sense by itself that I had to make an effort to continue reading.
Yeah, that was an odd start, given that Dr. Downey is a Professor of Computer Science. Even a charitable suggestion that he was looking to keep things as understandable as possible for a wide audience doesn't seem to give much defense.
I think he was trying to articulate how much more expressive/extensive programming languages and libraries (and tools?) have gotten over the years, so that a student can get to do something interesting with much less down-and-dirty arithmetic and arcana.
This is the first paragraph. I understand that it's just setting the stage, but it makes so little sense by itself that I had to make an effort to continue reading.