Never mind <i>the</i> paradigm, what about multiparadigm languages?

Abstract

A source of great debate among educators is the choice of a programming language in the various computer science courses. In recent years the focus has shifted from features of various programming languages to arguments about the various paradigms that the languages embody. The approach suggested here is to expose students to all of the major paradigms, via the use of a multiparadigm language, as opposed to attempting to identify "the" correct paradigm. In this paper, we first describe the multiparadigm language Leda and its constituent paradigms. We then identify points in the curriculum at which to introduce a multiparadigm language, and some consequences of these choices.