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I do think C is a very useful programming language to learn. Certainly, concepts like memory and pointers can be crucial knowledge. But I disagree that C needs to be a programmer's first language. I've seen plenty of programmers who started out with Python or Java, then later went on to learn C and were none the worse. I myself started out with Visual Basic. Just because you didn't start out with C doesn't mean you can't subsequently learn it and low-level concepts.

If you're going for a full-stack CS or CE degree, yes: start with a low-level near-bare-metal language and work up from there. One may need Java et al to initiate interest in such details, but once the path is started get down to basics ASAP and build up from there.

I agree. Furthermore, I think pointers in C is a simple concept that becomes incredibly powerful, and also gives a lot of insight into how memory works and the different data structures.