The barrier to entry is certainly higher for Java, C++ and C than it is for, say, Scheme or even Python. Of all, I think Java has the highest barrier to entry. I have taught both Java and C++ to beginners (using the C subset with C++ I/O).
Several weeks into the semester for Java, a student asked me what "public static void main" meant. I started giving him the correct answer when I stopped myself: his background did not prepare him to even understand my answer. I then told him, "I'll give you the real answer in a moment, but don't worry if you don't understand it. For now, it's the magic you have to tell the compiler to get your program to work."
I call it "magic" because it is something the student have to write without understanding what it means; for them, it is indistinguishable from a magic incantation. The less magic a student has to recite to get a working program, the lower the barrier to entry.
Several weeks into the semester for Java, a student asked me what "public static void main" meant. I started giving him the correct answer when I stopped myself: his background did not prepare him to even understand my answer. I then told him, "I'll give you the real answer in a moment, but don't worry if you don't understand it. For now, it's the magic you have to tell the compiler to get your program to work."
I call it "magic" because it is something the student have to write without understanding what it means; for them, it is indistinguishable from a magic incantation. The less magic a student has to recite to get a working program, the lower the barrier to entry.