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Python Rec+1 | 326 comments | Create New Account
Comments belong to whoever posts them. Please notify us of inappropriate comments.
Python
Authored by: mcinsand on Wednesday, January 30 2013 @ 11:40 AM EST
Something else about Python is that it is riculously easy to learn. A couple of
years ago, I was in a day-long, painfully boring meeting, but stuck in the back
of the room with my laptop. Prior to that day, I had absolutely no Python
experience. At the end of the day, I had a graphical app to convert Excel
spreadsheets into a format that worked better with one of our pieces of
laboratory equipment.

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

More reasons for Python
Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, January 30 2013 @ 12:11 PM EST
From my experiences (which haven't been as wide as I'd like) Python is actually
pretty similar to BASIC in syntax, so will be a smaller learning curve than
comething C++-like (or Java-like for you younger folks)

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

Python Rec+1
Authored by: Ian Al on Thursday, January 31 2013 @ 04:58 AM EST
A good book is Learning Python by Mark Lutz and David Ascher, published by O'Reilly. I have got right up to the point where they move from object based programming to object oriented programming with classes (Python is fully object orientation capable - but in an easy and nice way). Twice. The second time, my Raspberry Pi arrived!

The book is full of worked examples and exercises. You just type the examples into IDLE and try it out. Linux distributions support Python development with all the tools you need.

You must drop Basic and Fortran. Both do powerful things on the command line, but programs these days need a standard GUI interface. Python can use standard GUIs, in particular TkInter, and these are available on many platforms, even Windows.

Python works with TkInter very easily. Just typing in a couple of lines is enough to bring up a window with a touch-button gadget (best to use a simple Python command line since the fancy IDE, IDLE, is written using Python and TkInter and your own program can interfere with the operation of IDLE - just type python in a terminal window. Try it. It is probably already installed and working. If you get the Python >>> prompt just try typing "hello world" or 1 + 2).

The Raspberry Pi Linux distribution comes with Python and IDLE already installed along with Scratch and PyGame. With the Raspi, you have the added feature of General Purpose I/O ports to drive electronics using the Python language.

However, any Linux distribution comes with the Python libraries to operate standard computer interfaces such as USB and access OS features like audio and video playback (but, proprietary USB devices are not trivial to operate from Python).

Python is easy to get into, powerful even without using full object oriented features, easy to employ windows, graphics and gadgets and easy to drive real world electronics. All these things are possible with Basic (Fortran, not so much), but usually only with a single platform such as the BBC Micro.

Even when a flavour does support one or other feature, it does not transfer well to other platforms (such as BBC Basic in Windows). Since Python is probably already installed in your computer, why pfaff with anything else?

hello world

---
Regards
Ian Al
Software Patents: It's the disclosed functions in the patent, stupid!

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

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