Early retirement project?

[xeysxeys]

Well, I retired early, and I guess now I've got some spare time to learn about programming, which always seemed rather mysterious. I am using an old mac as my main computer, and it runs os x 10.4 is this too old? It fills my needs, and I am on a fixed income and can't really afford to buy another. Ithink python would be a good starter language, based on what I've read on the net.

xeysxeys

 

[Devin Jeanpierre]

Congrats on the early retirement! It takes guts to decide to do that.

Python can run on a mac 10.4. In the worst case you may have to
download xcode and build Python from source, if there are no powerpc
binaries available. That's pretty simple, though (./configure && make
&& make install).

-- Devin

 

[Gregory Ewing]

Python can run on a mac 10.4. In the worst case you may have to
download xcode and build Python from source,

There's even a Python that already comes with the system,
although it's an oldish version (somewhere around 2.5,
I think).

 

[Tim Chase]

Well, I retired early, and I guess now I've got some spare time to
learn about programming, which always seemed rather mysterious. I
am using an old mac as my main computer, and it runs os x 10.4 is
this too old? It fills my needs, and I am on a fixed income and
can't really afford to buy another. I think python would be a good
starter language, based on what I've read on the net.

It's certainly a great way to consume lots of hours

Mac OS X 10.4 should come with an older version of Python
out-of-the-box. The install media should also include XCode if you
want to download the latest & greatest version of Python and install
that from source instead.

-tkc

 

[Larry Martell]

Congrats on the early retirement! It takes guts to decide to do that.

I thought it took money.

 

[Grant Edwards]

I thought it took money.

One or the other. If you've got money, it doesn't take guts.

 

[Terry Reedy]

It's certainly a great way to consume lots of hours

Mac OS X 10.4 should come with an older version of Python
out-of-the-box.

Someone else said that it comes with 2.5. That will be fine for many
purposed. If you do use that, always make any classes you define a
subclass of 'object' if nothing else. In other words,

class MyClass(object): ...
# instead of
class MyClass: ...

In Python 2, the second gives you an 'old-style' or 'classic' class. You
do not need to learn about those. In Python 3, both forms give you
new-style classes, which is what you should learn.

There are a few other obsolete features to avoid, such as using strings
for exceptions.

The install media should also include XCode if you
want to download the latest & greatest version of Python and install
that from source instead.

If you can do that easily, I recommend starting with the latest Python
3, especially if you want to work with non-English (non-ascii) characters.

 

[wxjmfauth]

Le mardi 21 janvier 2014 18:34:44 UTC+1, Terry Reedy a écrit :

Someone else said that it comes with 2.5. That will be fine for many

purposed. If you do use that, always make any classes you define a

subclass of 'object' if nothing else. In other words,



class MyClass(object): ...

# instead of

class MyClass: ...



In Python 2, the second gives you an 'old-style' or 'classic' class. You

do not need to learn about those. In Python 3, both forms give you

new-style classes, which is what you should learn.



There are a few other obsolete features to avoid, such as using strings

for exceptions.








If you can do that easily, I recommend starting with the latest Python

3, especially if you want to work with non-English (non-ascii) characters..

In fact, Python just becomes the last tool I (would)
recommend, especially for non-ascii users.

jmf

 

[Mark Lawrence]

On 22/01/2014 08:18, (e-mail address removed) wrote:

To my knowledge you are one of only two people who refuse to remove
double line spacing from google. Just how bloody minded are you?

 

[Neil Cerutti]

In fact, Python just becomes the last tool I (would)
recommend, especially for non-ascii users.

Have a care, jmf. People unfamiliar with your opinions might take
that seriously.

 

[Larry Martell]

In fact, Python just becomes the last tool I (would)
recommend, especially for non-ascii users.

That's right - only Americans should use Python!

 

[Rustom Mody]

That's right - only Americans should use Python!

Of whom the firstest and worstest is Guido v Rossum

 

[Mark Lawrence]

In fact, Python just becomes the last tool I (would)
recommend, especially for non-ascii users.

dedicated to jmf and his
knowledge of unicode and Python.

 

[Piet van Oostrum]

In fact, Python just becomes the last tool I (would)
recommend, especially for non-ascii users.

jmf

In fact, Python 3 is one of the best programming tools for non-ASCII users.

 

[Gregory Ewing]

In fact, Python just becomes the last tool I (would)
recommend, especially for non-ascii users.

To the OP: Ignore wxjmfauth, he's our resident nutcase.