Experience regarding Python tutorials?

[Shoeshine]

Cheers everyone, I aim to learn a programming language and haven't yet
decided on what's going to be. Here I'd like to hear some voices on where I
should start, and pls don't hit me google. I have been doing some research,
but I'd like to hear about some real life expiriencies on subject.
Is Python maybe a to small target for newcomers? Make it compared to Perl...

TIA

 

[Peter Beattie]

Shoeshine wrote on 25/08/2005 17:43:

Cheers everyone, I aim to learn a programming language and haven't yet
decided on what's going to be. Here I'd like to hear some voices on
where I should start, and pls don't hit me google. I have been doing
some research, but I'd like to hear about some real life expiriencies on
subject. Is Python maybe a to small target for newcomers? Make it
compared to Perl...

Try [http://www.python.org/doc/Intros.html]. There are lots of
different-level introductions and tutorials available that should give you
an idea of what to expect of Python.

 

[SamFeltus]

Python is a very good place to start.

However,Perl isn't a bad place to start either. Perl has a gazillion
ways to express yourself. Perl is overly complicated (yet easy to get
started with), so you are exposed to numerous ways to think. Perl
gives you 8 million different sized and colored ropes to hang yourself
with (google TMTOWTDI), so Perl will teach you to BE CAREFUL. The
O'Reilly Perl books are excellent.

 

[Shoeshine]

Thanx for sharing... -it was of use.

 

[sp1d3rx]

I'd say, start with Python and work yourself into more complex
languages. Python teaches you to indent properly, and it is good with
being simple, yet powerful at the same time. I'd be happy to teach you
the basics with Python. I've taught a few people how to program, and
they learn Python pretty quickly, and from that, they are able to get
into the "programmer's mindset" and move on to other languages. As an
example, I taught a person how to program in Python over about a week
period, and after that he wanted to learn C++. We worked on a small
project together, using TCP sockets and such, and eventually he made a
savegame editor for some game that he was beta testing all on his own,
as well as a Netware NLM that checks backup logs and reports the status
to a webserver. Python is good in that it does support object oriented
programming, yet it's very easy to pickup on. Also, the builtin
interpreter makes it easy to try out your code as you are writing it.
There are others out there though, such as Microsoft Visual Basic that
do a decent job. But, the nice thing about Python is that you can run
your programs on Linux as well as Windows without any (or very few)
changes.

 

[Steve]

Python is an excellent place to start. Avoid Perl at all costs.

There is a new beginners book on Python that looks interesting. It is
from WROX (the red cover folks) and called "Beginning Python".

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...f=sr_1_1/002-4477837-1552864?v=glance&s=books

 

[Joal Heagney]

Python is an excellent place to start. Avoid Perl at all costs.

There is a new beginners book on Python that looks interesting. It is
from WROX (the red cover folks) and called "Beginning Python".

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...f=sr_1_1/002-4477837-1552864?v=glance&s=books

There is also a python tutor newsgroup at gmane
(gmane.comp.python.tutor). It's good to be able to learn with other
beginner/semi-beginners because you can pick up a lot just by lurking on
other people's questions.

Joal

 

[Randy Bush]

There is also a python tutor newsgroup at gmane

(gmane.comp.python.tutor).

is there a mailing list to which it is gated?

randy

 

[Steve Holden]

is there a mailing list to which it is gated?

randy

It's actually primarily a mailing list ([email protected], IIRC).
See http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/tutor

regards
Steve

 

[Steve Holden]

Sorry, that email address is (e-mail address removed).

It's actually primarily a mailing list ([email protected], IIRC).
See http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/tutor

regards
Steve

 

[Cameron Laird]

.
.
.

with (google TMTOWTDI), so Perl will teach you to BE CAREFUL. The
O'Reilly Perl books are excellent.

Well, no.

I understand you writing that, and recognize it's a widespread
impression. O'Reilly's Perl catalogue is indeed a notable
achievement, with many high spots.

HOWEVER, there are over three dozen ORA Perl titles still in
print. It's simply not true that they're all of uniformly
superior quality. Even among those which are unarguably
stylish, several are too idiosyncratic and even self-indulgent
to be "excellent" for a beginner at the level the original
poster described as his.