How do you practice Python?

[Harry George]

Hopefully not !

I am :-(

How *would* I do ? Well, perhaps I'd use Jython ?

Um, I mean, what if you have to use something other than
Python/Jython/IronPython? How do you keep your Python skill sharp?

Do projects at home. Either find an existing OSS project, or roll
your own. Once you have the basics of the language, the skills are
domain-specific: XML, GUIs, CAD, gaming, multithreading, numerical
analysis, natural language progromming, etc.

If you do an existing project, then you benefit from peer reviews and
other informal learning opportunities.

 

[Ray]

In our field, we don't always get to program in the language we'd like
to program. So... how do you practice Python in this case? Say you're
doing J2EE right now. How do you practice Python to keep your skills
sharp?

I liked Python Challenge, but there were too many PIL there, something
that I doubt I'll ever use, so there must be a better way.

Thanks
Ray

 

[bruno at modulix]

In our field, we don't always get to program in the language we'd like
to program. So... how do you practice Python in this case? Say you're
doing J2EE right now.

Hopefully not !

How do you practice Python to keep your skills
sharp?

How *would* I do ? Well, perhaps I'd use Jython ?

 

[Ray]

Hopefully not !

I am :-(

How *would* I do ? Well, perhaps I'd use Jython ?

Um, I mean, what if you have to use something other than
Python/Jython/IronPython? How do you keep your Python skill sharp?

 

[bruno at modulix]

I am :-(

Can we do something to help you out of this bad situation ?

(sorry...)

Um, I mean, what if you have to use something other than
Python/Jython/IronPython?

Ruby or Smalltalk, then ? No ? J2EE ? Argh ! (me run away)

How do you keep your Python skill sharp?

Just by thinking about how I would solve the problem at hand in Python -
and then cry

 

[Norbert Kaufmann]

Ray wrote:
[...]

Um, I mean, what if you have to use something other than
Python/Jython/IronPython? How do you keep your Python skill sharp?

You could use IPython as your primary shell. Than you have the
opportunity to do all these nasty automation tasks -- create test data,
deploy configuration files, search in logfiles for errors, etc. -- for
your project in Python.

Convince your project manager to develop prototypes. No one in your
company is better and faster in prototyping than the Python expert Ray.

HTH

Norbert

 

[Ant]

In our field, we don't always get to program in the language we'd like

For sure!

to program. So... how do you practice Python in this case? Say you're
doing J2EE right now. How do you practice Python to keep your skills
sharp?

Well, we have to use J2EE at work. I keep my Python skills going by
playing the puzzles like the PythonChallenge you mentioned and the
Maths Challenge Euler project
(http://mathschallenge.net/index.php?section=project)

They are good for getting the Python idioms and shortcuts nailed, such
as list comprehensions, generators etc that aren't available in Java.

I also use Python almost exclusively at home for my website, Wiki,
Photo gallery etc - all of which I hand rolled partly for the
experience, and partly to get them exactly the way I want them

At work I use Python for all my scripting needs. I also use it to
automate running through our web-applications for test purposes, using
a framework I wrote around the urllib2 module.

So, there are plenty of opportunities to use it if you keep your eyes
open.

Unfortunately for me, using Python so much has made using J2EE very
painful. Not so good seeing as it's my day job!

 

[sjdevnull]

In our field, we don't always get to program in the language we'd like
to program. So... how do you practice Python in this case?

Write code. Lots of it. Work on a project at home, contribute to
something open source, use it to write support scripts at work,
whatever. Figure out a way to write code.

 

[Jarek Zgoda]

(e-mail address removed) napisa³(a):

Write code. Lots of it. Work on a project at home, contribute to
something open source, use it to write support scripts at work,
whatever. Figure out a way to write code.

I second that. I moved from Python to J2EE in my job, but I didn't stop
writing Python code for my spare-time projects. Now, when tight schedule
made my project's manager to shift paradigm from buzz to productivity, I
am happy I can write programs in Python again. On AS/400, but still
better than Java...

 

[sam]

Years ago I developed a Hard Disk Drive diagnostic program "SCSIPython"
while working for a disk drive company. When I left that company,and
realized that these routines would never be used by the company, I
released it as Open Source. Since then I have maintained this code, and
enhanced it with the various versions of Python that have been released
after V1.5.
I find that with each update my code becomes more robust,with added
features. Also As I moved from company to company I made certain that
they knew that this code was Open Source,and only proprietary methods
will be excluded, when I signed the standard intellectual property
forms.

Sam Schulenburg

 

[James]

Thirded here. Perhaps better for me is that although I program
client-side Java for my job, as much of the backend as possible I code
in Python, which makes it easier to do a lot of data processing stuff
much simpler than Java would. And it's let me use and understand all
of the new features of the language... last time I did it for a job
was in the days of Python 1.5.2.

Being non-critical utilities on the backend means whenever new
features are introduced I can upgrade my code to take advantage of
them without worrying about things going wrong as well

James

 

[James]

Any code which requires serious algorithmic work I write and test in
Python before converting into Java - it's so much easier to use
Python's datatypes and interpreter to get things right before having
to deal with Java's clunky class libraries.

James