why should I learn python
windandwaves
but I often see Python mentioned and I am curious to find out what I
am missing out on.
Thank you
Nicolaas
James Stroud
--
James Stroud
UCLA-DOE Institute for Genomics and Proteomics
Box 951570
Los Angeles, CA 90095
windandwaves
> Seewww.python.org. Trust us all when we say that its the best.
>
I get that feeling - yes. Question is:
1. what is it good for?
2. why is it so good?
I would love to hear some opinions.
Cheers
Nicolaas
André
> On Sep 7, 9:50 am, James Stroud <jstr...@mbi.ucla.edu> wrote:
>
> > Seewww.python.org. Trust us all when we say that its the best.
>
> I get that feeling - yes. Question is:
>
> 1. what is it good for?
Pretty much any programming task, except perhaps those that require
extreme computation speed (like weather modeling).
> 2. why is it so good?
Easy to read, easy to write, good libraries and, I have found, an
extremely helpful community.
Hobbyists (like me) can work on projects written in Python on and off
(sometimes for weeks if not months without programming) and be able to
resume the work very quickly (because it's so easy to read and
understand the code).
André
Tom Brown
> Can someone tell me why I should learn python? I am a webdeveloper,
> but I often see Python mentioned and I am curious to find out what I
> am missing out on.
Ease of develpment. I write everything I can in python. If I can't do it in
python, I throw a fit and find a way to do it in python. :) I developed in
assembly, C, C++, Prolog and Delphi. Python has been by far the easiest to
develop in. Some people might say it is not "real programming" because it is
so easy. Whatever. If you wan't real programming, do it in assmebly. If you
want to get a lot done while having a lot of fun doing it, do it in python.
Tom
Tom Brown
1. It is good for just about everything except kernel modules.
2. Ease of use.
Torsten Bronger
windandwaves writes:
> On Sep 7, 9:50 am, James Stroud <jstr...@mbi.ucla.edu> wrote:
>> Seewww.python.org. Trust us all when we say that its the best.
>>
>
> I get that feeling - yes. Question is:
>
> 1. what is it good for?
> 2. why is it so good?
Your questions are very general. I think it is best to do some
Internet research on it instead of asking in newsgroups. Newsgroups
of web forums become interesting when you have more specific
questions.
When I chose my new favourite language 2.5 years ago, I also used
Goggle for it. There is a lot of material about Python out there.
You may start on Wikipedia, and you may look for "Python
v. another-language" pages. They are often very informative.
Tschö,
Torsten.
--
Torsten Bronger, aquisgrana, europa vetus
Jabber ID: bro...@jabber.org
(See http://ime.webhop.org for ICQ, MSN, etc.)
Torsten Bronger
windandwaves writes:
> On Sep 7, 9:50 am, James Stroud <jstr...@mbi.ucla.edu> wrote:
>> Seewww.python.org. Trust us all when we say that its the best.
>>
>
> I get that feeling - yes. Question is:
>
> 1. what is it good for?
> 2. why is it so good?
Your questions are very general. I think it is best to do some
Internet research on it instead of asking in newsgroups. Newsgroups
or web forums become interesting when you have more specific
Torsten Bronger
Tom Brown writes:
> [...] Python has been by far the easiest to develop in. Some
> people might say it is not "real programming" because it is so
> easy.
I can't believe this. Have you really heard such a statement?
windandwaves
wrote:
> Hallöchen!
>
> Tom Brown writes:
> > [...] Python has been by far the easiest to develop in. Some
> > people might say it is not "real programming" because it is so
> > easy.
>
> I can't believe this. Have you really heard such a statement?
>
> Tschö,
> Torsten.
>
> --
> Torsten Bronger, aquisgrana, europa vetus
> (Seehttp://ime.webhop.orgfor ICQ, MSN, etc.)
Hmmm, thank you all for your replies. I will do some research on the
net (i did some already, but because I am really not much of a
programmer, it is often too detailed for me). I have limited time,
but it does sound like something to learn, just for fun and for
practical use. How would you use it in a web development
environment? I mean, in real practical terms. Could it assist with
php? Is it easy to write GUI programs in Python?
Tom Brown
> Hallöchen!
>
> Tom Brown writes:
> > [...] Python has been by far the easiest to develop in. Some
> > people might say it is not "real programming" because it is so
> > easy.
>
> I can't believe this. Have you really heard such a statement?
Yes. I was told this by a C programmer. Something about doing it all yourself
and not using provided packages. I countered with something about reinventing
the wheel. :)
Tom Brown
> Hmmm, thank you all for your replies. I will do some research on the
> net (i did some already, but because I am really not much of a
> programmer, it is often too detailed for me). I have limited time,
> but it does sound like something to learn, just for fun and for
> practical use. How would you use it in a web development
> environment? I mean, in real practical terms. Could it assist with
> php? Is it easy to write GUI programs in Python?
Checkout http://www.djangoproject.com/ or http://turbogears.org/ for web
development. Checkout http://www.riverbankcomputing.co.uk/pyqt/index.php for
writing GUI programs. There are other options for GUI apps. That is the one I
use all the time.
Good luck,
Tom
TheFlyingDutchman
> On Sep 7, 10:44 am, Torsten Bronger <bron...@physik.rwth-aachen.de>
> wrote:
>
>
>
> > Hallöchen!
>
> > Tom Brown writes:
> > > [...] Python has been by far the easiest to develop in. Some
> > > people might say it is not "real programming" because it is so
> > > easy.
>
> > I can't believe this. Have you really heard such a statement?
>
> > Tschö,
> > Torsten.
>
> > --
> > Torsten Bronger, aquisgrana, europa vetus
> > Jabber ID: bron...@jabber.org
> > (Seehttp://ime.webhop.orgforICQ, MSN, etc.)
>
> programmer, it is often too detailed for me). I have limited time,
> but it does sound like something to learn, just for fun and for
> practical use. How would you use it in a web development
> environment?
Python can be used as an apache module called mod_python and also as a
CGI language.
> I mean, in real practical terms. Could it assist with
> php?
Since you said you are really not much of a programmer I wouldn't
consider learning two languages. I don't believe there is any tie in
between Python and PHP. It could assist in a Web application only in
the sense that you wrote part in PHP and part in Python. For Web
development PHP is, I believe, more prevalent and would be more of a
benefit on a resume. PHP use outside of a Web app is not very common
but is supposed to be possible so if your usage is primarily Web I
would go with PHP.
Maurice LING
The last edition of The Python Papers (volume 2 issue 2,
http://archive.pythonpapers.org/ThePythonPapersVolume2Issue2.pdf) has an
article on Django, a web framework. It may help you see what you are
missing out on.
maurice
Grant Edwards
> On Sep 7, 9:50 am, James Stroud <jstr...@mbi.ucla.edu> wrote:
>> Seewww.python.org. Trust us all when we say that its the best.
>>
>
> I get that feeling - yes. Question is:
>
> 1. what is it good for?
Writing programs.
> 2. why is it so good?
Compared to languages like C/C++ it takes a lot less time to
write a program in Python and results in programs that work.
The programs are also a lot easier to maintain. And a lot more
portable.
--
Grant Edwards grante Yow! I am deeply CONCERNED
at and I want something GOOD
visi.com for BREAKFAST!
Grant Edwards
> On Sep 6, 7:29 pm, windandwaves <nfranc...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Sep 7, 9:50 am, James Stroud <jstr...@mbi.ucla.edu> wrote:
>>
>> > Seewww.python.org. Trust us all when we say that its the best.
>>
>> I get that feeling - yes. Question is:
>>
>> 1. what is it good for?
>
> Pretty much any programming task, except perhaps those that require
> extreme computation speed (like weather modeling).
Even then there are some very powerful numerical and scientific
libraries that are _way_ easier to use from Python that they
are from C and Fortran (the languages in which such libraries
are often written). You gain 99% of the speed with none of the
pain.
--
Grant Edwards grante Yow! Vote for ME
at -- I'm well-tapered,
visi.com half-cocked, ill-conceived
and TAX-DEFERRED!
James Stroud
> Hallöchen!
>
> Tom Brown writes:
>
>> [...] Python has been by far the easiest to develop in. Some
>> people might say it is not "real programming" because it is so
>> easy.
>
> I can't believe this. Have you really heard such a statement?
>
> Tschö,
> Torsten.
>
Look, a "real" programming language is scheme, not something trivial to
understand like (the basics of) python. Scheme is hard to understand and
takes a long time to get used to, so its perfect as a learning tool--to
make the professors look smarter. This is why its what they teach as an
introductory course at MIT. This is also why physicists like RPN
calculators.
(see (later you))
James
Grant Edwards
> Hallöchen!
>
> Tom Brown writes:
>
>> [...] Python has been by far the easiest to develop in. Some
>> people might say it is not "real programming" because it is so
>> easy.
>
> I can't believe this. Have you really heard such a statement?
Maybe it's a allusion to that fake Stroustrup interview where
he supposedly explains that C++ was meant to be a difficult
language to use as a means to keep more programmers employed at
higher salaries?
--
Grant Edwards grante Yow! Yow! I threw up on
at my window!
visi.com
BartlebyScrivener
> Easy to read, easy to write, good libraries and, I have found, an
> extremely helpful community.
>
> Hobbyists (like me) can work on projects written in Python on and off
> (sometimes for weeks if not months without programming) and be able to
> resume the work very quickly (because it's so easy to read and
> understand the code).
>
I second these. I am not a programmer. You can get busy with other
projects for weeks and come back to Python code and pick up where you
left off, because it uses WORDS. Try remembering what (<>) or <*>
means after being away from Perl for a month.
rd
Gabriel Genellina
escribi�:
> On 2007-09-06, Torsten Bronger <bro...@physik.rwth-aachen.de> wrote:
>> Hallöchen!
>>
>> Tom Brown writes:
>>
>>> [...] Python has been by far the easiest to develop in. Some
>>> people might say it is not "real programming" because it is so
>>> easy.
>>
>> I can't believe this. Have you really heard such a statement?
>
> Maybe it's a allusion to that fake Stroustrup interview where
> he supposedly explains that C++ was meant to be a difficult
> language to use as a means to keep more programmers employed at
> higher salaries?
I always thought the only goal of the C++ standard comittee was to devise
the most intrincate and convoluted rule ever imaginable.
It's like playing AD&D: the basic manual says something, but The Book Of
The Perfect And Sublime Elf says that in this case this other rule
applies, but a warrior Elf can read in The Ultimate And Most Complete
Warrior Companion a totally different rule, but the character's alignment
forbids all the three possibilities...
--
Gabriel Genellina
James Stroud
Better is to try to remember the differences between and uses of:
$stupidPerl[4]
${stupidPerl}[4]
$stupidPerl->[4]
${stupidPerl}->[4]
$#stupidPerl[4]
$#{stupidPerl}[4]
$#{stupidPerl}->[4]
$#{$stupidPerl}->[4]->[4]
And so on.
Quiz: which are valid? (Careful now.)
The friggin' language is useless (except for the fact that, like
window$, a lot of people insist on using it over superior alternatives
and so you find yourself confronting it from time to time). In fact, it
was the need to use nested data structures that made me move to python
when I realized all of the above would be a thing of the past (also made
useless my perl "cheat sheet" that sits in my big-fat-useless-camel-book).
$Perl->[Useless]
Bruno Desthuilliers
> On Thursday 06 September 2007 16:01, windandwaves wrote:
>> Hmmm, thank you all for your replies. I will do some research on the
>> net (i did some already, but because I am really not much of a
>> programmer, it is often too detailed for me). I have limited time,
>> but it does sound like something to learn, just for fun and for
>> practical use. How would you use it in a web development
>> environment? I mean, in real practical terms. Could it assist with
>> php? Is it easy to write GUI programs in Python?
>
> Checkout http://www.djangoproject.com/ or http://turbogears.org/ for web
> development.
You forgot www.pylonshq.com - but indeed, Pylons may not be for newbies
(and anyway, turbogears 2.0 will be based on it...)
Bruno Desthuilliers
>> but because I am really not much of a
>> programmer, it is often too detailed for me). I have limited time,
>> but it does sound like something to learn, just for fun and for
>> practical use. How would you use it in a web development
>> environment?
>
> Python can be used as an apache module called mod_python and also as a
> CGI language.
And also with fast-cgi, or wsgi, or as it's own HTTP server, etc...
Bruno Desthuilliers
> Can someone tell me why I should learn python?
Really, I cannot see any reason why you should do such a thing.
> I am a webdeveloper,
I've seen this label is applied to a wide range of effective jobs, from
"building static web pages with a WYSWIG editor not even knowing html"
to "writing a full-blown web application server".
> but I often see Python mentioned and I am curious to find out what I
> am missing out on.
One of the best programming languages around, suitable for almost
anything except low-level stuff (system, drivers etc).
kah...@gmail.com
> Can someone tell me why I should learn python? I am a webdeveloper,
> but I often see Python mentioned and I am curious to find out what I
> am missing out on.
>
>
> Nicolaas
- You never really have to reinvent the wheel, and many python
modules are included by default. This means that you can accomplish
what you wanted to do much faster. Thus You can write a lot less code
to get to what you want to do. If a module does not exist yet, you can
create it!
- It is kinda close to pseudo code, so you can 'think' much easier in
python.
- It can be used for many many tasks, and you can adapt your
application as need be.
- It is still quite fast and lightweight!
- The community in general is quite helpful
- It is quite fun to use
- If it's good enough for nasa.. :-P
In regards to people claiming it is not 'real', that is a load of poo!
Ignore thy c elitists. Eric Raymond wrote a nice 'Why Python?'
article. http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/3882
Tim Williams
> On Thursday 06 September 2007 16:01, windandwaves wrote:
> > net (i did some already, but because I am really not much of a
> > programmer, it is often too detailed for me). I have limited time,
> > but it does sound like something to learn, just for fun and for
> > practical use. How would you use it in a web development
> > environment? I mean, in real practical terms. Could it assist with
> > php? Is it easy to write GUI programs in Python?
>
> writing GUI programs. There are other options for GUI apps. That is the one I
> use all the time.
Also, check out Karrigell ( www.karrigell.com) . It will show you
just how easy & fast Python can be for web development. It has its
own web server, or it can sit behind Apache etc.
HTH :)
vanrpe...@gmail.com
1)Easy to read, debug and think.
2)Same language for batch scripting, server programming and dynamic
web page creation.
3)Libraries like wxPython for desktop and Cherrypy for web
development.
4)Pythonic JavaScript Library Mochikit.
5)Engineered for reality, not corporate proprietary control
(Microsoft).
6)Less code than Java the Huge.
7)Friendly with C for optimization, if necessary.
8)Works well with SQL, especially PostgreSQL.
9)Everybody is using it, even Microsoft with IronPython.
10)One of the dominant languages driving robotics.
11)Works nicely with UNICODE.
12)Liberal license.
13)And lastly, if you hate programming as I do, you will love Python.
Belief is when someone else does the thinking. ~ Buckminster Fuller
Shawn Milochik
Ricardo Aráoz
> On Thursday 06 September 2007 15:44, Torsten Bronger wrote:
>>
>> Tom Brown writes:
>>> [...] Python has been by far the easiest to develop in. Some
>>> people might say it is not "real programming" because it is so
>>> easy.
>> I can't believe this. Have you really heard such a statement?
>
> and not using provided packages. I countered with something about reinventing
> the wheel. :)
>
You should have asked if he used the OS or did he control the devices
(HD, screen) himself.
7stud
> En Thu, 06 Sep 2007 23:34:10 -0300, Grant Edwards <gra...@visi.com>
>
> > On 2007-09-06, Torsten Bronger <bron...@physik.rwth-aachen.de> wrote:
> >> Hallöchen!
>
> >> Tom Brown writes:
>
> >>> [...] Python has been by far the easiest to develop in. Some
> >>> people might say it is not "real programming" because it is so
> >>> easy.
>
> >> I can't believe this. Have you really heard such a statement?
>
> > Maybe it's a allusion to that fake Stroustrup interview where
> > he supposedly explains that C++ was meant to be a difficult
> > language to use as a means to keep more programmers employed at
> > higher salaries?
>
> I always thought the only goal of the C++ standard comittee was to devise
> the most intrincate and convoluted rule ever imaginable.
> It's like playing AD&D: the basic manual says something, but The Book Of
> The Perfect And Sublime Elf says that in this case this other rule
> applies, but a warrior Elf can read in The Ultimate And Most Complete
> Warrior Companion a totally different rule, but the character's alignment
> forbids all the three possibilities...
>
> --
> Gabriel Genellina
Ha, ha, ha! lol. :)
7stud
rofl.
HowiPepper
> Can someone tell me why I should learn python? I am a webdeveloper,
> but I often see Python mentioned and I am curious to find out what I
> am missing out on.
>
> Thank you
>
> Nicolaas
Nicholaas,
There are many reasons to learn Python, and few not to. I'm another
one of those "multiple language" programmers, and have worked in C/C++
(yes, both of them), Java, Pascal (and Delphi), BASIC (and it's Visual
cousin), Clipper, Perl, PHP and Python (and a couple of dialects of
Unix shell scripting as well).
I started working in Perl back in 1998, mainly for web development.
Since then, I've done just about anything possible you can do with
Perl, and used it as my "Swiss army chainsaw" for practically anything
I needed to do. I got a contract with IBM, back in May of 2005, and
soon found out the group I worked with used Python for all of it's
"discretionary" development. I started reading "A Byte of Python",
and was soon hooked. I spent the next two years using Python as my
exclusive scripting language. And by scripting, I mean anything from
one or two line throw-aways, to major programs. Python makes it so
easy to build like that!
My new job, which I started several months ago, put me squarely back
in the Perl realm. Now I really miss Python! I've discussed with my
supervisor porting all of our Perl scripts over to Python, and he is
receptive, but I'm not holding my breath :-( For now, I use Perl and
shell at work, and Python (and shell) at home.
Python is just so much nicer than any other language I've developed
in. Once you get the swing of it (no pun intended), you will find
you're way more productive, your programs turn out better and are much
easier to go back to six months or a year later, and work with. Right
now, I'm going through Perl hell, trying to figure out what the heck
the past two guys did and why! ;-)
Regards,
Howard
HowiPepper
Regards,
Howard