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Intro To Python Using Turtle Graphics

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Lawrence D'Oliveiro

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Nov 27, 2009, 4:23:55 PM11/27/09
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Done by Northland Polytechnic, available for download under CC-BY-NC-ND here
<http://www.archive.org/details/IntroductionToPythonUsingTurtleGraphics>.

Thanks to Colin Jackson for the link.

Enkidu

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Nov 27, 2009, 8:02:31 PM11/27/09
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Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
>
> Done by Northland Polytechnic, available for download under CC-BY-NC-ND here
> <http://www.archive.org/details/IntroductionToPythonUsingTurtleGraphics>.
>
Urgh. Is that all that python is good for, drawing pretty pictures?

Cheers,

Cliff

--

The Internet is interesting in that although the nicknames may change,
the same old personalities show through.

Ben Finney

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Nov 27, 2009, 8:20:20 PM11/27/09
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Enkidu <enkid...@com.cliffp.com> writes:

> Urgh. Is that all that python is good for, drawing pretty pictures?

Yep, that's all <URL:http://python.org/about/success/>. Rackspace,
Google, NASA, Philips, Honeywell, AstraZeneca; they're *all*
organisations focussed on drawing pretty pictures, and that's all they
use Python for.

--
\ “Everything you read in newspapers is absolutely true, except |
`\ for that rare story of which you happen to have first-hand |
_o__) knowledge.” —Erwin Knoll |
Ben Finney

Steven D'Aprano

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Nov 27, 2009, 8:32:06 PM11/27/09
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On Sat, 28 Nov 2009 14:02:31 +1300, Enkidu wrote:

> Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
> >
>> Done by Northland Polytechnic, available for download under CC-BY-NC-ND
>> here
>> <http://www.archive.org/details/
IntroductionToPythonUsingTurtleGraphics>.
>>
> Urgh. Is that all that python is good for, drawing pretty pictures?


[sarcasm]
Yes, yes it is. When they talk about "batteries included", they mean the
batteries that run the turtle.
[end sarcasm]


Are you trolling or just a little sleep-deprived today?

The movie is an introduction aimed at 13-16 year old school children.
It's explicitly labelled as "an introduction using turtle graphics". What
on earth makes you think that because the introduction uses turtle
graphics, that's the ONLY thing that Python can do?

--
Steven

Enkidu

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Nov 27, 2009, 8:52:11 PM11/27/09
to
Ben Finney wrote:
> Enkidu <enkid...@com.cliffp.com> writes:
>
>> Urgh. Is that all that python is good for, drawing pretty pictures?
>
> Yep, that's all <URL:http://python.org/about/success/>. Rackspace,
> Google, NASA, Philips, Honeywell, AstraZeneca; they're *all*
> organisations focussed on drawing pretty pictures, and that's all they
> use Python for.
>
Sorry, I did not mean to post to the CLP list. It would be a stupid
troll to do so on purpose. My apologies. I *AM* a Perl fan but there is
room for both languages.

Enkidu

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Nov 27, 2009, 8:55:32 PM11/27/09
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Steven D'Aprano wrote:
> On Sat, 28 Nov 2009 14:02:31 +1300, Enkidu wrote:
>
> Are you trolling or just a little sleep-deprived today?
>
Heh! Maybe a little sleep-deprived, but I didn't realise that the
original post was cross-posted to comp.lang.python. If I'd purposely
posted it to CLP it *would* have been a stupid troll. I did it by
accident, and apologise for doing so.

Ben Finney

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Nov 27, 2009, 9:15:46 PM11/27/09
to
Enkidu <enkid...@com.cliffp.com> writes:

> Heh! Maybe a little sleep-deprived, but I didn't realise that the
> original post was cross-posted to comp.lang.python. If I'd purposely
> posted it to CLP it *would* have been a stupid troll. I did it by
> accident, and apologise for doing so.

Oh, so trash-talking in *other* forums where you feel safe from being
caught is okay? ;-)

--
\ “If it ain't bust don't fix it is a very sound principle and |
`\ remains so despite the fact that I have slavishly ignored it |
_o__) all my life.” —Douglas Adams |
Ben Finney

Enkidu

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Nov 27, 2009, 11:25:54 PM11/27/09
to
Ben Finney wrote:
> Enkidu <enkid...@com.cliffp.com> writes:
>
>> Heh! Maybe a little sleep-deprived, but I didn't realise that the
>> original post was cross-posted to comp.lang.python. If I'd purposely
>> posted it to CLP it *would* have been a stupid troll. I did it by
>> accident, and apologise for doing so.
>
> Oh, so trash-talking in *other* forums where you feel safe from being
> caught is okay? ;-)
>
I take your point, but the other group in question is a 'local' group.

Terry Reedy

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Nov 28, 2009, 5:41:46 AM11/28/09
to pytho...@python.org
Enkidu wrote:

> Ben Finney wrote:
>
>> Oh, so trash-talking in *other* forums where you feel safe from being
>> caught is okay? ;-)
>>
> I take your point, but the other group in question is a 'local' group.

I think he intended to mean that it was a local group where
trash-talking and stupid comments are the norm.

Ben Finney

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Nov 28, 2009, 6:11:12 AM11/28/09
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Terry Reedy <tjr...@udel.edu> writes:

Well no, I'm not passing any comment on the group. Merely that
trash-talk isn't made any more acceptable just because the target of the
trash-talk isn't present to hear it.

But more importantly, my comment was intended as a pleasant jibe (hence
the smiley), not a severe admonishment.

--
\ “Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?” “I think so, |
`\ Brain, but if we give peas a chance, won't the lima beans feel |
_o__) left out?” —_Pinky and The Brain_ |
Ben Finney

Terry Reedy

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Nov 30, 2009, 5:16:11 PM11/30/09
to pytho...@python.org
Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
> Done by Northland Polytechnic, available for download under CC-BY-NC-ND here
> <http://www.archive.org/details/IntroductionToPythonUsingTurtleGraphics>.

I have two problems with the presentation, which make things harder for
the students than they should be.

First, the instructor has students edit code in an editor that cannot
directly run the code. Save the file. Click to a command window. Enter
'python somefile.py'. Ugh. Python comes with IDLE. Let students use it.
(Or some equivalent, but turtle works fine with IDLE.) Replace above
with 'press F5'. If there is a SyntaxError, not uncommon for students,
the edit window comes back with the cursor near the spot of the foul.

Within the code, the instructor does 'import turtle' followed by
'turtle.up', turtle.move(x,y)', etc. for tens of lines. Ugh. Either
'from turtle import *' (which turtle was designed for) or, if one does
not like that, 'import turtle as t', some one can write 't.up', etc.

There is also a echo glitch in the audio when the video comes from the
monitor, as opposed to the room camera.

Aside from the above, it seems like a decent intro presenting
statements, names, conditional execution, repeated execution, and
function encapsulation.

tjr

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