Path: csiph.com!x330-a1.tempe.blueboxinc.net!usenet.pasdenom.info!gegeweb.org!de-l.enfer-du-nord.net!feeder1.enfer-du-nord.net!news.unit0.net!uio.no!nntp.uib.no!svn.schaathun.net!not-for-mail From: Hans Georg Schaathun Newsgroups: comp.lang.python Subject: Re: checking if a list is empty Date: Wed, 11 May 2011 19:05:31 +0100 Organization: University of Bergen Lines: 25 Message-ID: References: <9hYwp.5805$xo2.3333@newsfe07.iad> <4dc502c7$0$29991$c3e8da3$5496439d@news.astraweb.com> <4dca9310$0$29980$c3e8da3$5496439d@news.astraweb.com> <4dcab8bf$0$29980$c3e8da3$5496439d@news.astraweb.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: vannskorpion.bccs.uib.no X-Trace: toralf.uib.no 1305136546 92666 129.177.20.20 (11 May 2011 17:55:46 GMT) X-Complaints-To: abuse@uib.no NNTP-Posting-Date: 11 May 2011 17:55:46 GMT User-Agent: slrn/pre1.0.0-18 (Linux) Xref: x330-a1.tempe.blueboxinc.net comp.lang.python:5141 On 11 May 2011 16:26:40 GMT, Steven D'Aprano wrote: : > 1. My concern was not about clueless newbies. They need to : > learn. My concern is about experienced scientists and engineers who : > are simply new to python. : : Which makes them clueless newbies *about Python*. I don't care how : experienced they are in astrophysics or biology or calculating the : average airspeed of an unladen swallow. Someone who knows how to program is never clueless starting a new language. Newbie, may be, but he knows most of the constructions and semantic principles to look for; most of it is learning the syntax. : Yeah, life is hard and then you die, and scientists don't even get paid : that much. So what? Do physicists write their scientific papers about : string theory with the thought "What if some Python programmer who knows : nothing about string theory is reading this? I better dumb it down." That depends on the purpose of that particular paper, but the real question is, who writes the software to test that string theory empirically? Please tell. -- :-- Hans Georg