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Re: Python Beginner

From Dennis Lee Bieber <wlfraed@ix.netcom.com>
Subject Re: Python Beginner
Date 2013-11-20 18:15 -0500
Organization IISS Elusive Unicorn
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On Wed, 20 Nov 2013 11:04:32 -0800 (PST), ngangsia akumbo
<ngangsia@gmail.com> declaimed the following:

>Yes a lot, i come from a third world country. 
>
>It will be a big opportunity for me and my community to study and being able to create programs, web apps etc which can solve a lot of problems in my country and around.
>Each day i go out i see at least one problem that technology can solve.

	It sounds to me more that you really need to start small: What if
Programming...

	Python is just one language in a slew of them, and in theory (as all
are considered Turing complete) they all can do the same thing. The only
differences then become a matter of detailed needs.

Python has a fairly large standard library and 3rd party add-on modules for
various problem domains... It has a fairly friendly syntax (unlike PERL --
and Ruby has too many PERLisms for my taste too).

In contrast, for example, Ada has a much smaller standard library and
add-ons... But the language is well-suited to compile time error detection
(whereas 90% of Python is run-time error detection). The Ada syntax fixed
the problems of Pascal (and Modula-x in my mind). It has tasking defined as
part of the syntax of the language, rather than as a function library.

Fortran has added some features over the years but still shows its 60+ year
heritage -- however, many number crunching packages are still provided
using Fortran (lapack, NEC-2 [and likely NEC-4, but NEC-4 is still
restricted software while NEC-2 is freely available]{Numerical
Electromagnetic Code -- software for modeling antenna structures and the EM
field emitted by them}

COBOL is famous for business/accounting applications -- and Fujitsu COBOL
even had a "visual" programming (event driven GUI applications) capability.
Pity the version 4 supplied with my Y2K text books won't install on WinXP
(and I've not tried later Win versions).

	Python makes a good starter language (skip BASIC <G>). It is also a
good advanced application language if you understand the limitations (it
does not compile to machine specific binary, may be slow for number
crunching unless you can use a specialist compiled library, etc.)
-- 
	Wulfraed                 Dennis Lee Bieber         AF6VN
    wlfraed@ix.netcom.com    HTTP://wlfraed.home.netcom.com/

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Thread

Python Beginner ngangsia akumbo <ngangsia@gmail.com> - 2013-11-16 14:25 -0800
  Re: Python Beginner Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-11-17 09:41 +1100
    Re: Python Beginner ngangsia akumbo <ngangsia@gmail.com> - 2013-11-16 15:22 -0800
      Re: Python Beginner Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-11-17 10:27 +1100
    Re: Python Beginner Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2013-11-17 06:51 +0000
      Re: Python Beginner ngangsia akumbo <ngangsia@gmail.com> - 2013-11-17 20:02 -0800
        Re: Python Beginner Terry Reedy <tjreedy@udel.edu> - 2013-11-17 23:42 -0500
          Re: Python Beginner ngangsia akumbo <ngangsia@gmail.com> - 2013-11-18 02:18 -0800
            Re: Python Beginner Gregory Ewing <greg.ewing@canterbury.ac.nz> - 2013-11-19 18:20 +1300
              Re: Python Beginner ngangsia akumbo <ngangsia@gmail.com> - 2013-11-20 10:34 -0800
                RE: Python Beginner Hector Chapa <hchapa@lrgvdc911.org> - 2013-11-20 18:41 +0000
                Re: Python Beginner ngangsia akumbo <ngangsia@gmail.com> - 2013-11-20 11:04 -0800
                Re: Python Beginner Mark Lawrence <breamoreboy@yahoo.co.uk> - 2013-11-20 19:21 +0000
                Re: Python Beginner ngangsia akumbo <ngangsia@gmail.com> - 2013-11-20 11:33 -0800
                Re: Python Beginner Mark Lawrence <breamoreboy@yahoo.co.uk> - 2013-11-20 20:02 +0000
                Re: Python Beginner Dennis Lee Bieber <wlfraed@ix.netcom.com> - 2013-11-20 18:15 -0500
                Re: Python Beginner Joel Goldstick <joel.goldstick@gmail.com> - 2013-11-20 14:00 -0500
    Re: Python Beginner ngangsia akumbo <ngangsia@gmail.com> - 2013-11-18 02:18 -0800
      Re: Python Beginner Mark Lawrence <breamoreboy@yahoo.co.uk> - 2013-11-18 13:34 +0000
  Re: Python Beginner William Ray Wing <wrw@mac.com> - 2013-11-16 18:30 -0500

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