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To: python-list@python.org
From: Dennis Lee Bieber <wlfraed@ix.netcom.com>
Subject: Re: Python Beginner
Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 18:15:59 -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/