python programming

[helle]

I've just got hold of the python 2.4.1 program development platform along with a tutorial but 2 fundemental issues seem to be overlooked.

• How do you save / load a work in progress?


• 
  
  how do you make a finished program executable as a standalone program outside of the development platform?


• 
  
  How do you turn theses bullet points off ?!


• 
  
  thanks

[wideboy]

• These you mean?



• Like this

Click the third icon from the right above the message. One click ON, click again for OFF.

[wideboy]

Haven't looked at Python yet (busy with the new Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition). But have you found this tutorial?

http://coolnamehere.com/geekery/python/pythontut.html

[fo3nix]

One of the best (the best?) free python tutorials is this:

http://diveintopython.org/

You can buy it as a book, or just download it and print it off or read it on the computer; upto you. Really good though.

So with those questions, I'm also guessing you're new to programming? The very best way to find these sorts of things out is to Google stuff; you'll get answers far faster than posting on sites like this. Or even better, ask at the python website forums.

Site note: if you're very new to it, then ruby is a much better way to go. But you may not see the real benefits of ruby over python until you really get into programming.

[wideboy]

Another good one fo3nix!

I was going to look at Python sometime but can you comment on Ruby as compared to Visual Basic (or even old-fashioned 'traditional' BASIC)?

[fo3nix]

OK well VB is ok as a windows-only platform. It lets you create windows-only programs (GUI ones) very, very easily. Far more easily than anything else. But personally I don't count it as proper programming; there's just as much interface design to it as there is coding and things.

Traditional BASIC: great way to learn the more basic principles of programming, but you can't really do a lot with it now. Great for young kids too.

Python and Ruby: both created for similar markets. Both started out as scripting languages more than anything. Now both are more mature than that, and have many good features. Both are great languages. But Ruby has more advanced features, i.e. better metaprogramming etc. Not as good as Lisp (as good as it gets, if there was a decent implementation), but both are a lot easier to learn than Lisp.

There are also some annoying little things to Python (to Ruby too, as with all languages, but more in Python than Ruby imho). And one major annoyance for more seasoned programmers is that it forces you to indent your code the way it wants it done. Great in some ways: all code has the same sort of look to it, forces people to write readable code, etc. But it's still annoying to be _forced_ to do this, especially if you like slightly different indenting rules.

[wideboy]

Thanks for that fo3nix. Not sure if either of those would suit our secondary pupils but will have a look.

[fo3nix]

for teaching, i'd go with BASIC every time. It's so simple to pick up, and even though it's not used that much in industry, it's still pretty good. (Java, etc. is preferred here. But whatever you do, don't start teaching them Java else they'll hate programming forever.)

Give freeBASIC a run:

http://www.freebasic.net

Just been looking at it; seems simple enough to get started, yet powerful enough to really extend some of the better students in the class.

[wideboy]

Thanks again, fo3nix, (hope helle doesn't mind all this extra 'traffic'). Just downloaded Free BASIC - will have a look.

[helle]

fo3nix, I do look things up, just thought if anyone could answer my questions they would. You do not know the answer but post anyway.