Mailman 3 May 2001 - Edu-sig

RE: [Edu-sig] Python for Fun
by Kirby Urner 25 May '01

25 May '01

Bruce Eckel has a 25 minute RealVideo interview from Python 9 at the Dr Dobbs technetcast site. Recommended: http://technetcast.ddj.com/tnc_play_stream.html?stream_id=466 Chris -- I've been studying your code, logic.py especially. Good stuff. Gets me thinking... Kirby

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RE: [Edu-sig] Python for Fun
by Schmidt, Allen J. 25 May '01

25 May '01

Hi Chris! I too work for a newspaper - The Free Lance-Star - in Fredericksburg, Virginia (www.fredericksburg.com). We are using Zope mixed with Python, XML and SQL to handle the automated production of our paper online. Working out very well and having a great time with Zope! Made our jobs a lot easier. Would love to hear of anything you can offer for teaching Python. We are Zopeheads here and some are more versed in Python than others...only using it for things we need to for interactiion in Zope. Trying to get a curriculum for teaching younger students (8-14) for our home schooling computer classes. Allen Schmidt aschmidt(a)fredericksburg.com -----Original Message----- From: Chris Meyers To: edu-sig(a)python.org Sent: 5/24/2001 9:40 PM Subject: [Edu-sig] Python for Fun Hi, I would like to introduce myself and offer my first posting to the group. My name is Chris Meyers and I've been working with Jeff Elkner and his Python class at Yorktown High School on the Open Book Project. I'm working primarily on Python case studies for intermediate students. The first 4 (of hopefully a dozen) can be found at www.ibiblio.org/cmeyers. These programs are some of my favorites from many years of programming. They are all short, just a page or two but should demonstrate good use of recursion and objects with algorithms that are a little beyond the ordinary. You will be led to a writeup that should explain the code in detail. These 1st 4 are Logic Circuits. Simulation of logic gates with object classes that make good use of inheritance. This study starts with AND, OR, NOT gates and builds up to a four-bit binary adder. Several students are extending this study at Yorktown. Lisp in Python. A study of the classic evalquote mechanism. We end up with an interactive lisp similar to interactive python. Tower of Hanoi. A reworking of the standard algoritm to use objects sending messages. Includes a classroom exercise where students play the objects User Input. An extension of raw_input and input functions to provide a scripting mechanism. Used by Lisp in Python to load files. I've been a programmer for nearly 30 years, and have used a lot of languages. I work at the daily newspaper in Eugene Oregon, the Register Guard. I found Python about 5 years ago and tried it on a text processing project and it worked so well we've never looked back. Now 8 people program with it daily, and it is absolutely the language of choice for all new projects. The production of our internet newspaper is automated with Python code to the extent that it requires only about 1.5 hours a day for someone to produce. You can see it at www.registerguard.com. We are converting all of our old systems on VAX computers to Unix using Python and SQL. 2 years ago we converted our circulation system from Cobol to a combination of VB, Python, and SQL. The amount of code was reduced a factor of six, the system runs well, changes are easy, everyone is happy. On a personal note, I've really grown to love this language (Thanks Guido!!) Lots of reasons, but you all know them and I would be just preaching to the choir. Assuming we get enough students (and I'm getting a lot of interest) I'll be teaching a beginning Python class at our community college this summer. It's short, only 15 hours. But it will be mostly adults and should be interesting to see how far we get. Thanks, Chris _______________________________________________ Edu-sig mailing list Edu-sig(a)python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig

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Re: Python for Fun - Case Studys
by Jeffrey Elkner 25 May '01

25 May '01

Hi Chris! The link to "Python for Fun" is up at http://www.ibiblio.org/obp Lex will want to change the image i'm sure, but i wanted something up right away. Please send me any changes you would like to make to the description. Thanks! jeff On 24 May 2001 10:56:59 -0800, Chris Meyers wrote: > Sure Jeff. And of course I'll also include a link back to the OBP > page. Also to extensions your students are doing. The logic circuit > one though seems to be still under construction? I'll keep an eye > on it. > > Thanks, Chris

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RE: [Edu-sig] Reversi
by Alan Gauld 24 May '01

24 May '01

>I must have missed the Reversi post... > >I would love to get this code. Trying to get my 8th > grader(14) to starting working in Python and Zope. You might like my guessing games framework which is on the useless python site. Its an abstract OO framework for building guessing games with an implementation of text based hangman and a gui version of the same game. I also have used it to build mastermind and paper rock & scissors too (but they are in Java, using the same OO design). Its fully described as a case study in my book but the useless python version is pretty extensively commented. Alan g.

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RE: [Edu-sig] Reversi
by Schmidt, Allen J. 24 May '01

24 May '01

I must have missed the Reversi post... I would love to get this code. Trying to get my 8th grader(14) to starting working in Python and Zope. I work across the street from Digital Creations in Fredericksburg, Virginia - the new home of python.org - and would love for him to get more involved with those tools and shoot for some wonderful LOCAL opportunities in the future. We also use Zope and Python extensively in the group I am in working at the local newspaper...The Free Lance-Star (www.fredericksburg.com) which is all done in Zope (the web side.) I can almost guarantee a job at the paper for him if I could get him interested in those tools. My other 3 kids (8,11,13) work on the PC and can navigate and play games, etc. but have shown no programming interest. My son has been programming since he was 8 in QBasic and then on to Visual Basic 5 and now 6. All self taught. He has done some neat things but I would like to get him (them) more involved in web technologies. So, bottom line, I would like the Reversi code if possible, and suggestions and directions for getting my 'gang' interested in Python. BTW, we home school all four and I would like to have some curriculum to use to teach programming to them. Any suggestions there are appreciated as well. THANKS!!! Allen Schmidt Programmer/Analyst for Northern VA Community College AND also for... The Free Lance-Star fredericksburg.com -----Original Message----- From: Bruce Cohen [mailto:bic@cgl.ucsf.edu] Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2001 1:00 PM To: erburley(a)ix.netcom.com Cc: edu-sig(a)python.org Subject: [Edu-sig] Reversi Brent- Thank you for much for posting your Reversi code on the web. I have a very sharp 9th grader TAing my intro to programming class. (Because kids have to be in at least 10th grade to take the class, he is not allowed to be an official student.) The Reversi game has been a wonderful experience for him. For example, he has written code to consider move trees, and has a few different ways of evaluating the trees for his next move. Your code is very nice in that the student does not have to worry about the details of how you programmed the game. S/he can focus on strategies. Sam has also written a program that plays Reversi in batch mode so that he can has the computer play thousands of games to test his strategies. -Bruce Bruce Cohen | e-mail: bic(a)cgl.ucsf.edu Lowell High School | http://www.cgl.ucsf.edu/home/bic _______________________________________________ Edu-sig mailing list Edu-sig(a)python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig

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Reversi
by Bruce Cohen 24 May '01

24 May '01

Brent- Thank you for much for posting your Reversi code on the web. I have a very sharp 9th grader TAing my intro to programming class. (Because kids have to be in at least 10th grade to take the class, he is not allowed to be an official student.) The Reversi game has been a wonderful experience for him. For example, he has written code to consider move trees, and has a few different ways of evaluating the trees for his next move. Your code is very nice in that the student does not have to worry about the details of how you programmed the game. S/he can focus on strategies. Sam has also written a program that plays Reversi in batch mode so that he can has the computer play thousands of games to test his strategies. -Bruce Bruce Cohen | e-mail: bic(a)cgl.ucsf.edu Lowell High School | http://www.cgl.ucsf.edu/home/bic

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URL for Petereley
by dcraig 24 May '01

24 May '01

Rob, Try http://www.iwsubscribe.com/newsletters/ Dave Craig

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Fw: NICHOLAS PETRELEY: "The Open Source" from InfoWorld.com, Wednesday, May 23, 2001
by dcraig 23 May '01

23 May '01

Hope this is appropriate to post. Dave Craig ----- Original Message ----- From: <OpenSource(a)bdcimail.com> To: <dcraig(a)cris.com> Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2001 9:09 AM Subject: NICHOLAS PETRELEY: "The Open Source" from InfoWorld.com, Wednesday, May 23, 2001 > ======================================================== > NICHOLAS PETRELEY: "The Open Source" InfoWorld.com > ======================================================== > > Wednesday, May 23, 2001 > > Advertising Sponsor - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > The I's Have It > For Net Prophet Jessica Davis, the I in I-commerce stands > for insight and irreverence. There's plenty of Internet > news. Jessica's interested in what it all means - and that > doesn't mean ponderous punditry. She passes on business > tips and belly laughs along with some big ideas. Net > Prophet: prophecy to profit by, e-mailed to you every > Tuesday. To subscribe, go to > http://www.iwsubscribe.com/newsletters > > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > > > CAUGHT IN PYTHON'S GRIP > > Posted at May 18, 2001 01:01 PM PST Pacific > > > I'M A BIG FAN of the open-source programming language > called Python. In case you're wondering, Python is > indeed named after the British Broadcasting Corp. > comedy group Monty Python. It was created in about > 1990 by Guido van Rossum, a fan of Monty Python. Since > then it has matured at a phenomenal rate, thanks to > its open-source nature. > > In its current state, Python miraculously manages to > combine simplicity with incredible depth and breadth. > On the one hand, Python is very similar to Java in how > one might apply it to build solutions and the kind of > features it supports. Like Java, it is > object-oriented, runs byte code, and works well for > server-side Web applications. Like Java, you can use > Python to build client-side applets. Netscape has a > plug-in for this, but nobody seems to use it and it's > not supported anymore. Why does nobody use it? Because > you can write applets in Python and compile them into > Java byte code for use with any Java 1.1-enabled > browser. These are but a few examples of Python's depth. > > Unlike Java, Python is ideal for tossing together a > quick script to do mundane work. If you're a casual > Linux user, you have probably executed many Python > scripts and applets without knowing it. People use > Python this way because it is even easier to use for > mundane tasks than Unix shell script languages and > infinitely more powerful. That demonstrates its breadth. > > I don't mean to rekindle the Python versus Java wars > that raged a few years back. Both languages have their > place. Neither is perfect for every need, although > Python is closer to being a one-size-fits-all language > than Java. But I happen to be as big a fan of Java as > I am Python. > > I draw the comparison because you would do well to > consider both Python and Java if you're about to > embark on a new Web application project. You just > might find that Python is more appropriate for your > particular task than Java. > > One of the first things you'll notice about Python is > its unique way of grouping statements. Python uses > indentation to parse its code. Most C programmers tend > to use indentation to make their code readable. You > type an "if" statement, go to the next line, indent > farther than the "if" statement, and then type the > code that is executed if the condition is true. > > Although C programmers don't have to use indentation, > you do it simply because it makes it easier to > understand the programming logic when you come back to > the code later. In contrast, if you don't indent > Python statements properly your program won't run. You > can use tabs, spaces, or a mix of the two, but you > have to be consistent. > > That feels rather odd when you first start programming > in Python, but it only takes a few minutes before you > realize that it is not only an intuitive way to > program, it pushes you to create code that is more > readable, and therefore easier to maintain. > > The other thing you'll notice is that it is as easy to > create Python classes (objects) as it is to toss > together a procedural script. So much so that you > often end up using objects in Python even when you > don't have to. This makes your code more reusable, > which is always a good thing. > > I've barely scratched the surface of what Python is and > what it can do. If I've piqued your interest, visit > www.python.org for more information. Once you learn > your way around Python and are ready to start > programming I recommend you pick up Programming Python > by Mark Lutz, from the O'Reilly series, now in its 2nd > Edition.Next week I'll discuss options available for > server-side Web applications programming with Python. > > Nicholas Petreley is the founding editor of > VarLinux.org (www.varlinux.org) and LinuxWorld. Reach > him at nicholas(a)petreley.com. > > > > > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > THE LATEST IN LINUX FROM INFOWORLD: > > * New worm tries to fix infected Linux systems > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > http://www.infoworld.com/articles/hn/xml/01/05/17/010517hncheese.xml?0522tul i > > * IBM unveils Linux resource portal > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > http://www.infoworld.com/articles/hn/xml/01/05/11/010511hnibmlinux.xml?0522t uli > > * TO THE EDITOR > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > http://www.infoworld.com/articles/op/xml/01/05/14/010514opletters.xml?0522tu li > > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > > QUOTE OF THE DAY: > > "In a little more than a month, AOL will be able to disclaim > all the warranties it wants and will be able to rely on the > law to back it up." > > --The Gripe Line's Ed Foster continues to warn readers about > the impact of the Uniform Computer Information Transactions > Act. > > http://www.infoworld.com/articles/op/xml/01/05/21/010521opfoster.xml?0523wel i > > > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > > SUBSCRIBE > To subscribe to any of InfoWorld's e-mail newsletters, > tell your friends and colleagues to go to: > http://www.iwsubscribe.com/newsletters/ > > To subscribe to InfoWorld.com, or InfoWorld Print, > or both, go to http://www.iwsubscribe.com > > UNSUBSCRIBE > If you want to unsubscribe from InfoWorld's Newsletters, > go to http://iwsubscribe.com/newsletters/unsubscribe/ > > CHANGE E-MAIL > If you want to change the e-mail address where > you are receiving InfoWorld newsletters, go to > http://iwsubscribe.com/newsletters/adchange/ > > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > > Sign up for hands-on, highly interactive courses > covering topics such as HTML, DHTML, FrontPage, Java, > Visual InterDev, and more. Even gain the latest tips on > E-Commerce and E-Business, from getting started to > marketing your E-Business. > Package: Web Development > Cost:$96.00, # of Courses: 60+, Subscription: One Year > Sign up now for InfoWorld's web-based training. > http://webtraining.infoworld.com?0523wedopensrc > > > Advertising Sponsor - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > The I's Have It > For Net Prophet Jessica Davis, the I in I-commerce stands > for insight and irreverence. There's plenty of Internet > news. Jessica's interested in what it all means - and that > doesn't mean ponderous punditry. She passes on business > tips and belly laughs along with some big ideas. Net > Prophet: prophecy to profit by, e-mailed to you every > Tuesday. To subscribe, go to > http://www.iwsubscribe.com/newsletters > > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > > Copyright 2001 InfoWorld Media Group Inc. > > > > > This message was sent to: dcraig(a)cris.com >

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updated KineticsKit
by Markus Gritsch 22 May '01

22 May '01

Hi! I'd like to mention that I have made some updates to my small package for VPython. You can take a look at it here: http://stud4.tuwien.ac.at/~e9326522/KineticsKit/html/ The package has 3 new examples, improved graphics on the website produced with the export to POV-Ray feature available from the System-class, a class-reference which was generated with the pydoc tool and some other improvements. Enjoy, Markus

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re: Mathobjects
by Kirby Urner 21 May '01

21 May '01

Also, I meant to thank Daniel Ajoy in the simplematrix source for a sweet little recursive algorithm (which he shared in Logo) for generating all those permutations needed by that greedy determinants algorithm. I'm adding that thank you now and re-uploading. Finally, I never managed to completely solve the devils' embrace problem of importing pyfraction in polynomial, and polynomial in pyfraction. Importing works when I just import, but I want to promote pyfraction.Fraction to the top level in polynomial, so I don't have to write pyfraction.Fraction all the time (especially inconvenient when expanding polynomials with factional coefficients just for evaluation purposes -- a way to stay with integer computations and avoid degenerating to floating points).... That's why you'll see an 'import Fraction from pyfraction', but in the __call__ method of polynomial, and not up top, where it causes problems when I boot Python initially and go 'from mathobjects import *' -- and even if I have an import pyfraction statement first. Any pointers would be appreciated. I think I must be missing something. Kirby

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