Mailman 3 June 2006 - Edu-sig

Mindstorm NXT and Python ?
by francois schnell 13 Sep '06

13 Sep '06

Hello, I've just read the open source move of Lego concerning it's new Mindstorm NXT: http://slashdot.org/articles/06/05/02/111245.shtml http://mindstorms.lego.com/press/2057/Open%20Source%20Announcement.aspx The firmware sources and blue tooth protocols will be available. :) This definitely interest me and I'll buy one as soon as available (in August). I didn't find anything about using Minstorms with Python yet but it looks like there'a a SDK for Microsoft Visual Studio Express with VB, C#, J#, C++: http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/lego/default.aspx Even if Iron Python is not integrated in Visual Studio (I believe), using the classes with IronPython shouldn't be a problem (I imagine). Anyway I'm not a fan of .Net/Mono and I'll probably try to explore other ways . I want to see what can be done with Python and this Mindstorms NXT in particular in an "educational/constructivist" context. If you know any projects already using Python and the actual Mindstorms I'm also interested or your thoughts on the subject. Thanks francois

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Not true right?
by kirby urner 30 Jun '06

30 Jun '06

So is there any truth to the rumor that Guido plans to make __@__ something we can overload at the module level, such that the new decorator syntax becomes as playdough in the hands of a skillful programmer? I hope not. Kirby

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Re: [Edu-sig] testing identitycheck.py
by kirby urner 30 Jun '06

30 Jun '06

""" So I wanted to test "handedness" in Python, around operators, by equating two different instances, each of different parentage. One sees they're the same, the other begs to differ. IDLE 1.1 >>> from identitycheck import testit >>> testit() a == b? False b == a? True Original context: a thread on the Math Forum: http://mathforum.org/kb/message.jspa?messageID=4866533&tstart=0 >>> """ class A: """ Begs to differ """ def __eq__(self, other): return False class B: """ I see we're the same """ def __eq__(self, other): return True def testit(): a = A() b = B() print "a == b? ", a==b print "b == a? ", b==a if __name__ == "__main__": testit()

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(Fwd) Re: Some thoughts on RurPle / TurTle
by Daniel Ajoy 30 Jun '06

30 Jun '06

------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: Daniel Ajoy <da.ajoy(a)gmail.com> To: edu-sig-request(a)python.org Subject: Re: [Edu-sig] Some thoughts on RurPle / TurTle Date sent: Mon, 26 Jun 2006 21:48:21 -0500 On 26 Jun 2006 at 12:00, edu-sig-request(a)python.org wrote: > Also, because rur-ple basic instructions [move(), pick_beeper(), > put_beeper(), turn_left(), turn_off()] are very limited, they are > easier to learn and build from, I think, than the corresponding turtle > graphics where one has to contend with arbitrary rotations and > arbitrary step lengths right from the start... This is, I believe, > one advantage of having a "closed universe", at least at the > beginning. What I would like to do (eventually) is to add > turtle-like features to rur-ple, with something like > move() --> move(length) > turn_left() --> turn(angle) > and have an open canvas. I think this would combine the best of both > worlds. Instead of yet another turtle graphics implementation I wish it added features of PC-Robots: http://www.informatik.uni-frankfurt.de/~hbecker/pcrob.html PCRobots is a programming game written by P. D. Smith. It's sort of a tank game, the tanks have to fight each other. But you can't control your tank: It is controlled by a programm you have to write! The best program wins. PCRobots is very easy to handle: You can use most (DOS) compilers to create your robots. Robots can build teams, different maps (with obstacles) can be used, PCRobots has a graphical display and even some sound. You can download the game from here: http://www.informatik.uni-frankfurt.de/~hbecker/prg/pcrob141.zip and read some of the details in the manual: PCROBOTS.DOC a text file. I did enjoy playing with it in 1998 when I taught a first year programming course using PCRobots and Turbo C. Daniel ------- End of forwarded message -------

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News about turtle graphics
by Gregor Lingl 30 Jun '06

30 Jun '06

Hi educators! One of the hardest problems I've encountered upto now is to decide, when a piece of software is ready to be be published. I've decided, that my new turtle graphics module ready now. A package, which additionally contains some example scripts. a tiny demoViewer and some documentation can be downloaded from: http://ada.rg16.asn-wien.ac.at/~python/xturtle From now on it's the user community, which will largely determine the future development of the module. I hope that it will grow to more than one user (which is me) soon. (*) And I'm willing to continue development (preferably in cooperation with others) until it's considered a really useful tool by the community. In my opinion it should replace the current turtle.py in the standard distribution. We will see if others join me in this respect ... (Please note, that xturtle.py is a complete reimplementation of what I've shown to you some ten weeks ago.) For now I'll not write too much about it, but ask you for feedback and contributions to a discussion about the module. (You'll find some more information on the webpage mentioned above!) However, I'll give a talk at Europython 2006 on July 5th about: xturtle - an extended turtle module for Python as a vehicle for teaching programming concepts. For this, too, your feedback will be welcome. And you'll get back the slides of the talk ;-) Regards, Gregor Lingl (*) This hope seems reasonable since I intend to use it in the forthcoming 2nd edition of "Python für Kids"

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Sample Data Structure
by kirby urner 27 Jun '06

27 Jun '06

So here'd be a rich data structure transcribed from Math World: http://mathworld.wolfram.com/news/2003-11-18/magiccube/ Possible lesson plan: use as mapped and indexed data structure to verify we're meeting the requisite criteria for a perfect magic cube of edges 5 cells. magic5 = dict ( square0 = [[25, 16, 80, 104, 90], [115, 98, 4, 1, 97], [42, 111, 85, 2, 75], [66, 72, 27, 102, 48], [67, 18, 119, 106, 5]], square1 = [[91, 77, 71, 6, 70], [52, 64, 117, 69, 13], [30, 118, 21, 123, 23], [26, 39, 92, 44, 114], [116, 17, 14, 73, 95]], square2 = [[47, 61, 45, 76, 86], [107, 43, 38, 33, 94], [89, 68, 63, 58, 37], [32, 93, 88, 83, 19], [40, 50, 81, 65, 79]], square3 = [[31, 53, 112, 109, 10], [12, 82, 34, 87, 100], [103, 3, 105, 8, 96], [113, 57, 9, 62, 74], [56, 120, 55, 49, 35]], square4 = [[121, 108, 7, 20, 59], [29, 28, 122, 125, 11], [51, 15, 41, 124, 84], [78, 54, 99, 24, 60], [36, 110, 46, 22, 101]] )

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(Fwd) Re: Some thoughts on RurPle / TurTle
by Daniel Ajoy 26 Jun '06

26 Jun '06

------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: Daniel Ajoy <dajoy(a)openworldlearning.org> To: edu-sig-request(a)python.org Subject: Re: Some thoughts on RurPle / TurTle Date sent: Mon, 26 Jun 2006 21:55:46 -0500 On 26 Jun 2006 at 12:00, edu-sig-request(a)python.org wrote: > > Example: On June, 22th, the day before I released xturtle.py, > > President Bush had a visit in Vienna. He lived in a Hotel approx. > > 300 m from my house. Consequently all the streets in this > > quarter were blocked and I couldn't leave my house for 24 > > hours without going a long way round. In this situation I felt > > the wish to produce the peace-logo graphics. It was easily > > possible using xturtle and it became the very last xtx-demo. > > Peace logo: how appropriate! Someone else had the same idea. You were late by 35 years :) (images attached) ftp://publications.ai.mit.edu/ai-publications/pdf/AIM-249.pdf Daniel ------- End of forwarded message ------- The following section of this message contains a file attachment prepared for transmission using the Internet MIME message format. If you are using Pegasus Mail, or any other MIME-compliant system, you should be able to save it or view it from within your mailer. If you cannot, please ask your system administrator for assistance. ---- File information ----------- File: peace1.gif Date: 26 Jun 2006, 21:53 Size: 3355 bytes. Type: GIF-image The following section of this message contains a file attachment prepared for transmission using the Internet MIME message format. If you are using Pegasus Mail, or any other MIME-compliant system, you should be able to save it or view it from within your mailer. If you cannot, please ask your system administrator for assistance. ---- File information ----------- File: peace2.gif Date: 26 Jun 2006, 21:53 Size: 10024 bytes. Type: GIF-image

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Re: [Edu-sig] Some thoughts on RurPle / TurTle
by Daniel Ajoy 26 Jun '06

26 Jun '06

On 27 Jun 2006 at 4:30, edu-sig-request(a)python.org wrote: > > I always viewed Logo as a means to introduce programming within > > Logo's environment ... but not really practical outside of this > > (unlike Python). I may have been prejudiced due to ignorance there. > > I don't think Papert is interested at all in Logo as a "language" > but only as a possible vehicule for the maths and exploration > concepts behind it (to produce "hard-fun" "tools to think with"/ > microworlds / differential/kinesthesic approach, etc ). That's > why I think it could have a great future with Python inside the > "turtles" concepts. I'm guessing that you are correct in this. Papert has never shown much interest in Logo as a language. I've only seen him write to the LogoForum once (a couple of weeks ago) and in the OLPC project he is not pushing for Logo in it, but has started a section in the wiki called "Learning learning". Daniel

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More brainstorming in PDX
by kirby urner 26 Jun '06

26 Jun '06

Greetings from jennifer, my edubuntu box in the basement (just loaded some laundry, enjoying the cool of an underground cave -- no central A/C in this house nor even wall units, and it's a record breaking day for A/C in PDX, in terms of consumed megawattage (KOIN News www.koin.com), with a local high of 102F, also record-breaking. At the local supermarket (good A/C in there) I picked up the latest Linux mags and noticed Ruby getting a lot of attention as a kind of "SmallTalk + Perl" (interesting). I did study the Rails system after the last OSCON and understand the appeal of "opinionated platforms" (not all things to all people -- but maybe exactly what *you* need for this job at this time). Python was also showcased in one article: picture of Guido + entrepreneur, around this photo journalism service (online Python webapp). I don't have the mags with me, so won't be able to pin down the reference in this post. I'm mostly @ Math Forum & blogs of late, challenging California's ed standards (a way of sparking debate) and talking up gnu math (Pythonic math is a subclass of this more generic approach to merging OO with more traditional pre-computer notations). I'm not sure how tied I am to OO in the long run, but find Python's concept of namespaces, based on dictionaries (right down to self.__dict__) so satisfyingly consistent, that I'm not inclined to abandon ship any time soon. Closer to home, I continue to work through Wanderers, a local thinktank under the umbrella of isepp.org, recently joined by Glenn Stockton of Global Matrix, David Tver (a mathematician) and others. It's through this group that I landed my paying gig as Pythonic math teacher at the local university (PSU), with an ideal set of young enrollees. I've often used Wanderers as a focus group, when preparing a new Python talk, be that for Linuxfest in Bellingham, a training for local GIS/GPS experts, an OSCON, Pycon, or EuroPython. I'd like to try more adult-centric venues next, so am sorry about not making it to EuroPython this year (mostly young-than-me adults), but maybe next year. More local venues should suffice for field testing. I'll keep ya'll up to date. Kirby

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Re: [Edu-sig] Some thoughts on RurPle / TurTle
by francois schnell 26 Jun '06

26 Jun '06

On 26/06/06, Andre Roberge <andre.roberge(a)gmail.com> wrote: > The latest version allows importing arbitrary images for the robot. Great I didn't see that :) It will also require me to draw some "robot viewed from > above" pictures which will stretch even more than before my artistic > abilities! ;-) I'm not an artist either but if I succeed (one day) to make something descent I'll let you know. > - For the sake of simplicity you've decided that the robot can only turn > > left but never right. For me it makes Rur-ple quite "silly" and above > all > > this apparent "simplicity" (you can't go right) is generating > *complexity* > > quickly. > > Again, this was adopted from the original Karel the Robot. The idea > here is to have an "obvious" need to introduce functions early on. > Later, I make use of this when I implement a "better robot" that > inherits from the original one but has been repaired so that it can > turn right directly. Ooops, my apologies, I understand "why" now , I don't like the implications but at least I understand it. > My point, which was perhaps poorly explained, is that rur-ple is meant > as a tool to introduce the whole of Python i.e. it is open ended in > that regards. Yes I think it's a strong point of rur-ple, I also like that in xturtle which give full access to Python. I always viewed Logo as a means to introduce programming within > Logo's environment ... but not really practical outside of this > (unlike Python). I may have been prejudiced due to ignorance there. I don't think Papert is interested at all in Logo as a "language" but only as a possible vehicule for the maths and exploration concepts behind it (to produce "hard-fun" "tools to think with"/ microworlds / differential/kinesthesic approach, etc ). That's why I think it could have a great future with Python inside the "turtles" concepts. > Apart from that, what's left of Rur-ple ? ;-) It was just my opinion but as I said if think the robot approach is very valid and you're doing a great job. Now I understand the left turn only but it seems strange for me : When I was a kid, Japanimation and the Mecha genre invaded France and Italy and it was a huge hit. At Christmas all boys had cool robot toys. I think if we saw a robot which has been designed to turn left only but not right we would have killed and bury him to preserve robots reputation :( I guess I was spoiled ... And as for your "French blood" complaints... I know they are > well-intended and I much prefer to see such public criticism which I > can use as motivation for improvements. And being one of your > cross-Atlantic French cousins myself, I can relate to this direct, > outspoken approach. ;-) Thanks for your explanations and honesty but I guess you also have more diplomatic skills on your side of the Atlantic which is not bad. :) thanks francois André > francois >

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