Winston, I like the pedogogy for a math teacher. I think I could even see it in a regular Python course for maybe the first day. I don't think it could be misinterpreted by interpreter or human. I would suggest including in the proposal an optional directive that would force the use of := like we have now for // and /. The question comes, then what about equality testing? Going to single = from double = would never fly, but I guess giving a meaning to unusual symbols like := and == is much less confusing than a nonstandard (mathematically) use of =. Andy Winston Wolff wrote:
I'm considering a proposal for Python 3000 and want to get some other opinions. I propose adding an alternative syntax for assigning a value to a variable so that the Python statement: a = 1 could also be written: a := 1 The reason is to help students who are familiar with the Algebraic meaning of "a = 1" (a is always equal to one) and get confused when the Python meaning of "a = 1" (put the value of one into the variable a).
I teach middle and high-school students who are learning Algebra at the same time as Python, and it is very confusing to them when the same symbols mean two subtly different things. I would propose that the second syntax (a := 1), be available so that I could introduce that in the first semester course. Later, once they understood the meaning of "a := 1", they could switch the shorter syntax "a = 1".
Any opinions?
-Winston
______________________________________________________ winston wolff - (646) 827-2242 - http://www.stratolab.com learning by creating - video game courses for kids in new york
_______________________________________________ Edu-sig mailing list Edu-sig@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
-- Andrew N. Harrington Computer Science Department Undergraduate Program Director Loyola University Chicago http://www.cs.luc.edu/~anh 512B Lewis Towers (office) Office Phone: 312-915-7982 Snail mail to Lewis Towers 416 Dept. Fax: 312-915-7998 820 North Michigan Avenue aharrin@luc.edu Chicago, Illinois 60611