Re: [Edu-sig] Edu-sig Digest, Vol 116, Issue 4
Lee, if you are looking for a classroom teacher to try out pyguin in the classroom, sign me up! I'll have it installed in my lab on Thursday, when I return, in any case. It rocks! Now a question: how difficult would it be to get pyguin to output svg images? Jeff Elkner On Sun, Mar 17, 2013 at 1:07 AM, <edu-sig-request@python.org> wrote:
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Today's Topics:
1. [ANNC] pynguin-0.13 python turtle graphics application now uses python 3 (Lee Harr) 2. Python Epistemology (michel paul) 3. Re: Python Epistemology (Kirby Urner)
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Message: 1 Date: Sun, 17 Mar 2013 04:42:59 +0430 From: Lee Harr <missive@hotmail.com> To: "python-list@python.org" <python-list@python.org>, "edu-sig@python.org" <edu-sig@python.org> Subject: [Edu-sig] [ANNC] pynguin-0.13 python turtle graphics application now uses python 3 Message-ID: <BLU168-W96F128EFCAA20324B9E710B1EF0@phx.gbl> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1256"
Pynguin is a python-based turtle graphics application. ??? It combines an editor, interactive interpreter, and ??? graphics display area.
It is meant to be an easy environment for introducing ??? some programming concepts to beginning programmers.
http://pynguin.googlecode.com/
This release ports Pynguin to Python 3.
Pynguin is tested with Python 3.2.3 and PyQt 4.9.3 and ??? will use Pygments syntax highlighting if available.
Pynguin is released under GPLv3.
Changes in pynguin-0.13: ??? Now uses (requires) Python 3 ??????? - Tested with Python 3.2.3
??? Important fixes ??????? - New approach for threading of user code ??????????? - should provide safer, more reliable, termination of user code ??????????? - can now reliably stop code like ... while 1: pass ??????? - Preserves fill state and color when changing avatar
??? Other fixes ??????? - Preserves name label when changing avatar ??????? - Tries harder to go as fast as possible for "instant" setting ??????????? - throttles back on CPU when not running user code
??? Pynguin API ??????? - Logo-mode coordinates and angles now available ??????????? - Switch mode using Pynguin -> Mode -> Logo ??????????? - or create new instance with mlogo=ModeLogo() ??????? - Python turtle-mode coordinates and angles now available ??????????? - Switch mode using Pynguin -> Mode -> Turtle ??????????? - or create new instance with mturtle=ModeTurtle() ??????? - xy(x, y) re-uses goto(x, y) code ??????? - xyh() uses xy() and h() to retrieve values ??????? - color() takes an optional alpha channel value for transparency ??????????? - color('ralpha') chooses a random color with random alpha ??????? - Each pynguin's speed can now be set individually
??? Canvas ??????? - Added a dialog for pen, background, and fill default colors ??????????? - sets these colors on program startup ??????????? - uses these colors for reset() ??????????? - also used when adding new pynguins ??????? - Can now track any pynguin ??????? - Can zoom to fit entire drawing
??? UI ??????? - Added new Pynguin menu for avatar and mode selection ??????? - Added alpha value selector to pen and fill color dialogs
??? Integrated Editor
??? Integrated Console
??? Examples ??????? - All ported to Python 3 ??????? - Added examples using colors with alpha channel values ??????? - Added finish line to horserace
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Message: 2 Date: Sat, 16 Mar 2013 20:14:33 -0700 From: michel paul <pythonic.math@gmail.com> To: edu-sig@python.org Subject: [Edu-sig] Python Epistemology Message-ID: <CANuze1+1-34XASccBaiDis_Kpty=r7nhZVqwKa6UnFzpC1Xt6A@mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
This was the title of a 5-minute 'lightening talk' by Allen Downey, author of Think Python <http://www.greenteapress.com/thinkpython/html/index.html>, during the educational summit here at PyCon. Main points:
*
- Nat ural L ang uage : expressive and readable, but verbose and imprecise. - Math ematical notation : concise and precise, but not readable or executable. - M ost programming languages: precise and executable, but verbose and not readable.
Hmmm ... can anyone think of an expressive, readable, concise, precise, and executable symbolic language? : )
He went on to show a traditional mathematical formula representing Bayesian inference and compared it to the corresponding Python code. The Python code was similar to natural language and represented a flow of ideas. It was comprehensible. His point was that we often think we need to first express our ideas in traditional mathematical notation and then translate the math into executable code. But his point was no, we can code our ideas directly. It is a new kind of mathematical expression.
I was so delighted to hear this, as these are the conclusions I have come to as well. It's absolutely true that coding reflectively helps clarify one's ideas, and this is why it belongs in education. I've repeatedly had the experience that coding something I had long taken for granted in math got me to see it in a new light. I've come to view traditional math syntax as a kind of clever shorthand we developed before we had computers. I think the traditional syntax creates a kind of cognitive illusion in students and teachers that that's 'really' the math. And then throwing calculators into the mix just solidifies the illusion. Everyone in K-12, students and teachers, thinks that the math is 'really' on a piece of paper, in traditional notation, and that the technology is something on the side we turn to in order to help us get the math onto the paper when the calculations get too tough. I think that picture is flawed and antiquated. The technology itself is the new paper. Computational languages are the new algebra. *
PyCon was amazing. It was my first one. Very inspiring. Time definitely well spent.
-- Michel
=================================== "What I cannot create, I do not understand."
- Richard Feynman =================================== "Computer science is the new mathematics."
- Dr. Christos Papadimitriou ===================================
On Sun, Mar 17, 2013 at 6:31 AM, Jeff Elkner <jeff@elkner.net> wrote:
Lee, if you are looking for a classroom teacher to try out pyguin in the classroom, sign me up! I'll have it installed in my lab on Thursday, when I return, in any case. It rocks!
Now a question: how difficult would it be to get pyguin to output svg images?
Jeff Elkner
Jeff's notion that one should be able to save at least some turtle art as SVG files seems brilliant to me. Unless I'm mistaken, most turtles simply change the state of a bitmapped canvas and have trouble even reading single pixels after that (e.g. what color is 300,201 -- not easy to know). Moving to SVG would be like moving to Postscript for output. Non-trivial. I agree with Jeff, one could develop an application wherein turtles to add to an SVG file under the hood, allowing output that scales. On Googling, I found this project that was (is?) moving in that direction: http://codeboje.de/pysvg-meets-trundle-turle/ Kirby
Walter's Turtle Blocks already saves as SVG, and it's written in Python. On Sun, Mar 17, 2013 at 10:57 AM, Kirby Urner <kurner@oreillyschool.com> wrote:
On Sun, Mar 17, 2013 at 6:31 AM, Jeff Elkner <jeff@elkner.net> wrote:
Lee, if you are looking for a classroom teacher to try out pyguin in the classroom, sign me up! I'll have it installed in my lab on Thursday, when I return, in any case. It rocks!
Now a question: how difficult would it be to get pyguin to output svg images?
Jeff Elkner
Jeff's notion that one should be able to save at least some turtle art as SVG files seems brilliant to me.
Unless I'm mistaken, most turtles simply change the state of a bitmapped canvas and have trouble even reading single pixels after that (e.g. what color is 300,201 -- not easy to know).
Moving to SVG would be like moving to Postscript for output. Non-trivial.
I agree with Jeff, one could develop an application wherein turtles to add to an SVG file under the hood, allowing output that scales.
On Googling, I found this project that was (is?) moving in that direction:
http://codeboje.de/pysvg-meets-trundle-turle/
Kirby
On Sun, Mar 17, 2013 at 2:00 PM, Jeff Elkner <jeff@elkner.net> wrote:
Walter's Turtle Blocks already saves as SVG, and it's written in Python.
Wow, I didn't realize Turtle Blocks already had SVG output implemented! I'm heading towards running Sugar on my Mac OS VirtualBox. Kirby
Turtle Blocks also runs very well in Gnome. You don't have to install Sugar to run it. I wish this were more widely known, since it could help increase the number of educators using it. There is a debian package in the repositories for a very old version. Matt Gallagher is working on an updated package. On Sun, Mar 17, 2013 at 5:31 PM, kirby urner <kirby.urner@gmail.com> wrote:
On Sun, Mar 17, 2013 at 2:00 PM, Jeff Elkner <jeff@elkner.net> wrote:
Walter's Turtle Blocks already saves as SVG, and it's written in Python.
Wow, I didn't realize Turtle Blocks already had SVG output implemented!
I'm heading towards running Sugar on my Mac OS VirtualBox.
Kirby
participants (3)
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Jeff Elkner -
kirby urner -
Kirby Urner