Re: Who is target reader of tutorial?
I think it's important to remember that many novice programmers today learn python as their first language. While i don't think the python tutorial is the right place for teaching how to program, i also think it would be best if it didn't make too many assumptions on the reader's knowledge. When it comes to the basics, assuming one already knows another language isn't very beneficial anyway, in my opinion. If all one is looking for is a table comparing a known thing with its python equivalent, there are many of those on the internet already and in much more compact form.
This I also agree with. We should not assume readers know any particular other language, so any mention of "this is just like <language X>" or "unlike <language Y>" should probably be avoided. (I didn't check if there are any, but I wouldn't be surprised if some had crept in, given Python's strong roots in C.) --Guido On Fri, Nov 6, 2020 at 7:30 AM Federico Salerno <salernof11@gmail.com> wrote:
I think it's important to remember that many novice programmers today learn python as their first language. While i don't think the python tutorial is the right place for teaching how to program, i also think it would be best if it didn't make too many assumptions on the reader's knowledge. When it comes to the basics, assuming one already knows another language isn't very beneficial anyway, in my opinion. If all one is looking for is a table comparing a known thing with its python equivalent, there are many of those on the internet already and in much more compact form. _______________________________________________ Python-Dev mailing list -- python-dev@python.org To unsubscribe send an email to python-dev-leave@python.org https://mail.python.org/mailman3/lists/python-dev.python.org/ Message archived at https://mail.python.org/archives/list/python-dev@python.org/message/AGYLMJQO... Code of Conduct: http://python.org/psf/codeofconduct/
-- --Guido van Rossum (python.org/~guido) *Pronouns: he/him **(why is my pronoun here?)* <http://feministing.com/2015/02/03/how-using-they-as-a-singular-pronoun-can-c...>
Guido van Rossum writes:
This I also agree with. We should not assume readers know any particular other language,
Most of my students have Python as their first language, and my university mandates using it in introductory courses as of this year. I agree that there are two audiences: those who have some (or a lot) of experience with programming in other languages, and those who are programming novices. I think that the current tutorials are oriented to the former, and are already getting quite long. So I don't think they should be re-oriented to the programming novice. But as the little girl said, "¿Porque no los dos?" (why not both?) There are a ton of "Gentle Introduction to Programming using Python" tutorials out there, I'm sure. Perhaps we can get one contributed. (Don't look at me to write one, that would be a mistake. While I'm willing and have success as a tutor, my written "tutorials" generally repel readers due to excess detail and pedantry. :-( I have no knack for concise enlightening explanations.)
participants (3)
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Federico Salerno -
Guido van Rossum -
Stephen J. Turnbull