[BangPypers] CBSE to teach introduction to python in class 11 and 12
L Radhakrishna Rao
satishsagar83 at gmail.com
Mon Jul 1 06:10:10 CEST 2013
Python is a language which will never hamper one's programming skills,
rather, it makes you a smart programmer.
Even google, for their selection process, always ask for python, along with
many other skills, so it shows the importance of language.
On Mon, Jul 1, 2013 at 7:44 AM, Noufal Ibrahim <noufal at nibrahim.net.in>wrote:
> Harish Vishwanath <harish.shastry at gmail.com> writes:
>
> > Python is beautiful - I firmly believe in "If everything fails, try
> > python".
>
> That means it's your least preferred language. The one you'd try if
> *nothing* worked. Or am I reading you wrong?
>
> > But I also think caution is required if Python is to be adopted in the
> > school/college curriculum. The elegance and comfort of Python
> > shouldn't hamper understanding of basics of programming.
>
> I'd flip it around. The emphasis on understanding ever detail (e.g C or
> assembly) shouldn't hamper the process of programming. Someone writing a
> program that implements a graph algorithm in C will spend more time
> messing with pointers and array indices rather than the actual graph
> algorithm itself.
>
> This is the worst thing you can do for a budding student
> programmer. Once they're comfortable with creating programs, they can,
> if interested, spend time learning the details of the machine with a
> lower level language like C. Definitely not a first language.
>
> As for C++, I think it's the worst of both worlds but my experience with
> it is, thankfully limited.
>
> > A one liner in python can replace an entire program written in C/C++,
> > but teachers should put sufficient time and effort so that the "magic"
> > happening behind the scenes is unfurled for students.
>
> I wouldn't do that either. If I were teaching kids to code by writing a
> game, I'd spend time at the higher abstractions and get them to express
> ideas rather than bore them with details of various graphics drivers and
> things like that.
>
>
> > For example,
> > file("new.txt","w").write(file("test.txt").read().replace("The","BBB"))
> > is packing so much behind the scenes. Students should learn about what
> > exactly is happening behind the scenes [file pointers, handling eof,
> > string handling, finding/replacing patterns etc.,] before taking
> > things for granted. These important details can be better understood
> > by learning to program in Assembly / C/C++ first.
>
> I disagree here too. Students should learn about how to write programs
> that do things rather than bother about details like EOF etc.
>
> A student who spends an hour writing a program that can do something
> interesting for her is much better off than one who has spent a lot of
> time messing with details like file pointers who hasn't been able to do
> what she started off with.
>
> Your example is quite convoluted. I wouldn't teach anyone to write code
> like that nor would I bother explaining it.
>
> My general inclination, for first time programmers, is to show them how
> much fun programming is and what you can do with it. Once that's there,
> curiosity will blossom and they can go as deep as they want to.
>
>
> [...]
>
>
> --
> Cordially,
> Noufal
> http://nibrahim.net.in
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