[Edu-sig] Proposing / defending Python in a curriculum

[Bill Bradley]

Todd Whittaker wrote:

> 4.  How can I overcome the prejudice of the Administration toward a
>     non-mainstream language?  My institution is exceptionally "market
>     driven", and if there is no market for Python, it will be hard to
>     sell, "Yes, but this makes better programmers who can easily
>     switch to Java once they master algorithms."

	Ask them if they've ever heard of Google or Yahoo (both running under
Python: Google exclusively and "Yahoo! People Search, Yellow Pages, Maps
and Driving Directions to name a few" [according to Wesley Chun who is
one of their programmers])

	As for texts, Chun's book _Core Python Programming_ is a pretty heavy
volume for a college text, you might want to look at O'Reilly's
_Learning Python_ (which I've used with an intro programming course) and
_Programming Python_ (which is aimed at more experienced users)  The
"open book" _How to Think Like a Computer Scientist: Python Edition_ is
available online and is also a nice introduction.

	Bill
	New Castle High School
	Slippery Rock University