[Edu-sig] The fate of raw_input() in Python 3000

[Peter Bowyer]

At 11:47 13/09/2006, Arthur wrote:
>I can imagine an introductory course that was in fact more a 
>*reading* course than a writing course - that spent a good deal of 
>its time analyzing the code of  relatively straightforward, but 
>interesting, working applications.  The satellite view, before we 
>attempt to descend to a finer resolution.

That's a lot like how I learned to program.  I bought a book 
(Professional PHP - nothing like an intro book!) and once I'd read 
some basics I went in and wrote a proper application - an ecard 
script, following the outline of Perl code that I'd read previously 
(without being able to write).  That way I learned from someone else 
(apprenticeship) and wrote something that was *useful* when finished 
(encouraging me to learn).

When studying physics I found the same approach worked, taking a 
real-world application generated enthusiasm for learning esoteric 
subjects.  If you enjoy learning for the sake of knowledge I guess 
this approach isn't needed; otherwise I believe it to be the most 
effective approach.

Peter

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