[Python-ideas] Python-ideas Digest, Vol 63, Issue 23

[C. Titus Brown]

On Thu, Feb 09, 2012 at 11:34:57AM -0800, Daniel Greenfeld wrote:
> > ? 1. Re: Python 3000 TIOBE -3% (Massimo Di Pierro)
> > ? 2. Re: Python 3000 TIOBE -3% (Guido van Rossum)
> > ? 3. Re: Python 3000 TIOBE -3% (Sturla Molden)
> > ? 4. Re: Python 3000 TIOBE -3% (Guido van Rossum)
> > Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 12:25:18 -0600
> > From: Massimo Di Pierro <massimo.dipierro at gmail.com>
> > To: Steven D'Aprano <steve at pearwood.info>
> > Cc: python-ideas <python-ideas at python.org>
> 
> >> Massimo Di Pierro wrote:
> >>> Here is another data point:
> >>> http://redmonk.com/sogrady/2012/02/08/language-rankings-2-2012/
> >>> Unfortunately the TIOBE index does matter. I can speak for python
> >>> in education and trends I seen.
> >>> Python is and remains the easiest language to teach but it is no
> >>> longer true that getting Python to run is easer than alternatives
> >>> (not for the average undergrad student).
> >>
> >> Is that a commentary on Python, or the average undergrad student?
> >
> > I teach so the average student is my benchmark. Please do not
> > misunderstand. While some may be lazy, but the average CS undergrad is
> > not stupid but quite intelligent. They just do not like wasting time
> > with setups and I sympathize with that. Batteries included is the
> > Python motto.
> 
> I'm going to delurk from this list and really back up Massimo here.
> It's not precisely his issue, but it's close enough to count.
> 
> While we love our Linux and BSD variants, and OS X usage is growing,
> the truth of the matter is that the clear majority of people learning
> Python at the entry level do so on Windows. And I can assure you
> having attended many of the tutorials given by PyLadies and other
> groups, the part that took the most amount of time was ensuring a
> correct installation on Windows. It's not just a matter of getting the
> installation onto the machine, it's a matter of making sure the paths
> are set correctly so they can follow code examples trivially.

+inf.

--titus