A Mountain of Perl Books + Python Advocacy

[sp00fD]

This is probably the only thing that I hate about python, the lack of
good freakin' documentation.  I used perl formerly and found it to be
sooo easy (partially because I'm a unix admin and perl is very unix-
like), there were wonderful examples everywhere on how to do things.
Python, on the other hand, has __extremely__ poor documentation (as do
most languages), and I believe this is a large part of why perl has
become so popular.  Most people can't discuss theory and get coding
ideas from it, nor can they see a method and parameters and know
exactly how to use the module correctly.  Frankly, the stock python
documentation is worthless to me, and often times I find myself
perusing modules, without luck because unfortunately most of them are
not very well commented either.  I think I'm going to have to go club
Tchrist over the head and reprogram him into a pythoneer, then maybe
we'd have some good documentation as well.

Mike

In article <tNvI4.18$_N4.1751 at vic.nntp.telstra.net>,
  i_luv_fudge at I_HATE_SPAM.hotmail.com (.,.) wrote:
>
>
> >> Now something I can't quite figure out is: why are there so many
more
> >> books on Perl out there than on Python?
>
> >6 months ago, I discovered Python and it immediately clicked.
> >Learned most of Python before buying my first Python book.
>
> I don't know about any of the rest of you guys,  but I figure this is
where I
> should speak up.  I have just discovered Python in the last week.  I
was
> trying to manipulate about 400 smallish text files with identical
datafields
> and differing values into a format that I could display on the web.
After
> spending about 80 hours cutting, pasting deleting and hten realizing
that it
> would be good to start again,  so I could include that peice of info
afterall,
>  I decided there had to be a better way.
>
>  I have done one semester in C++ about 2 years back, and nothing
before or
> since.  I have a very great friend who is helping me out with my
script and
> what I want to do, but this is because they have also only just
discovered
> Python and have a direct need to use it for a project over the next
week.
> This is very lucky for me, cause I am so close to forgetting
absolutely
> everything I learnt in that semester, except the basic tenets of form
and
> structure.
>
> Trying to get information out of the python website is virtually
impossible
> for the layman trying to learn Python.   I am finding it very very
hard to
> expand on the stuff my mate has shown me already,  and I need to
expand so
> much!  I am looking for the Learning Python book now,  but I doubt I
will find
> it on any shelves in my town, as I live in a backwater country
downunder.
>
> ======
>
> Whuddaya know?   I just rang TechBooks and they have 4 in stock  :-)
>
> I am off to buy one.
>
> It still doesn't change the fact that this is a VERY hard language to
learn as
> a layman without a guide or some sort of coding TLA translator.  When
and if I
> get proficient I might write a page for people with that in mind.
>
> :-)
>
> I have no doubt you will be hearing from me again as I post newbie
> questions....
>
> *sigh*
>
> Nemir
>


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