A question from a total newbie

[Hans Nowak]

On 24 Feb 00, at 2:47, Lisa wrote:

> Hi ! I am a total newbie to python, although I had a little programming
> experience in Pascal, Fortran and PL/1.
> 
> I would firstly want to apologize if this is not the place to ask my
> questions, and I would be very grateful if you can point out to me where
> to ask, if this is not the place to ask. Thanks in advance.
> 
> Here are my question:
> 
> Since I am a total newbie in python, where should I start?

Try http://www.python.org (as others have pointed out already), check out 
the doc section and the tutorial. The standard library is important too as 
soon as you know a bit more.

> I am thinking of starting on DOS level, without any cumbersome
> layers on windows. Do you recommend that?

Depends what you mean by 'DOS level'. If you indeed mean a DOS prompt, 
well, that's a good way to start; a good text editor and/or DOS shell 
enchancement/replacement (4DOS, bash) may come in handy. Myself, I often 
write scripts and programs in vi, then execute them from the command line. 

If you mean Python in interactive mode (which is also similar to a shell), 
you can use either DOS (simply start Python) or Windows (IDLE). Interactive 
mode is a great way to try out things and learn new aspects of the 
language.

> If so, where can I get python that runs on DOS?

If you really want a pure DOS one, I happen to have one at 
http://www.cuci.nl/~hnowak/newsite/Python/Python-DX/python-dx.html  (look 
for Python-DX). (This site will probably disappear soon, so don't wait too 
long.) If you use DOS via Windows rather than an older DOS system (6.x or 
lower), it might be better to use the Windows version instead; it can be 
used from the command line too, and soon you'll want the Windows stuff 
anyway. :o)

> And what else do I need? What is TCK or whatever it is I saw on
> www.python.org? I am not sure about those things, I hope if someone here
> can give me a pointer or two.

Tcl/Tk is a GUI toolkit for Python. Doesn't work under DOS (assuming you 
still want that), by the way. See http://www.pythonware.com for more info.

> Books, which are the books for newbies that you recommend? There are so
> many books out there I do not know which ones are good.

"Programming Python" by Mark Lutz has had some bad press lately, but I still think it's a neat book. 
There's also "Learning Python" which might be more worthwile. 
www.python.org has a section on books BTW...

http://www.python.org/psa/bookstore/

> Are there any online tutorials that I can use, while I am selecting
> which book to buy?

http://www.python.org/doc/current/tut/tut.html

> There are many more questions I think I should ask, unfortunately I do not
> know what else to ask. If you know what other questions I should ask, I
> would appreciate if you can help me ask the right questions. <smile>
> 
> Thank you all.
> 
> Please cc: me a copy of your reply so I can be sure to get your advice.

Hope this helps,

--Hans Nowak (zephyrfalcon at hvision.nl)
Homepage: http://fly.to/zephyrfalcon
You call me a masterless man. You are wrong. I am my own master.