new to python

[Sammy Mannaert]

Beebe wrote:
> 
> Hello comp.lang.python,
> 
>   I am a Linux User and I am new to Python Programming and this
> newsgroup. I don't really know what python is all about so it would be
> much appreciated if you would answer my following questions.
> 
> - Is python like c/c++ where you can make pretty much any kind of
> program you want whether is be games, gui apps, etc. or is it like cgi
> where you can only use it in websites?
> 

you can make almost all the things you can write in c or c++.
(kernel drivers in python aren't a good option i believe :)
python is interpreted though, so it will give you a 
performance hit. i don't think you will want to code a 
quake 3 in python :)
you can interface with functions written in c ! so if
performance is too low (note that i never had a problem
with python performance), you could rewrite the slow
code in a c module.


> - Is python object oriented?
> 

yes.


> - Should I develop in Python? Is it good for programming, is it
> powerfull and are job opportunities good for Python developers?
> 

it's very powerful, easy and quick to learn and is very well
designed.
not too much job opportunities though :(


> - When I make a Python program, do I just leave it as a .py file or is
> there a way to make it into some kind of executable file like in C++?
> When I make a program in Python, how do I distribute it out to people?
> Do I just send out the .py file? Does the user need some kind of
> runtime environment or something? Do they need to download something
> else rather than my program?
> 

the user will need to have python installed. there's also something
called freeze which can make a standalone executable, but i never
used it, so i can't give you any advice on that.
to use it as a "normal" program you can add this to the top of
the file :
#! /usr/bin/env python
your shell (assuming you run linux) will run the line after the
'#!' (this particular line works on my freebsd system .. 
maybe you'll need to make it something like #!/usr/local/bin/python
depending on where you installed python)


> I know that's a lot of questions but I haven't found them on the net
> yet.  Please answer my questions if you will by emailing me at
> jonbeebe at softhome.net.
> 
> If you email me, that way I'll be sure to recieve the reply,
> otherwise, i might miss it.
> 
> Thank you very much,
> - Beebe