Hello Newb here

[Cliff Wells]

On Thu, 09 May 2002 02:18:42 +0100
Gonçalo Rodrigues wrote:

> On Thu, 09 May 2002 00:35:06 GMT, "Ray Tux" <res0s92a at verizon.net>
> wrote:
> 
> >Hello im new to programming i started  to learn c++, but turned out to be
> >way too hard. So i thought I would learn Python.
> >
> 
> Good choice.
> 
> >Does anyone have any ideas on how I can learn to program well in about a
> >month
> 
> What do you mean to program well? To be a *good* programmer in the large
> (like being a good mathematician, a good lawyer, etc.) takes time. A
> month is not enough, unless you are a true genius. 
 
Even a genius can remain a poor programmer for many years.  IMO, how long it
will take to become a _good_ programmer depends far more upon the person's
interest in programming itself (especially the aesthetics of elegant design).

> But since you said
> that C++ was too hard that does not seem to be the case. Anyway there is
> reallly only one method to be a good programmer: read tutorials +
> program + read some books + program + read other people's code + program
> + ... You get the idea.

Especially "read other people's code".  While this can be difficult (often one
of my least favorite tasks), so much can be learned this way (both about what
is right and what is wrong) that it is indispensable.  Probably the easiest
code to digest would be fragments posted to this list and perhaps magazine
articles (where the code can be expected to be of a fairly high quality and the
reasoning behind the implementation well documented).  You might consider
porting example code written in other languages (possibly from magazine
articles) to Python as this will undoubtedly push you into new areas of the
library and the language.

Also, read the Python library documentation.  Then read it again.  If you can't
find inspiration for a few programs in there ("Hey, I could use that for...")
then you won't find it anywhere.

Regards,

-- 
Cliff Wells, Software Engineer
Logiplex Corporation (www.logiplex.net)
(503) 978-6726 x308  (800) 735-0555 x308