Python Documentation Blows!

[Josiah Carlson]

>> The trick with wxPython and wxWindows docs is that the entirety of 
>> wxWindows is available to wxPython, through (on the most part) 
>> identical class and function calls.  In those cases when there are 
>> differences, the differences are noted.
>>
>> For those who need more documentation, usually, example code is as 
>> good documentation as you'd find.  For that, there is the wxPython demo.
>>
>> In general, Robin Dunn is the only person who is maintaining wxPython, 
>> and I am glad that he's spending his time with wxPython, rather than 
>> the documentation.
>>
>> If you are having problems understanding the wxWidgets documentation, 
>> learning a bit of C (not much, just a bit) will likely go a /long/ way 
>> towards understanding the calling conventions.
> 
> 
> Very true, but wxPython still is horribly documented. Documentation of 
> the C version of something is really not very friendly especially to new 
> Python programmers. I for one would be glad to buy a book about wxPython 
> if someone a lot more experienced than myself cared to write such a 
> book. I do know C but I still find working from the wxWindows docs 
> frustrating with a lot of trial and error required.

I learned Python a year after I learned C and C++ in undergrad. 
Technically I've known C/C++ longer, but I know (and use) Python far 
better.  Maybe it was that year of only really knowing C and C++ that 
makes the difference, but I've never had issue with the wxWidgets 
documentation.

While I prefer Python's name with description later, having the type of 
input and output from the function call given in the function definition 
is convenient.  Programming with a language that is static typed may be 
a pain in the ass, but it is damn convenient when you are looking at 
documentation.  Even though wxWidgets class definitions can have huge 
initialization argument lists, generally you can be sure of what you are 
supposed to pass into something, and what you can expect in return.


  - Josiah