"Pythoner",Wish me luck!

[Hendrik van Rooyen]

 "barisa" <bbaja42 at gmail.com> wrote:

>Hi,
>I'm also begginer in python;
>i did few basic programs about graph etc..
>
>my question is : what benefit is using interactive intrepreter ?
>
>i come from java backround, so I use eclipse for python as well.
>I start my program, it does it's job, and that's it.  (after some
>debugging ofc)
>
The Interactive Interpreter is not intended to be a development
environment, (although you can use it like that for small things)
but it is very handy to do simple tests in when you are not sure
that you understand what some new (to you) language feature
does exactly.  
In this way you can "test bench" small snippets of code, which
makes subsequent debugging of your program less onerous,
and makes it more likely that the "job" your program does is
in fact the "job" that you imagined it should do when you started
to write it.
So, for instance, lets say that it is the first time that you use
the append method of the built in list class, and you are not sure
what it returns.
you have two basic options - you can either go look for the
documentation and RTFM, or you can go into your active 
interpreter and just try it.
The second alternative is often the quickest, and it is definitely
the safest, because what happens is the definitive behaviour
of your installation.
Reading the manual carries the following risks:
- It could be the wrong manual
- The manual and the code may not be congruent

Another reason for using the II is to help you discover stuff.
Calling dir(something) can teach you quite a lot that is of
practical import.

And then there is the help system too.

hth - Hendrik