Teaching Python

[harrismh777]

Passiday wrote:
> I think Python is a very important language to learn - both easy and advanced, with very wide support in different platforms, with loads of great applications that can be scripted by it, and great community support.
>

Yes. In my opinion, Python is the new BASIC. I date back to the days of 
the Altair 8800 /

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altair_8800

... and the Bill Gate's Open Letter to Hobbyists.  I've owned the 8800, 
the TimexSinclair, the TRS-80, the VIC-20, the Commodore PET, and the 
IBM PCjr. (and a lot more)... all of them were programmed in BASIC, and 
everybody got into the act... kitchen table programming reached a peek 
just about the time Windows 3.1 became popular and programming entered 
the dark ages...  (the black plague, "bring out yer dead, bring out yer 
dead...)

Behold the light...!  Python has brought programming back to the masses 
in a fresh way that is very exciting. A person can use it to do graduate 
level research in comp sci (as I am doing), while at the same time it 
can be taught to children (any person can use Python)... in fact, if 
you're so inclined, you can use it to build a BASIC interpreter... but, 
never mind with that, because its already a very clean simple clear 
interpreter that uses very simple constructs and has the flexibility of 
dynamic typing which makes it a joy to teach children... I'm teaching my 
own kids (teens in high school) Python3 and having a ball doing it... 
and they love it too.  In fact, Python was the way that I was able to 
get my kids interested in anything computer science related (past using 
the computer as an appliance). Now they have a reason to want to learn 
more, and a reason to want to be interested in what "they" can make that 
computer do... to really go where they want to go !

kind regards,
m harris