Python education survey

[Eelco]

On Dec 27, 6:59 am, Carl Smith <carl.in... at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Dec 20, 10:58 am, Andrea Crotti <andrea.crott... at gmail.com> wrote:
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> > On 12/20/2011 03:51 AM, Raymond Hettinger wrote:
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> > > Do you use IDLE when teaching Python?
> > > If not, what is the tool of choice?
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> > > Students may not be experienced with the command-line and may be
> > > running Windows, Linux, or Macs.  Ideally, the tool or IDE will be
> > > easy to install and configure (startup directory, path, associated
> > > with a particular version of Python etc).
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> > > Though an Emacs user myself, I've been teaching with IDLE because it's
> > > free; it runs on multiple OSes, it has tooltips and code colorization
> > > and easy indent/dedent/comment/uncomment commands, it has tab
> > > completion; it allows easy editing at the interactive prompt; it has
> > > an easy run-script command (F5); it has direct access to source code
> > > (File OpenModule) and a class browser (Cntl+B).
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> > > On the downside, some python distros aren't built with the requisite
> > > Tcl/Tk support; some distros like the Mac OS ship with a broken Tcl/Tk
> > > so users have to install a fix to that as well; and IDLE sometimes
> > > just freezes for no reason.  It also doesn't have an easy way to
> > > specify the startup directory.
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> > > If your goal is to quickly get new users up and running in Python,
> > > what IDE or editor do you recommend?
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> > > Raymond
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> > I think ipython and a good editor gives a much nicer experience
> > than IDLE, which I actually almost never used, and
> > for everything else there is python and python-mode.
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> > New users however can be pointed to something like PyCharm
> > or Eclipse+PyDev if they are more familiar to IDEs..
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> I agree; IPython is a excellent choice. You have a much more powerful
> interactive Python experience, with all the features you need from an
> IDE. You can use any editor (VIM) and you can also readily hack
> IPython to death.
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> I think the fact that anyone with basic programming skills can
> substantially enhance their console is a big winner in CS education.
> It gives students something they personally value to work on, it's a
> place to store all their little bits of code and actually benefit from
> them in real life.
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> I've never met a programmer that got familiar with IPython and then
> went on to stop using it. It should be included in the standard
> library and used as the default Python interactive environment.
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> The last line of my .bashrc file:
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> ipython3

Youve got one here. I like IPython a lot, but it quite rarely enters
into my workflow.

While I agree that a good interactive python console is a good way to
get your feet wet with programming, I also strongly feel that a more
comprehensive programming environment should be introduced to
students. That includes opening and editing files, syntax
highlighting, and code completion. And painless installation. There
are no lightweight editors that provide all this functionality in
conjuction with Ipython*. So I prefer to work the other way around;
use something like pycharm, and open an IPython interactive session
within it.

*Your suggestion of VIM is especially objectionable. Though I am sure
it is a great tool to you, the subject here is beginner education.
Just because it is a good tool for you, does not make it a good tool
for a beginner.

IPython bundled with a lightweight but function-rich and non-hacker-
but-WYSIWYG editor would be a great choice. But until that comes
around, pycharm it is for me.