[Tutor] Python information

[Scot W. Stevenson]

Hello Billie,=20

> Every place I looked on the net (I spent 10 hrs looking) assumes lots o=
f
> Python programming under your belt or that you are knowledgeable in C++
> or a Linux follower.

There are quite a few online and book resources out there on starting=20
programming from scratch. The trick - as with any other field you are new=
=20
to, from rose gardening to nuclear physics - is to avoid the adults'=20
section and look for an introduction for high school kids. No kidding -=20
they are usually better written and don't assume as much. _Never_ touch=20
anything that is written for undergraduates, since everybody seems to=20
think they are masochists.=20

Others have already added lots of links, so just one more thing:=20

> Every place I looked on the net (I spent 10 hrs looking) assumes lots o=
f=20
> Python programming under your belt or that you are knowledgeable in C++=
=20
> or a Linux follower.

My personal interpretation, if it makes you feel better:

C unfortunately is something of the lingua franca of computer languages=20
because it works hand in glove with Unix (and therefore Linux). Nowadays,=
=20
almost all operating systems in our price range are some form of Unix=20
(even Apple's OS X is basically just BSD with some pretty colors), with=20
the Microsoft family the (admittedly very big) exception. Since Microsoft=
=20
won't let you see its code, the people who seriously enjoy playing around=
=20
with computers and write the hard core Open Source stuff are drawn to=20
Linux, and therefore all know C.=20

I agree that this is a bummer, since programming in C is basically like=20
using a bullwhip: You need years of practice, and even then it still tend=
s=20
to switch back and cut you in the face; even if you do it right, it can=20
cut thru skin, muscle, and bone. There are very few times when you really=
=20
do need a bullwhip (unless, of course, your first name is "Indiana").=20
Unfortunately, there is this image that they are really cool, so we have=20
all of these teenager types running around in fake black leather trying t=
o=20
impress each other with the loudest cracking sound. The=20
Real-Men-use-C-crowd is terribly annoying, but they are useful for=20
operating systems and games, so we're going to have to live with them.=20

One way to get your revenge is to learn Python and happily program whatev=
er=20
they are trying to do in parallel. This is lots of fun. Even as a newbie,=
=20
you'll usually be done with the whole program while that oh so cool C=20
coder is still figuring out how to get his character array assembled into=
=20
a string without producing a buffer overflow that will let every cracker=20
from here to Seoul take over his computer, infiltrate the Internet and=20
destroy Western civilization as we know it. And you'll still have time=20
left over to follow a life style based on applied Brucian philosophy...

Y, Scot

--=20
  Scot W. Stevenson -- scot@possum.in-berlin.de -- Zepernick, Germany