[Tutor] [Long]General Questions

[Alexandre Ratti]

Hello Sukrit,


Sukrit K Mehra wrote:

>I am new to programming and in need of some advice. 
>
>Background:
>I have a system adminstration background. I want to learn *programming*.
>I just read "How to think like a computer scientist: Python".
>
I suggest you read several tutorials. When I started learning Python, I 
found it useful to read several texts since they often focus on 
different concepts:
- Some teach you programming concepts through Python.
- Some are more focused on Python itself.
- Some assume you already know how to programm in other languages, etc. 
(Eg. "Dive Into Python").

>Computer Science:
>How do I go about learning the following, keeping in mind I have no exams to
>pass, using python.
>a Algorithms
>b Data Structures
>
Suggestions:
- Read this list (Python Tutor). I picked up a lot of background 
information just reading this list.
- Read Python newsgroups.
- Look for information on the Web. There's a lot of material, though 
often it's not focused on Python.

Example: I came accross this reference a few days ago: "A Compact Guide 
to Sorting and Searching", by Thomas Niemann

    http://www.oopweb.com/Algorithms/Documents/Sman/Volume2.html

>What would a smallish project in which I could use most of these skills
>(I thought of a mail client but it's boring and it's ... boring; I learn
>faster when I am *NOT* writing programs that compute factorials of
>numbers.)
>
As already mentioned, you should probably pick up a project that is 
interesting to you, so that you are motivated to finish it. How about 
trying to automate some boring task you have to do manually (in sysadmin 
for instance)?


Cheers.

Alexandre