[Tutor] Re: python virgin

[Andrei]

Doug Gentry wrote on Wed, 24 Mar 2004 10:29:15 -0800:

> Heck, I'm a programming virgin too. I was browsing the net the other day and
> ran across a site about active  state python. I had the "old Python loaded
> on here so I removed it and installed the new version on my XP computer.

I too prefer the ActiveState distro over the default Python one. The docs
are much better for one thing and it includes PythonWin which is better
than IDLE IMO.

> i.e.; click on file and then new window? Mine has File/new and then a choice
> of script or grep. I kind of figured that script is the same thing as what
> they wanted in the new window. 

Not sure if you're talking about IDLE, PythonWin or...

>  Also when I opened notepad and did the little exercise of hello world and
> saved as hello.py  I went back and ran it. I get a real quick flash of a cmd
> box running but that's it.

Except for that raw_input method that Tim Wilson mentioned, you could also
open the program in PythonWin (as opposed to Notepad) and then run it from
there. The output will be (and will remain) visible inside PythonWin
itself.

> So I guess my question should be. Does anyone know of a good website to go
> to learn this?

Alan Gauld's tutorial is nice (as linked by John Purser), How To Think Like
A Computer Scientist in Python is nice too. Don't be fooled, by the name,
it's a beginner-level tutorial: http://www.ibiblio.org/obp/thinkCSpy/

There are many more (I particularly liked
http://www.hetland.org/python/instant-hacking.php, but it's down ATM of
this writing), but which one is the best for you, depends on your style of
learning.

-- 
Yours,

Andrei

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