[Tutor] New programmer, need some help getting started on my first project

[Terry Carroll]

On Thu, 18 May 2006, Chris Delgado wrote:

> Kent, 
> 
> So if you have just been reading, I suggest you try writing a few small 
> programs as warmups."
> 
> I think you are right on the money here. I need to write some more
> simple stuff. 

Chris, I'd also suggest that, once you have a few toy programs (like your 
coin-tosser) under your belt, you find some *small* task that you actually 
want to accomplish, and use Python for that.

It's both motivating and satisfying to address some real-life need you 
have, rather than some arbitrary assignment from a book.

I think my very first Python program was to do something like take a 
comma-separated list of MP3 files, with the directory name in a form that 
includes artist name and album or collection, and format it as a 
hierarchical list, because I wanted to see it that way.

It was more fun to work on a program that actually did something I wanted, 
and I had a purpose in writing it beyond just learning Python.

(Of course, I look back at that code now, and it sure is ugly; but it 
worked!)