[Tutor] New to programming and Python

[Kent Johnson]

Jorge Azedo wrote:
> Hi guys ( and gals )
> 
> I'm totally new to the whole programming scene (I decided to enter it 
> for many reasons, one of which is the fact that I *want* to know how to 
> program my computer) and I decided to start out with Python. I'm reading 
> lots of tutorials on it, trying to understand how to work with it, but 
> for some reason or another, it all seems a great mess to me. Am I doing 
> something wrong? Also, can anyone give me any pointers on how to start 
> working with Python?

You don't say which tutorials you are reading; make sure it is a 
beginners tutorial. There are several listed here:
http://wiki.python.org/moin/BeginnersGuide/NonProgrammers

Spend as much time trying things out as you do reading. Read a little, 
then start up the Python interpreter and type in the examples from the 
tutorial. Change them a little bit. Experiment. Don't go on in the 
reading until you are comfortable using what you have learned so far. 
You have to write, you can't learn to program just by reading.

Ask questions here if you get stuck. Show us what you tried, what 
happened, and what you expected to happen.

Kent