[Tutor] newbie Questions

[Walter Prins]

Hi Matthew,

On 16 July 2012 13:09, Matthew Ngaha <chigga101 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi all. I'm new to Python and Programming in general. I've started out with
> Python for beginners, and so far so good. My friend who i might add, is not
> a programmer but has had experience in the world of programming (i dont know
> how much but he claims a lot), has told me to forget about Python and focus
> on PHP. He knows i studied a HTML and CSS course and told me for the
> direction i'm going in, Python is not needed and won't give me all the
> options or variety PHP can. Thats he's opinion, i'd rather make my own mind
> up, but its lead me to these questions out of curiousity:

Well firstly you should note you're asking this on a Python mailing
list so you're likely to see some Python bias here. :) That being
said:

> a) at this early stage i dont exactly know what web options are:(  but is
> Python limited when it comes to matters relating to Web options/developing?

It's true that Python is more general than PHP.  So, while PHP
generally is almost exclusively focused on web development, Python is
a far mor generally useful programming language that happens to be
able to used in a web context if so desired.  So it depends on what
you mean by "limited" really.  There are probably more PHP websites
out there than Python based ones.  Does that make Python "more
limited"?  Perhaps not.  You need to probably be more specific.

> b) Are there better options, or can Python get the job done as good as any?

It depends on what the job is.  In general however I'd cautiously say
yes. Python can "get the job done as good as any" in most cases.

> c) after completing and understanding a beginner's book, would i be at
> intermediate level, or still below?

Impossible to say without knowing what book you worked through and testing you.

> d) Would i need a more advanced tutorial, what do you advise after finishing
> a beginners course?

Depends on what you're trying to accomplish.

>  e) And finally, are there other essential things i must learn after Python?

Probably yes.  But this is true of most programming languages...  If
you're going to do web development you will need to learn all there is
to know about how browsers and web servers funtion, how they exchange
requests and responses and everything else related to this (e.g.
cookies etc).  Even if a web framework or language takes care of a lot
of these details for you, you'll still need to get to a point where
you actually understand how everything works together IMHO.

> i heard Django is important?

Django is a web framework for/written in Python.  If you want to do
websites with Python it's a good option, although there are others
such as Turbogears, Web2Py.  See for example: http://is.gd/fo1FZ6

> f) is Django the equivelent to PHP's MySql?

Well, first to note that MySQL doesn't belong to PHP.  MySQL is a
seperate project and is used in many contexts quite apart from PHP.
It can be easily used from Python as well.

Django similarly as metioned is a web framework that can use several
database back-ends, including (but not limited to) MySQL.  For example
it can also use Postgresql, SQLite & Oracle.

>  You dont have to answer all questions. Just answering one would help me
> greatly in my future decisions, as i want to commit fully to the right
> programming language.

"Right" very much depend on your requirements.  That said, I'd prefer
Python over PHP any day.  But then, I would say that. :)

>  since this isnt a forum, how can i thank everyone for helping?

Just say "thank you" when you feel you want to by emailing the list as
you've just done.  :-)

Hope that helps a bit.

Walter