[Tutor] Beginner Noob

[1611kjb at gmail.com]

I am very green with Python. In fact, Hello World is it so far. I'm
reading/learning from a book called Python Programming for the Absolute
Beginner. My first question is real simple, looking at the UI and reading
the beginning pages, Python seems to follow in the steps of Visual Basic.
BASIC was written in the 1960's and I first ran into it in 1983 on a VIC20
computer, where I also bought a stand alone a cartridge and learned about
machine language. In any event, when it started, BASIC was an interpreted
language. You couldn't run a program stand alone. You had to buy an
interpreter, then create a numbered, formatted ASCII text file which the
interpreter read and executed line by line. Eventually Microsoft created
Visual Basic with a graphical UI and a runtime package and now you can do
most things in VB if you like. Python seems to be running this same
gauntlet. I can run/test it through a Python Interpreter or it can be
compiled into a runtime. At the moment I am learning using the Python 3.8.3
shell from the Microsoft Store and I have installed the Python branch to
Visual Studio Community Edition.

 

Whew, I'm long winded, I say all that to ask, what are the advantages to
jumping over to Python from VB? I am simultaneously working on C# and
wondering if it's worth taxing myself to learn another language. I started
it because I am working with Mindstorms EV3 robotics kits, there educational
platform for K12 education, Arduino controllers and Raspberry PI computers.
They all seem to like Python and C, C++ and C#. I'm an old retired guy
stretching the grey muscles and just wondering if this is a good way to
apply myself. Thanks for any input. I'm sure I'll br here a lot.

 

---Mike