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Python is still the language that I use to teach others simple programming concepts (basic control flow, branching, I/O), and also for automating simple tasks t
by jeff-davis 4y ago
Python is still the language that I use to teach others simple programming concepts (basic control flow, branching, I/O), and also for automating simple tasks that aren't handled well by shell/sed. I even use it as a simple calculator.
I don't use python for "real" programming and haven't for a long time. But I still can't imagine being without it. What would I use instead?
Ruby is a nice language, but not great for teaching in my opinion. And if I'm rusty it's just slightly harder to use for a one-off script (perl is even worse here).
- urthor 4y agoI'm interested in why Python is such a good teaching language. IMO I find that indents are supremely useful and visually appealing to the novice. They just look fantastic to people without decades of parentheses muscle memory. But my pet theory is that explicit typing is really key to newer programmers. It just helps show them what is happening. I remember, Python took me awhile the first time.
- toxik 4y agoI think Python’s tendency to look like pseudo code is a big reason. It’s less intimidating than archaic incantations like “int foo = 1;” or “for (x; y; z) { … }”. While familiar to us, everybody has seen a colon followed by an indented list of things, and everybody has seen “x = 1” at some point.