why should I learn python

[windandwaves]

Can someone tell me why I should learn python? I am a webdeveloper,
but I often see Python mentioned and I am curious to find out what I
am missing out on.

Thank you

Nicolaas

 

[James Stroud]

See www.python.org. Trust us all when we say that its the best.

Can someone tell me why I should learn python? I am a webdeveloper,
but I often see Python mentioned and I am curious to find out what I
am missing out on.

Thank you

Nicolaas

--
James Stroud
UCLA-DOE Institute for Genomics and Proteomics
Box 951570
Los Angeles, CA 90095

http://www.jamesstroud.com/

 

[Jonathan Gardner]

Can someone tell me why I should learn python? I am a webdeveloper,
but I often see Python mentioned and I am curious to find out what I
am missing out on.

The reason I use Python is because I get more done quicker with fewer
bugs. I used to be a huge perl fan after being a huge C/C++ fan, and
Python is where I am right now and have been for the past 6 or more
years.

 

[windandwaves]

Seewww.python.org. Trust us all when we say that its the best.

I get that feeling - yes. Question is:

1. what is it good for?
2. why is it so good?

I would love to hear some opinions.

Cheers

Nicolaas

 

[=?iso-8859-1?B?QW5kcuk=?=]

I get that feeling - yes. Question is:

1. what is it good for?

Pretty much any programming task, except perhaps those that require
extreme computation speed (like weather modeling).

2. why is it so good?

Easy to read, easy to write, good libraries and, I have found, an
extremely helpful community.

Hobbyists (like me) can work on projects written in Python on and off
(sometimes for weeks if not months without programming) and be able to
resume the work very quickly (because it's so easy to read and
understand the code).

André

 

[Tom Brown]

Can someone tell me why I should learn python? I am a webdeveloper,
but I often see Python mentioned and I am curious to find out what I
am missing out on.

Ease of develpment. I write everything I can in python. If I can't do it in
python, I throw a fit and find a way to do it in python. I developed in
assembly, C, C++, Prolog and Delphi. Python has been by far the easiest to
develop in. Some people might say it is not "real programming" because it is
so easy. Whatever. If you wan't real programming, do it in assmebly. If you
want to get a lot done while having a lot of fun doing it, do it in python.

Tom

 

[Tom Brown]

I get that feeling - yes. Question is:

1. what is it good for?
2. why is it so good?

I would love to hear some opinions.

1. It is good for just about everything except kernel modules.
2. Ease of use.

 

[Torsten Bronger]

Hallöchen!

I get that feeling - yes. Question is:

1. what is it good for?
2. why is it so good?

Your questions are very general. I think it is best to do some
Internet research on it instead of asking in newsgroups. Newsgroups
of web forums become interesting when you have more specific
questions.

When I chose my new favourite language 2.5 years ago, I also used
Goggle for it. There is a lot of material about Python out there.
You may start on Wikipedia, and you may look for "Python
v. another-language" pages. They are often very informative.

Tschö,
Torsten.

 

[Torsten Bronger]

Hallöchen!

I get that feeling - yes. Question is:

1. what is it good for?
2. why is it so good?

Your questions are very general. I think it is best to do some
Internet research on it instead of asking in newsgroups. Newsgroups
or web forums become interesting when you have more specific
questions.

When I chose my new favourite language 2.5 years ago, I also used
Goggle for it. There is a lot of material about Python out there.
You may start on Wikipedia, and you may look for "Python
v. another-language" pages. They are often very informative.

Tschö,
Torsten.

 

[Torsten Bronger]

Hallöchen!

[...] Python has been by far the easiest to develop in. Some
people might say it is not "real programming" because it is so
easy.

I can't believe this. Have you really heard such a statement?

Tschö,
Torsten.

 

[windandwaves]

Hallöchen!

[...] Python has been by far the easiest to develop in. Some
people might say it is not "real programming" because it is so
easy.

I can't believe this. Have you really heard such a statement?

Tschö,
Torsten.

Hmmm, thank you all for your replies. I will do some research on the
net (i did some already, but because I am really not much of a
programmer, it is often too detailed for me). I have limited time,
but it does sound like something to learn, just for fun and for
practical use. How would you use it in a web development
environment? I mean, in real practical terms. Could it assist with
php? Is it easy to write GUI programs in Python?

 

[Tom Brown]

Hallöchen!

[...] Python has been by far the easiest to develop in. Some
people might say it is not "real programming" because it is so
easy.

I can't believe this. Have you really heard such a statement?

Yes. I was told this by a C programmer. Something about doing it all yourself
and not using provided packages. I countered with something about reinventing
the wheel.

 

[Tom Brown]

Hmmm, thank you all for your replies. I will do some research on the
net (i did some already, but because I am really not much of a
programmer, it is often too detailed for me). I have limited time,
but it does sound like something to learn, just for fun and for
practical use. How would you use it in a web development
environment? I mean, in real practical terms. Could it assist with
php? Is it easy to write GUI programs in Python?

Checkout http://www.djangoproject.com/ or http://turbogears.org/ for web
development. Checkout http://www.riverbankcomputing.co.uk/pyqt/index.php for
writing GUI programs. There are other options for GUI apps. That is the one I
use all the time.

Good luck,
Tom

 

[Some Other Guy]

Hallöchen!

[...] Python has been by far the easiest to develop in. Some
people might say it is not "real programming" because it is so
easy.

I can't believe this. Have you really heard such a statement?

Yes. I was told this by a C programmer. Something about doing it all
yourself and not using provided packages. I countered with something about
reinventing the wheel.

Point this so-called "C Programmer" toward Henry Spencer's "Ten Commandments
of C Programming". Note in particular rule 7:

7. Thou shalt study thy libraries and strive not to reinvent them
without cause, that thy code may be short and readable and thy
days pleasant and productive.

You can find the whole list here:

http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=783755

 

[TheFlyingDutchman]

Hallöchen!

[...] Python has been by far the easiest to develop in. Some
people might say it is not "real programming" because it is so
easy.

I can't believe this. Have you really heard such a statement?

but because I am really not much of a
programmer, it is often too detailed for me). I have limited time,
but it does sound like something to learn, just for fun and for
practical use. How would you use it in a web development
environment?

Python can be used as an apache module called mod_python and also as a
CGI language.

I mean, in real practical terms. Could it assist with
php?

Since you said you are really not much of a programmer I wouldn't
consider learning two languages. I don't believe there is any tie in
between Python and PHP. It could assist in a Web application only in
the sense that you wrote part in PHP and part in Python. For Web
development PHP is, I believe, more prevalent and would be more of a
benefit on a resume. PHP use outside of a Web app is not very common
but is supposed to be possible so if your usage is primarily Web I
would go with PHP.

 

[Maurice LING]

Can someone tell me why I should learn python? I am a webdeveloper,
but I often see Python mentioned and I am curious to find out what I
am missing out on.

Thank you

Nicolaas

The last edition of The Python Papers (volume 2 issue 2,
http://archive.pythonpapers.org/ThePythonPapersVolume2Issue2.pdf) has an
article on Django, a web framework. It may help you see what you are
missing out on.

maurice

 

[Grant Edwards]

I get that feeling - yes. Question is:

1. what is it good for?

Writing programs.

2. why is it so good?

Compared to languages like C/C++ it takes a lot less time to
write a program in Python and results in programs that work.
The programs are also a lot easier to maintain. And a lot more
portable.

 

[Grant Edwards]

Pretty much any programming task, except perhaps those that require
extreme computation speed (like weather modeling).

Even then there are some very powerful numerical and scientific
libraries that are _way_ easier to use from Python that they
are from C and Fortran (the languages in which such libraries
are often written). You gain 99% of the speed with none of the
pain.

 

[James Stroud]

Hallöchen!

[...] Python has been by far the easiest to develop in. Some
people might say it is not "real programming" because it is so
easy.

I can't believe this. Have you really heard such a statement?

Tschö,
Torsten.

Look, a "real" programming language is scheme, not something trivial to
understand like (the basics of) python. Scheme is hard to understand and
takes a long time to get used to, so its perfect as a learning tool--to
make the professors look smarter. This is why its what they teach as an
introductory course at MIT. This is also why physicists like RPN
calculators.

(see (later you))

James

--
James Stroud
UCLA-DOE Institute for Genomics and Proteomics
Box 951570
Los Angeles, CA 90095

http://www.jamesstroud.com/

 

[Grant Edwards]

Hallöchen!

[...] Python has been by far the easiest to develop in. Some
people might say it is not "real programming" because it is so
easy.

I can't believe this. Have you really heard such a statement?

Maybe it's a allusion to that fake Stroustrup interview where
he supposedly explains that C++ was meant to be a difficult
language to use as a means to keep more programmers employed at
higher salaries?