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Python is like a narrowboat
I'm giving a Python course today, to a team of seasoned programmers, and of course I'm coming up with a few things that are different to the languages they know. So far, we've had ...
* No switch statement * No ++ operator * blocks indicated via insets * else clauses on while loops Of course, this makes them a little nervous, although it will turn out later on that the facilities that aren't present wouldn't be at all vital in Python, and indeed they may encourage poor coding practise. And block insets and extra "elses" are so natural once people are use to that way of doing things. But people still aren't always convinced. "What do you drive?" I ask them. "A Ford" they say (or something else). "If you switched to a Vauxhall, would it be easy?" I ask. "Not neccessarily - things will be in different places ..." is the answer but, yes, they would get used to the Vauxhall positioning in time. Actually, Python can be very different. I used to drive a narrowboat quite regularly, and that's the complete opposite of driving a car - push the tiller to the right to go left for starters, and then remember that the boat takes a while to react as you're not controlling types straight onto the ground, but rather you're changing the direction via the water. Ah - but once you've driven a boat a few times you find there's a great natural beauty in it, and in the way it works. 8 tons can be controlled by just a gentle push with a single finger - much more efficient even that your car. Yes, that's a good desription of the beauty and effiency of Python too - Python is like a narrowboat. (written 2006-10-30 15:25:55) Associated topics are indexed under Y101 - Introduction to PythonY103 - Python - Conditionals and Loops
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Python - A list of methodsRecursion in Python Letter Home Helping the miles pass Python is like a narrowboat And so to Inverness Browser -> httpd -> Tomcat -> MySQL. Restarting. A commitment we won't be making Not proud to be British Of course I'll tell you by email 1638 posts, page by page
Link to page ... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 at 50 posts per pageThis is a page archived from The Horse's Mouth at http://www.wellho.net/horse/ - the diary and writings of Graham Ellis. Every attempt was made to provide current information at the time the page was written, but things do move forward in our business - new software releases, price changes, new techniques. Please check back via our main site for current courses, prices, versions, etc - any mention of a price in "The Horse's Mouth" cannot be taken as an offer to supply at that price. Link to Ezine home page (for reading). Link to Blogging home page (to add comments). |
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