[Edu-sig] The power of interactivity

[Arthur]

Prasan - 

You should also definitely look at Panda3d, if you have not:

http://panda3d.etc.cmu.edu/

Developed by Disney and now being supported at CMU,

They may, in fact, have beaten you to the punch. It's pretty big league
stuff, it seems to me.

Art 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: edu-sig-bounces at python.org [mailto:edu-sig-bounces at python.org] On
> Behalf Of Prasan Samtani
> Sent: Thursday, December 16, 2004 1:27 PM
> To: edu-sig at python.org
> Subject: [Edu-sig] The power of interactivity
> 
> > I should introduce you to some of the characters on board edu-sig.
> > ........
> 
> Fascinating stuff, Kirby. Thanks!
> 
> Just kicking around some more ideas on Python in education. I am the
> assistant for a class on Game Programming, and just got the Python bug
> when
> I started using it for a research project (which hopefully shows up in
> PyCon - http://www.tacticallanguage.com). Anyways, I've been thinking of
> ways to introduce Python as a model for scripting languages (OK, OK, I
> know
> Python is not a scripting language, but it is most often used as one in
> the
> video game development cycle) for this one semester course. A problem
> arises
> in splitting the limited course time between teaching them 'hard skills'
> such as building the bare metal of their 'Game Engine', and soft skills
> such
> as designing a scripting system.
> 
> I'd also like the students to write the binding code themselves, not
> because
> I'm a masochist, but because it will be invaluable should they enter the
> industry and be in charge of writing a scripting system. My objectives for
> introducing Python will be to introduce an appreciation for language
> design
> (our school sticks to C++ for most of the undergraduate coursework), and
> to
> get them thinking about building flexible applications. The one option
> here
> is to write the basic framework myself, including some binding code
> (that'd
> give them a head start, but they'll have to extend the application on both
> the C++ and Python side - and that should give them the experience they
> need). Has anyone here experimented with using the C++/Python combination
> as
> an example of how one could produce flexible systems (not just for games,
> but in general). If so, I'd love to hear about it.
> 
> Thanks,
> Prasan
> 
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