emergent/swarm/evolutionary systems etc

[Cameron Laird]

In article <c4jehj$6eh$1 at titan.btinternet.com>,
Peter MacKenzie <peter9547 at btinternet.com> wrote:
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>Fortunately, I've found an online textbook at
>http://www.ibiblio.org/obp/thinkCSpy/index.htm, which appears better suited
>to my needs than the standard python documentation, and may alleviate some
>of the conceptual and syntactical difficulties I've been experiencing.
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*Thinking ... with Python* isn't in opposition to "the standard Python
documentation"; it's complementary.

As you perhaps expect, computing is sufficiently ramified to have its
own culture.  It is VERY common for good, well-regarded, high-status,
... practitioners to be *aware* of "standards", without having *learned*
from them, or having learned only highly-specialized material.  MANY of
the regulars in this newsgroup applaud and have benefitted from *Think-
ing ...*.

More broadly, no right-thinking Pythoneer says to newcomers, "read 'the
standard Python documentation'."  We *do* have the habits of recommend-
ing the canonical tutorial, *Thinking ...*, and, depending on ones
background and aims, several other tutorials and books.  You're doing
fine.  Don't think you have to read "the references" for now; you're 
OK with "tutorials".
-- 

Cameron Laird <claird at phaseit.net>
Business:  http://www.Phaseit.net