Python indentation deters newbies?

[beliavsky at aol.com]

One of the most commmon reasons programmers cite for not trying Python
is that indentation determines the program flow -- they think its
weird. I think programmers who actually try Python adapt quickly and
do not find the indentation rules to be a problem.

I wonder if there is a way to remove this initial barrier. Could an
alternate source form be defined, so that there are matching if-endif
and for-next constructs instead of significant indentation? The
alternate source form and the current form would result in exactly the
same .pyc file.

I'm not saying that Python's use of indentation is bad, just that it
stops many programmers from trying it.