Learning Python for a new beginner

[Alan McIntyre]

Lisa Horton wrote:
> I hear that Python is one of the easiest languages to learn. It is
> easier than PHP or Pearl? Is it as useful as those two? I am attracted
> to Python as a first language, but I just want to be sure I will be
> able to use it.
> 
> Opinions, thoughts, thanks!

I haven't done much with Perl, but I did try to learn enough PHP a 
couple of years ago to do some web development.  It wasn't too bad, but 
it seemed tough to get started for some reason.  My experience with 
Python wasn't like that - it didn't seem to take very long at all to get 
comfortable with it and start using it for real projects at work (maybe 
2-3 months of learning it in my spare time).

I still use Python for >90% of my projects at work.  In over 2 years, I 
haven't run into any situations where I had good reason to choose 
anything else.  The stuff built into the language and the libraries that 
come as part of the standard Python distribution have made my life a lot 
easier than it ever was when I was only using C/C++.

Of course, your mileage may vary, depending on what sort of programming 
you'd like to do. :)

Hope this helps,
Alan McIntyre
http://www.esrgtech.com