Is Python worth it??

[Sells, Fred]

I second what others have said about the tutorials.  I have not read "how to
think like a ..." but from other posting here I have reservations about it
as a starting point.

-----Original Message-----
From: Simon Brunning [mailto:simon.brunning at gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 15, 2005 4:42 AM
To: john boy
Cc: python-list at python.org
Subject: Re: Is Python worth it??


On 14/11/05, john boy <xray_alpha_charlie at yahoo.com> wrote:
> I have started out trying to learn Python for my first programming
language.
>  I am starting off with the book "how to think like a computer scientist."
> I spend about 4-5 hrs a day trying to learn this stuff.  It is certainly
no
> easy task.  I've been at it for about 1-2 weeks now and have a very
> elementary picture of how Python works.  I am teaching myself from home
and
> only recieve help from this forum.  Can anybody give me a timeframe as to
> how long it usually takes to pick something like this up, so I can maybe
> figure out a way to pace myself?  I can dedicate a good amount of time to
it
> everyday.  Any advice on what is the best way to learn Python?  I am a
> fairly educated individual with a natural sciences degree (forestry), so I
> also have a decent math background.  Are there any constraints
> mathematically or logic "wise" that would prevent me from building a firm
> grasp of this language?

Keep at it.

Everyone is different, so don't worry about how long it takes you vs.
how long others might take. If you have no programming background,
there's a lot to learn. Using Python is a good choice, I think, 'cos
it gets a lot of extranious crud that many other languages insist on
out of your way, but there's still a lot to learn.

The best way to learn? Go through the tutorials - but if you get an
idea for a mini-project of your own, don't be afraid to dive off and
give it a go. Try to solve you own problems for a while, 'cos that's a
valuable skill, but don't get to the point of frustration. Ask for
help here or on the tutor mailing list[1].

And have fun.

[1] http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/tutor

--
Cheers,
Simon B,
simon at brunningonline.net,
http://www.brunningonline.net/simon/blog/
-- 
http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list

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