Newbie to python --- why should i learn !

[pistacchio]

Raxit at MyKavita.com ha scritto:
> Hi,
> 
> i was reading/learning some hello world program in python.
> I think its very simillar to Java/C++/C#. What's different (except
> syntax) ?
> 

well, it's similar in the sense that it is a programming language. So 
you can say that assembly is similar to BASIC, but that both are 
different from finnish, but from a programmer's point of view, they're 
all rather different languages.

> what can i do easily with python which is not easy in c++/java !?
>

generally speaking python is said to be easier to pick up for a pletora 
of reasons. technically speaking, it is not, for example, strongly 
typed, nor it forces you to use a programming paradigm like object 
oriented programming.
This means that if you just want to see your name printed on the screen 
you can simply write:

print "raxit"

and get the work done. to understand it you just have to understand some 
basics like what is a string and what is a statement.

in java, for example, it would look like:

public class HelloWorld {
      public static void main(String[] args) {
          System.out.println("raxit");
      }
  }

in short, to obtain the same result (limited to this case) you have to 
write 650% more code and you're forced to know what is a class, what 
namespace means, what is a function (and arguments) and what are methods 
and the dot notation and an array. not that you won't encounter all of 
them learning python, but you're presented with all of them, all at 
once, in the moment where you just want to write the simplest program. 
that's why a typical java beginner's guide starts with ditto examples 
and adds: "ignore everything for the moment". i hate when i have to 
ignore things of a code that i'm writing!

the same applies to C# and, to a certain extend, C++ that is a much 
older language and present different learning problems.
Now, what can you do with python? Virtually everything (network 
programming, game programming, server side scripting). In most cases, it 
would run slower than it would do with the other languages (even slower 
than the slow java). You won't do drivers or kernels in python, but you 
won't even code them in java or C#.
the programs you'll write will mostly run on a number of different 
platform, like java programs. porting a c++ is a bit tougher. at the 
moment there is project (mono) that is porting the .net platform (where 
c# runs) to multiple platforms, but basically, if you write a c# program 
you're programming for windows.
hope it helps



> Tnx,
> Raxit
> www.mykavita.com