Python education survey

[Rick Johnson]

On Dec 27, 12:14 am, Carl Smith <carl.in... at gmail.com> wrote:
> Do people seriously use IDLE? I thought it was just there for
> scratchers, like turtle.

I know for a fact that many folks use IDLE, even some rather "well
known" folks around here. The fact is, more people use IDLE than admit
to using IDLE. Of course, out of respect, i will not mention their
names myself. Hopefully they will chime in..?

There is a stigma in this community towards IDLE. I am not sure
exactly how it started, or on what logic (or lack thereof) it is
based, but the stigma exists no doubt. I believe it may be just an
extension of the TCL/TK stigma (since IDLE is coded using Tkinter).

My logic is this:
 """ Including an IDE in the stdlib may have been a bad idea (although
i understand and support Guido's original vision for IDLE). But since
we do have it, we need to either MAINTAIN the package or REMOVE it. We
cannot just stick our heads in the sand and ignore the elephant in the
chicken coop. It's bad enough to bloat ANY stdlib with seldom used
modules, but i dare say, it's far worse to bloat a library with seldom
used modules that are poorly maintained! Every module in Python's
stdlib is a testament to the skill and professionalism of this
community as a whole. When a module looks or works badly, we ALL look
and work badly."""

It's no big secret to anyone in this community that both Tkinter and
IDLE are the red headed step children of Pythons stdlib. Very few
people speak kindly of either package. I believe GvR still believes in
the merits of both packages (psst: batteries included!) but he finds
himself at odds with the elite at pydev. Hmm, Maybe he DOES want to
remove them but fears loosing face...FYI: Guido IS is the original
author of both Tkinter and IDLE... it was HIS idea after all. However,
it is high time to re-ignite the original vision and form these
packages into something we can be proud of -- OR -- cut our losses and
remove them forever.

This indecisiveness, collective bickering, and lack of true leadership
is shameful.