Experiences/guidance on teaching Python as a first programming language

[Terry Reedy]

On 12/12/2013 4:17 AM, wxjmfauth at gmail.com wrote:

> Windows, Py3, unicode. It is is infortunate, but it is
> a fact Python has some problems with that platform (file
> sytem encoding), -> potential problems which should not
> exist for a beginner.

Some disappear if, for instance, one uses Idle.

> I am the first to recognize the win console is all but
> friendly.

Something we agree on. It is a piece crap. I believe that MS keeps it 
crippled to discourage use. (They apparently would like to remove it.)

> If one wishes to use a unicode code page, Python fails [*].

If you mean cp65xxx (I forget exact numbers), MS Command Prompt fails, 
not Python. One should not use any other code page, but only other code 
pages work.

Tk, and hence tkinter and idle work fine with the entire BMP. If one 
tells tk to use a font that can handle the entire BMP, it displays the 
entire BMP.

> Python has plenty of good qualities, you (and others)
> are discussing plenty of theoretical aspects.
> I'm pointing the fact, one may be stuck simply because
> one cannot display a piece of of text!

Most text display problems disappear if one avoids Command Prompt and 
uses a GUI that can handle at least the BMP. Idle works on Windows after 
Python is installed unless one tells the installer to not install tcl/tk.

-- 
Terry Jan Reedy