Python Learning

[ROGER GRAYDON CHRISTMAN]

On Sat, Dec 16, 2017, Bill wrote:
>
Varun R wrote:
>> Hi All,
>>
>> I'm new to programming, can anyone guide me, how to start learning python
programming language,...plz suggest some books also.
>>
>> Thanks all
>
>Are you sure you want to learn Python first?
>Python does enough things "behind the scene"
>that it makes me question the wisdom of that.
>Other points of view are welcome, of course.
>Learning the primitives of C++ first, may make for an easier transition.
>Surely this has been discussed before?
>


Having taught introductory courses both with C++ and Python
 as first languages, I really think Python is a better choice.

Consider this nice simple Python program:

print('Hello, world!')
How much background does a student need to understand this,
or to produce programs of equivalent complexity?

Do you really want to get into explaining why you need to
refer to the iostream library, consult the std namespace,
and define a function named main, and why it returns zero?

Is any of that really necessary to understand how to print output?


Or by primitives, do you first get into the integer data type,
how to declare variables, and how to do arithmetic (all of which
are nice and primitive and C++) and postpone all input and output
until the third month of the course, after you have had adequate
time to to explain in detail the meanings of function declarations,
namespaces, streams and #include?

>From my experience, both as instructor and student, with
introductory programming courses with half a dozen different
first languages  to use for those courses, I think C++ is one
of the worst choices!   (In my humble opinion, of course)

Roger Christman
Pennsylvania State University