Python Learning

[Chris Angelico]

On Mon, Dec 18, 2017 at 3:31 PM, Bill <BILL_NOSPAM at noway.net> wrote:
> Chris Angelico wrote:
>>
>>
>> I don't know about vtables as needing to be in ANY programming course.
>> They're part of a "let's dive into the internals of C++" course. You
>> certainly don't need them to understand how things work in Python,
>> because they don't exist; and I'm doubtful that you need to explain
>> them even to C++ programmers.
>
>
> I guess "need to" is a relative thing. You can drive a car without know how
> one works. You can use functions with little knowledge of a run-time stack.
> You can avoid recursion if you are scared of it. And you can totally avoid
> functions if you are scared of them. And who needs documentation...seems
> like a big waste of time! Programmers don't need to know how to write, do
> they?  Ask some programmers that just taught themselves, and they will tell
> you!
>
> After reading, writing, and arithmetic, then perhaps programming.
>

I agree with some of that, but you then take it to absurdity. You most
certainly CAN drive a car without knowing how one works; in fact, with
this century's cars, I think that's very much the case. How many
people REALLY know what happens when you push the accelerator pedal,
and how that makes the car go faster? Originally, it would actually
open a valve and allow more fuel into the engine; now, it's all
managed by a computer. So how much can you really understand of how it
works?

You can certainly use functions without knowing details of the
run-time stack, though you'll need at least SOME comprehension of it.

Avoiding functions and documentation, though, now you're just being ridiculous.

ChrisA