Question(s)

[avi.e.gross at gmail.com]

I am not one for IDLE worship, Tenor. But if you have been getting a message here, it is that there are an amazing number of programs that support your use of python during the development phase and perhaps later. I actually often use an environment called RSTUDIO (now part of a new name of POSIT) because it has been expanded beyond supporting R and supports Python and a growing number of other languages or combos that combine word processing with inserts from multiple languages. I have not used it for other languages like C/C++ and Javascript but the point is that like some others, it is not specific to Python but provides support for it. And, somewhat amusingly, you can write programs that combine parts in R and in Python that inter-operate with each other.

Since you are taking a fairly overwhelming challenge of trying to learn everything at once while also developing something you want to be perfect and with few if any flaws, it may make sense to start with more of an ASCII editor or something with a few features but a simple interface, and a bit later when some parts of your code are working and you have some experience, you can move the code up a few notches to tools that perform a lot more validation for you.

Please consider that resources trying to teach you the language, besides often showing simpler scenarios, often are not going to tell you EVERYTHING else you may need or that is usable let alone teach you all available modules and so on.


-----Original Message-----
From: Python-list <python-list-bounces+avi.e.gross=gmail.com at python.org> On Behalf Of o1bigtenor via Python-list
Sent: Thursday, October 26, 2023 8:34 AM
To: Michael Torrie <torriem at gmail.com>
Cc: python-list at python.org
Subject: Re: Question(s)

On Wed, Oct 25, 2023 at 10:19 AM Michael Torrie via Python-list
<python-list at python.org> wrote:
>
> On 10/25/23 05:51, o1bigtenor via Python-list wrote:
> > Looks like I have another area to investigate. (grin!)
> > Any suggestions?
>
> Seems to me you're trying to run before you have learned to walk.
>
> Slow down, go to the beginning and just learn python, write some code,
> see if it runs.  Go through the tutorial at
> https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/index.html

Interesting - - - -  ". . . see if it runs." - - - that's the issue!
When the code is accessing sensors there isn't an easy way to
check that the code is working until one has done the all of the
physical construction. If I'm trying to control a pulsation system
using square waves with distinct needs for timing etc I hadn't
seen any way of 'stepping through the code' (phrase you use later).

>
> Your first and most basic tool is the python interpreter.  It will tell
> you when you try to run your code if you have syntax errors.  It's true
> that some errors the linters will catch won't show up as syntax errors,
> but cross the bridge when you get to it.  Once you have a basic grasp of
> Python syntax, you can begin using some of the tools Python has for
> organizing code: Functions and modules (eventually packages).
> Eventually when your logic is placed neatly into functions, you can then
> write other python programs that import those functions and feed
> different parameters to them and test that the output is what you
> expect. That is known as a test.
>
> Nothing wrong with geany as an editor.  However, you might find the
> Python Idle IDE useful (it usually installs with Python), as it lets you
> work more interactively with your code, inspecting and interacting with
> live python objects in memory.  It also integrates debugging
> functionality to let you step through your code one line at a time and
> watch variables and how they change.

I have been following this list for some time. Don't believe that I've ever
seen anything where anyone was referred to 'Idle'.  In reading other user
group threads I have heard lots about java and its ide - - - don't remember,
again, any re: an ide for python.
Even in maker threads - - - say for arduino - - its 'use this cut and
paste method
of programming' with no mention of any kind of ide when it was microPython - -
although being a subset of python it Idle may not work with it.
>
> When you encounter isses with your code (syntax or logical) that you
> can't solve, you can come to the list, show your code and the full
> output of the interpreter that shows the complete error message and back
> trace and I think you'll get a lot of helpful responses.
> --

That was the plan.

My problem is that I'm needing to move quite quickly from 'hello, world' to
something quite a bit more complex. Most of the instruction stuff I've run
into assumes that one is programming only for the joy of learning to
program where I've got things I want to do and - - - sadly - - - they're
not sorta like the run of the mill stuff.

Oh well - - - I am working on things!

Thanks for the ideas and the assistance!

Regards
-- 
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