[Edu-sig] [edupython] Python in Education Advocacy Article

[kirby urner]

On 3/27/07, Michael Tobis <mtobis at gmail.com> wrote:

> It is also plain to see that self-directed web-centric beginners are
> more likely to gravitate to Javascript, Actionscript/Flash or PHP.
>
> What are the roots of these choices? Should we be concerned about
> them? If so, is there anything we can and should realistically do
> about them?
>
> mt

I think Python thrives best in a diverse ecosystem of languages.  After all,
if it's to serve as a "glue language", there need to be languages to glue to
besides Python.

You mention PHP, but don't forget about Plone.  We've gone far beyond
the cgi days, where primitive Python works well, to more ideas about
stuffing ZODBs with Objects that have all these view-related aspects --
strong model-view-controller designworks.

We don't begrude students forking off or coming to Python from disparate
projects, perhaps anchored in some other world (Smalltalk even).  In a
Croquet type world, it'll be good to have a conversation, ala IDLE, ala
PyCrust, with our interpreter now and then, whatever the underlying
bytecode system.  Lists, dictionaries, top level functions and objects,
a concise model of the OO paradigm...  __rib__ syntax.  Nevermind this
is a glassy semi-transparent panel in some Alice in Wonderland scenario.
Python is Python, be it in C, Java, C# or whatever.

Kirby