[Tutor] FW: Learning to program, not code.

[Joseph Lee]

Oops, sent it to the original poster only.

-----Original Message-----
From: Joseph Lee [mailto:joseph.lee22590 at gmail.com] 
Sent: Friday, December 19, 2014 1:43 AM
To: 'Brandon Dorsey'
Subject: RE: [Tutor] Learning to program, not code.

Hi Brandon,
Answers are below.

-----Original Message-----
From: Tutor [mailto:tutor-bounces+joseph.lee22590=gmail.com at python.org] On
Behalf Of Brandon Dorsey
Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2014 6:10 PM
To: tutor at python.org
Subject: [Tutor] Learning to program, not code.

Hello All,
Programming has always been a passion of mine, however, I'm frequently
frustrated at simple fact that I've been learning python for 8 months, and I
have yet to start, and finish, a simple project.  I find difficult to not
only visualize the execution, but to figure out when and where to use data
structure 'x'.    Any suggestions on how to approach programming from a
different angle?

JL: A very good question. I come from C++ background and have been using
Python since 2012. After speaking Python for a while, I realize that
programming can be best described as writing a story or an essay. The
English-like syntax of Python, coupled with use of indentation and good
number of tools helped me appreciate how a program works (for me, from
machine level mostly, as I'm working on a project that uses PyWin32
extensions and Win32 API a lot).

Another way to approach programming a project is playing a musical piece or
watching a play. When you play a song, you know when and how to play a given
melody, or when watching a play, you get an idea as to how an actor portrays
a particular character. For me, I sometimes view programming as writing a
play (rather, a musical), with data structures being props and functions
being actors (believe it or not, many geeks are good at arts, including
myself - I use my fingers to type the latest screen reading algorithms in
Python and play show tunes and video game themes on piano).

Good luck.
Cheers,
Joseph
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