[Tutor] python, speed, game programming

[Alan Gauld]

On 03/01/14 21:53, Keith Winston wrote:

> Ladders!). It is a typing tutor, I am inclined to use it to learn Dvorak
> but I would expect it easily adapted to QWERTY or anything else.
> ...
>
> My concern is with speed. This will have to keep up with (somewhat
> arbitrarily) fast typing,

Lets see. The speed record for touch typing is around 150 wpm with 
average word being about 5 chars, so a speed of about 750 cpm
or 12.5cps That's about 80ms between letters.

Python on a modern PC can probably execute around 100k lines
of code(*) per second or 100 per millisecond. That's 8k lines
executed between each keypress for the worlds fastest typist.

I used  to use a typing tutor that was written in old GW Basic
on the original IBM PC (speed 4.7MHz) and it had no problem
analyzing my stats (albeit at a modest 40-50 wpm).

I'd worry about speed after you find you need to.

(*)Caveat: I haven't tried any kind of objective test and
of course some Python 'lines' are equal to many
lines of simpler languages - think list comprehensions.
But in practice I still don't think you will have a
big problem.


-- 
Alan G
Author of the Learn to Program web site
http://www.alan-g.me.uk/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alangauldphotos