Is python a good started language?

[AtomicWaveBlast]

Is python a good started language?

[Guest]

I'd say yes as its relatively easy to pick up and will introduce you to many concepts shared with other languages.

[AtomicWaveBlast]

Just now, tjcater said:

I'd say yes as its relatively easy to pick up and will introduce you to many concepts shared with other languages.

Okay Ive learned very little so far such as turtle

[DodoDodo123]

Yes, it is good, I started C++ a month ago and it isn't so bad as well....

[Limecat86]

Comming from PHP and (Node)JS I've also gained interest in Python. I have taken a glance at it and it doesn't seem really difficult. But to actually learn it I need to think up a small project I can do with Python.

[geo3]

For learning general programming concepts, yes it's quite good. Also if you intend to work primarily in python it's also good. But if you intend to move on to other languages I'd probably start with something different.  Python is rife with stuff that is done different than norm and may be confusing when trying to switch. Personally I'd start with c# or Java. 

[vorticalbox]

5 hours ago, Limecat86 said:

Comming from PHP and (Node)JS I've also gained interest in Python. I have taken a glance at it and it doesn't seem really difficult. But to actually learn it I need to think up a small project I can do with Python.

I went from c# to python. Did nothing but python for a year selling scripts then got a job 2 months ago doing node/angular

 

Python has so many modules if I had to recommend a few they would be:

 

multiprocessing, so you can split work across multiple CPU cores.

gevent, green threads allowing async threading <- one of my favs

beautifulsoup, allows parsing HTML for we scraping 

requests, to make HTTP requests

robobrowser, a join of the two above to allow you to "browse" the web like a browser but in pure python

[Zajgu]

I was debating between ruby and python but I'm glad I decided to try python first, Its really easy to learn and you grasp concepts that are used throughout other high level languages. P.S. I already knew Java when starting and I linked common concepts between the 2. 

[straight_stewie]

On 1/20/2018 at 1:32 PM, AtomicWaveBlast said:

Is python a good started language?

I started by teaching myself C# to an intermediate level. I then went to college and learned python there. I forgot nearly everything I knew about C#. Now I am reteaching it to myself and I'm finding that it has a lot of features that I wish were in Python (beyond just that the FCL is very nice).

[Dat Guy]

On 20.1.2018 at 8:32 PM, AtomicWaveBlast said:

Is python a good started language?

No.

 

1. Its syntax is horrible (no brackets), you won't learn to abstract to other languages because most other languages are ALGOL- or Lisp-derived.

2. It has no compiler.

3. Its performance sucks.

 

Conclusion: Start with C or Pascal, expand to C++ or Delphi/Go later.

If you just want to learn algorithms (which is adequate in Python, minus Python's atrocities), try Common Lisp.

[vorticalbox]

1 hour ago, Dat Guy said:

No.

 

1. Its syntax is horrible (no brackets), you won't learn to abstract to other languages because most other languages are ALGOL- or Lisp-derived.

2. It has no compiler.

3. Its performance sucks.

 

Conclusion: Start with C or Pascal, expand to C++ or Delphi/Go later.

If you just want to learn algorithms (which is adequate in Python, minus Python's atrocities), try Common Lisp.

What is loses in performance it fails is development that can be a 1/3 of languages such as java and c#.

 

No compiler can be seen as a positive as it reports errors that you other wise wouldn't notice while compiling. 

[Dat Guy]

I doubt that you are able to develop stuff faster in Python than in Common Lisp.

[straight_stewie]

1 hour ago, vorticalbox said:

What is loses in performance it fails is development that can be a 1/3 of languages such as java and c#.

What do you mean?

[Guest]

51 minutes ago, straight_stewie said:

What do you mean?

I don't know if they meant it this way but I interpreted it as:

Quote

What is some loss in performance compared to the advantage of spending 1/3 of the development time spent in other languages (Such as Java and C#).

 

Closer to the topic, I don't think someone learning to program should worry much on the performance of a language (They should still learn to optimize their code though). After they have established a greater understanding of programming in general and are wanting to make something more demanding (Such as a game and etc), perhaps then would be a good time to worry. (Bilingual programmers ftw!)

[Dat Guy]

Bilingual is ok as long as it's C and Lisp. 

[vorticalbox]

56 minutes ago, tjcater said:

What is some loss in performance compared to the advantage of spending 1/3 of the development time spent in other languages (Such as Java and C#).

This is exactly what I meant, although python is "slower" it makes up for it in speed of development.

[burnttoastnice]

Python is ridiculously easy to get started with and use, and development time is next to none. I used to dislike it but eventually started using it in web projects instead of PHP. Not to mention its very portable; I can develop a script on my Windows machine and it'll run as intended on my Linux server.

[MyName13]

21 hours ago, vorticalbox said:

 

robobrowser, a join of the two above to allow you to "browse" the web like a browser but in pure python

So something like selenium?

 

5 hours ago, Dat Guy said:

No.

 

1. Its syntax is horrible (no brackets), you won't learn to abstract to other languages because most other languages are ALGOL- or Lisp-derived.

2. It has no compiler.

3. Its performance sucks.

 

Conclusion: Start with C or Pascal, expand to C++ or Delphi/Go later.

If you just want to learn algorithms (which is adequate in Python, minus Python's atrocities), try Common Lisp.

1)The fact that there are no brackets and that Python forces you to indent your code correctly is a big plus in my opinion.It teaches people to format their code properly, in C(/++) you can write the entire program in one line.

2)Neither do PHP and JS and yet they are used a lot (it seems that Python is used far more in data science than C)

3)Which means nothing to beginners.Doesn't Google use it too?

[vorticalbox]

2 hours ago, MyName13 said:

So something like selenium?

Better as it's just requests and beautofulsoup so you don't have the over head of loading a browser. You can do anything that require a JavaScript though as it's not a browser.

 

 

[TurbulentWinds]

9 hours ago, Dat Guy said:

Its syntax is horrible (no brackets), you won't learn to abstract to other languages because most other languages are ALGOL- or Lisp-derived.

I like it . . .

[TurbulentWinds]

I would start with C# rather than Python. The syntax is more applicable and you can use Unity to make the learning more fun. Python is good if you want to learn more about AI stuff.

[SgtBot]

On 1/21/2018 at 8:00 AM, Limecat86 said:

Comming from PHP and (Node)JS I've also gained interest in Python. I have taken a glance at it and it doesn't seem really difficult. But to actually learn it I need to think up a small project I can do with Python.

The project I am using to learn JavaScript is a Dungeons and Dragons stat rolling script that simulates rolling dice a certain amount of times, taking the smallest out of the group and adding up the rest, and then repeating and finding the smallest out of the total group of sums. I don't even play d&d but it has helped me learn a lot about the math operators in js.

[vorticalbox]

7 hours ago, TurbulentWinds said:

I would start with C# rather than Python. The syntax is more applicable and you can use Unity to make the learning more fun. Python is good if you want to learn more about AI stuff.

Python is great for much more than Ai. Web scraping, data processing, calculations and the like. 

 

It work (I use node at work) I use python to stress test our end points. 

[AtomicWaveBlast]

2 hours ago, vorticalbox said:

Python is great for much more than Ai. Web scraping, data processing, calculations and the like. 

 

It work (I use node at work) I use python to stress test our end points. 

What about like simple games?

[JoostinOnline]

It's perfect for learning the basic concepts. You won't be creating games with it, but it will help you understand the ropes so you can go on to a more powerful language like C.