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al1986 · Apr 7th, 2008, 7:42 PM

As I'm sure you know, the best way to learn programming is to actually do stuff. Python is a good choice of language for rapid application development (RAD). With the interactive interpreter, you can type in code and see instant results. This, together with the fact that Python is far more straightforward, elegant, and flexible than C++ makes it a much better choice of language for learning how to program. In short: forget C++ for now, and concentrate on Python. Of course, this is just my own unbiased opinion

1.) Python can be used as a scripting language, say, for scripting games. Civilization IV is an example of a game which can be scripted using Python. But, the term "scripting language" suggests a language which lacks power. This isn't the case with Python, it's a powerful language and can be used to develop fully-fledged applications.

2.) Quite a general question, so difficult to give a specific answer to. But, my advice would be to buy a couple of good books, read code, write code, and help others. If you have a question related to Python, go ahead and ask in the #python IRC channel on freenode, or post a topic on the Python mailing list (comp.lang.python).

I suggested buying books as some people find them more convenient to study from. However, if you're happy to just read online tutorials, you can go a long way by doing that. A good starting pont would be 'A Byte of Python', available at http://www.ibiblio.org/swaroopch/byteofpython/read/

I could ramble on all day, so I'll cut it short there. Hope this helps you get going. To answer your last question, try typing raw_input() at the end of your file.

Apr 7th, 2008, 7:42 PM	#3
al1986 Newbie Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 24 Rep Power: 0	Re: New to programming, well kind of.. As I'm sure you know, the best way to learn programming is to actually do stuff. Python is a good choice of language for rapid application development (RAD). With the interactive interpreter, you can type in code and see instant results. This, together with the fact that Python is far more straightforward, elegant, and flexible than C++ makes it a much better choice of language for learning how to program. In short: forget C++ for now, and concentrate on Python. Of course, this is just my own unbiased opinion 1.) Python can be used as a scripting language, say, for scripting games. Civilization IV is an example of a game which can be scripted using Python. But, the term "scripting language" suggests a language which lacks power. This isn't the case with Python, it's a powerful language and can be used to develop fully-fledged applications. 2.) Quite a general question, so difficult to give a specific answer to. But, my advice would be to buy a couple of good books, read code, write code, and help others. If you have a question related to Python, go ahead and ask in the #python IRC channel on freenode, or post a topic on the Python mailing list (comp.lang.python). I suggested buying books as some people find them more convenient to study from. However, if you're happy to just read online tutorials, you can go a long way by doing that. A good starting pont would be 'A Byte of Python', available at http://www.ibiblio.org/swaroopch/byteofpython/read/ I could ramble on all day, so I'll cut it short there. Hope this helps you get going. To answer your last question, try typing raw_input() at the end of your file.