Well I choose python, but I am still confused
Awhile back I asked which programing language was best to start with, after see all the results that people told me I had decided to download python and use that. However I am now wondering if there is any previous knowledge I should know first. Also my friend keeps calling me a noob for saying I am going to start off with python and not java. Any help or advice is highly appreciated. Thanks - Goremanilius
Smack your friend and call him a "holier-than-thou" idiot. [wink]
Actually, you have one compelling reason to not learn Python and to learn Java instead; your friend knows it. Having a friend to help you out is always nice, and is fun.
But back onto the topic. No there is no real prerequisites for learning Python. Just have patience and perseverance. Perhaps most of all, realize that creating a Hello World! program is still quite an achievement, even if it doesn't look like much. All progress is good and should be celebrated. Don't get your expectations too high up, and don't ignore your little steps thinking them to be insignificant or boring.
Beyond that, what help can we give? We don't really know *anything* about your problems. So, good luck.
Actually, you have one compelling reason to not learn Python and to learn Java instead; your friend knows it. Having a friend to help you out is always nice, and is fun.
But back onto the topic. No there is no real prerequisites for learning Python. Just have patience and perseverance. Perhaps most of all, realize that creating a Hello World! program is still quite an achievement, even if it doesn't look like much. All progress is good and should be celebrated. Don't get your expectations too high up, and don't ignore your little steps thinking them to be insignificant or boring.
Beyond that, what help can we give? We don't really know *anything* about your problems. So, good luck.
Well, first off you should ignore your 'friend'. I doubt he knows what he's talking about. Python is a perfectly fine place to start and if he's ignorant enough to mock you for your choice then he's probably not as awesome as he thinks he is.
Anyway, good previous knowledge... like what? You need to know very little math to start and other than that you just need decent reading comprehension. Get an introductory text/tutorial and that should fill you in. If you have done so and had problems with that then I guess try another resource and/or ask questions here over specific concepts you are having trouble with.
It'll probably take awhile until you know what you're doing. You'll copy something from your learning resource and think "I don't get this". But keep keep working at it. You'll notice patterns. Things will click. You should change some of the code around and see what happens. Experiment.
Good luck
Anyway, good previous knowledge... like what? You need to know very little math to start and other than that you just need decent reading comprehension. Get an introductory text/tutorial and that should fill you in. If you have done so and had problems with that then I guess try another resource and/or ask questions here over specific concepts you are having trouble with.
It'll probably take awhile until you know what you're doing. You'll copy something from your learning resource and think "I don't get this". But keep keep working at it. You'll notice patterns. Things will click. You should change some of the code around and see what happens. Experiment.
Good luck
I suppose its best to program with a friend, but he would never have time for it anyways. I am not having nessesarily a problem, its just that when I downloaded python, the python tutorial it came with kinda confuses me. I AM an ABSOLUTE beginner. NO previous knowledge of programming. Is their an online tutorial somewhere online that can help someone like me?
There really is a wealth of tutorials online for python. To begin, I would recommend poking around the documentation area of www.python.org. In particular, this is the tutorial I browsed when learning the language:
http://docs.python.org/tut/tut.html
Try working through the tutorials and posting questions when you run into problems.
http://docs.python.org/tut/tut.html
Try working through the tutorials and posting questions when you run into problems.
If your friend does not know Java Programming well enough to help you with Python programming basics, then he doesn't know enough to help you much with Java either.
While all programming languages are different, they share most of their foundations which someone who is an expert should have no trouble learning enough in a matter of hours to show a beginner programmer where to start.
Keep up with python, and follow the documents on python's site. It is a lovely little language, and if you run into problems post here and someone will help you over any bumps.
While all programming languages are different, they share most of their foundations which someone who is an expert should have no trouble learning enough in a matter of hours to show a beginner programmer where to start.
Keep up with python, and follow the documents on python's site. It is a lovely little language, and if you run into problems post here and someone will help you over any bumps.
Quote:Original post by Ezbez
Actually, you have one compelling reason to not learn Python and to learn Java instead; your friend knows it. Having a friend to help you out is always nice, and is fun.
If his friend calls him a noob, then his friend probably doesn't know much about anything [wink]
To the OP: you might want to look at the Python tutorials for absolute beginners.
How to Think Like a Computer Scientist: Learning with Python
More than just teaching you Python, it teaches you problem solving and the cognitive skills that requires. It's been used in a high school setting and commended by a college educator. I recommend this to every Python and programming beginner.
(If you already know at least one programming language and just want to pick up Python, I recommend Dive Into Python.)
More than just teaching you Python, it teaches you problem solving and the cognitive skills that requires. It's been used in a high school setting and commended by a college educator. I recommend this to every Python and programming beginner.
(If you already know at least one programming language and just want to pick up Python, I recommend Dive Into Python.)
I chose Python too. :-) I'm using and loving "A Byte Of Python". It's an e-book and you can find the link on the python.org "Absolute Beginners" page. Best of all it's free so ya can't beat the price. I've also bought a couple of reference books and those are on the way too. There are some mailing lists you can join from the site too. There's even one called "tutorial" for new learners.
Well I have succesfully made the "Hello World!" program. Yay me. I used the documents mentioned earlier "A Byte of Python" But I am confused by one thing. I am using windows and I click on start-all programs-python 2.5-IDLE(python GUI) and once that was up In order to actually run the program I had to click on File-new window. The menus at the top of both are different. After I clicked on new window I typed print 'Hello World!' and saved it. then i clicked F5 to run it. It worked. But I need to know if what I am doing is the RIGHT way to get where I was.
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