~dkuhlman/python-training-materials/Materials

<h1><a class="toc-backref" href="#id1">General Python FAQ</a><a class="headerlink" href="#general-python-faq" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h1>

<p class="topic-title first">Contents</p>

<li><a class="reference internal" href="#general-python-faq" id="id1">General Python FAQ</a><ul>

<li><a class="reference internal" href="#general-information" id="id2">General Information</a><ul>

<li><a class="reference internal" href="#what-is-python" id="id3">What is Python?</a></li>

<li><a class="reference internal" href="#what-is-the-python-software-foundation" id="id4">What is the Python Software Foundation?</a></li>

<li><a class="reference internal" href="#are-there-copyright-restrictions-on-the-use-of-python" id="id5">Are there copyright restrictions on the use of Python?</a></li>

<li><a class="reference internal" href="#why-was-python-created-in-the-first-place" id="id6">Why was Python created in the first place?</a></li>

<li><a class="reference internal" href="#what-is-python-good-for" id="id7">What is Python good for?</a></li>

<li><a class="reference internal" href="#how-does-the-python-version-numbering-scheme-work" id="id8">How does the Python version numbering scheme work?</a></li>

<li><a class="reference internal" href="#how-do-i-obtain-a-copy-of-the-python-source" id="id9">How do I obtain a copy of the Python source?</a></li>

<li><a class="reference internal" href="#how-do-i-get-documentation-on-python" id="id10">How do I get documentation on Python?</a></li>

<li><a class="reference internal" href="#i-ve-never-programmed-before-is-there-a-python-tutorial" id="id11">I’ve never programmed before. Is there a Python tutorial?</a></li>

<li><a class="reference internal" href="#is-there-a-newsgroup-or-mailing-list-devoted-to-python" id="id12">Is there a newsgroup or mailing list devoted to Python?</a></li>

<li><a class="reference internal" href="#how-do-i-get-a-beta-test-version-of-python" id="id13">How do I get a beta test version of Python?</a></li>

<li><a class="reference internal" href="#how-do-i-submit-bug-reports-and-patches-for-python" id="id14">How do I submit bug reports and patches for Python?</a></li>

<li><a class="reference internal" href="#are-there-any-published-articles-about-python-that-i-can-reference" id="id15">Are there any published articles about Python that I can reference?</a></li>

<li><a class="reference internal" href="#are-there-any-books-on-python" id="id16">Are there any books on Python?</a></li>

<li><a class="reference internal" href="#where-in-the-world-is-www-python-org-located" id="id17">Where in the world is www.python.org located?</a></li>

<li><a class="reference internal" href="#why-is-it-called-python" id="id18">Why is it called Python?</a></li>

<li><a class="reference internal" href="#do-i-have-to-like-monty-python-s-flying-circus" id="id19">Do I have to like “Monty Python’s Flying Circus”?</a></li>

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</ul>

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</li>

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<li><a class="reference internal" href="#python-in-the-real-world" id="id20">Python in the real world</a><ul>

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<li><a class="reference internal" href="#how-stable-is-python" id="id21">How stable is Python?</a></li>

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<li><a class="reference internal" href="#how-many-people-are-using-python" id="id22">How many people are using Python?</a></li>

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<li><a class="reference internal" href="#have-any-significant-projects-been-done-in-python" id="id23">Have any significant projects been done in Python?</a></li>

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<li><a class="reference internal" href="#what-new-developments-are-expected-for-python-in-the-future" id="id24">What new developments are expected for Python in the future?</a></li>

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<li><a class="reference internal" href="#is-it-reasonable-to-propose-incompatible-changes-to-python" id="id25">Is it reasonable to propose incompatible changes to Python?</a></li>

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<li><a class="reference internal" href="#is-python-a-good-language-for-beginning-programmers" id="id26">Is Python a good language for beginning programmers?</a></li>

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</ul>

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</li>

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</ul>

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</li>

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</ul>

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</div>

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<h2><a class="toc-backref" href="#id2">General Information</a><a class="headerlink" href="#general-information" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>

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<h3><a class="toc-backref" href="#id3">What is Python?</a><a class="headerlink" href="#what-is-python" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>

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<p>Python is an interpreted, interactive, object-oriented programming language. It

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incorporates modules, exceptions, dynamic typing, very high level dynamic data

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types, and classes. Python combines remarkable power with very clear syntax.

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It has interfaces to many system calls and libraries, as well as to various

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window systems, and is extensible in C or C++. It is also usable as an

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extension language for applications that need a programmable interface.

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Finally, Python is portable: it runs on many Unix variants, on the Mac, and on

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Windows 2000 and later.</p>

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<p>To find out more, start with <a class="reference internal" href="../tutorial/index.html#tutorial-index"><span>The Python Tutorial</span></a>. The <a class="reference external" href="https://wiki.python.org/moin/BeginnersGuide">Beginner’s Guide to

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Python</a> links to other

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introductory tutorials and resources for learning Python.</p>

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</div>

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<h3><a class="toc-backref" href="#id4">What is the Python Software Foundation?</a><a class="headerlink" href="#what-is-the-python-software-foundation" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>

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<p>The Python Software Foundation is an independent non-profit organization that

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holds the copyright on Python versions 2.1 and newer. The PSF’s mission is to

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advance open source technology related to the Python programming language and to

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publicize the use of Python. The PSF’s home page is at

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<a class="reference external" href="https://www.python.org/psf/">https://www.python.org/psf/</a>.</p>

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<p>Donations to the PSF are tax-exempt in the US. If you use Python and find it

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helpful, please contribute via <a class="reference external" href="https://www.python.org/psf/donations/">the PSF donation page</a>.</p>

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</div>

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<h3><a class="toc-backref" href="#id5">Are there copyright restrictions on the use of Python?</a><a class="headerlink" href="#are-there-copyright-restrictions-on-the-use-of-python" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>

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<p>You can do anything you want with the source, as long as you leave the

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copyrights in and display those copyrights in any documentation about Python

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that you produce. If you honor the copyright rules, it’s OK to use Python for

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commercial use, to sell copies of Python in source or binary form (modified or

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unmodified), or to sell products that incorporate Python in some form. We would

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still like to know about all commercial use of Python, of course.</p>

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<p>See <a class="reference external" href="https://www.python.org/psf/license/">the PSF license page</a> to find further

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explanations and a link to the full text of the license.</p>

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<p>The Python logo is trademarked, and in certain cases permission is required to

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use it. Consult <a class="reference external" href="https://www.python.org/psf/trademarks/">the Trademark Usage Policy</a> for more information.</p>

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</div>

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<h3><a class="toc-backref" href="#id6">Why was Python created in the first place?</a><a class="headerlink" href="#why-was-python-created-in-the-first-place" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>

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<p>Here’s a <em>very</em> brief summary of what started it all, written by Guido van

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Rossum:</p>

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<div><p>I had extensive experience with implementing an interpreted language in the

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ABC group at CWI, and from working with this group I had learned a lot about

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language design. This is the origin of many Python features, including the

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use of indentation for statement grouping and the inclusion of

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very-high-level data types (although the details are all different in

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Python).</p>

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<p>I had a number of gripes about the ABC language, but also liked many of its

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features. It was impossible to extend the ABC language (or its

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implementation) to remedy my complaints – in fact its lack of extensibility

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was one of its biggest problems. I had some experience with using Modula-2+

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and talked with the designers of Modula-3 and read the Modula-3 report.

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Modula-3 is the origin of the syntax and semantics used for exceptions, and

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some other Python features.</p>

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<p>I was working in the Amoeba distributed operating system group at CWI. We

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needed a better way to do system administration than by writing either C

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programs or Bourne shell scripts, since Amoeba had its own system call

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interface which wasn’t easily accessible from the Bourne shell. My

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experience with error handling in Amoeba made me acutely aware of the

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importance of exceptions as a programming language feature.</p>

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<p>It occurred to me that a scripting language with a syntax like ABC but with

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access to the Amoeba system calls would fill the need. I realized that it

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would be foolish to write an Amoeba-specific language, so I decided that I

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needed a language that was generally extensible.</p>

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<p>During the 1989 Christmas holidays, I had a lot of time on my hand, so I

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decided to give it a try. During the next year, while still mostly working

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on it in my own time, Python was used in the Amoeba project with increasing

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success, and the feedback from colleagues made me add many early

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improvements.</p>

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<p>In February 1991, after just over a year of development, I decided to post to

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USENET. The rest is in the <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">Misc/HISTORY</span></code> file.</p>

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</div></blockquote>

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</div>

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<h3><a class="toc-backref" href="#id7">What is Python good for?</a><a class="headerlink" href="#what-is-python-good-for" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>

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<p>Python is a high-level general-purpose programming language that can be applied

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to many different classes of problems.</p>

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<p>The language comes with a large standard library that covers areas such as

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string processing (regular expressions, Unicode, calculating differences between

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files), Internet protocols (HTTP, FTP, SMTP, XML-RPC, POP, IMAP, CGI

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programming), software engineering (unit testing, logging, profiling, parsing

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Python code), and operating system interfaces (system calls, filesystems, TCP/IP

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sockets). Look at the table of contents for <a class="reference internal" href="../library/index.html#library-index"><span>The Python Standard Library</span></a> to get an idea

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of what’s available. A wide variety of third-party extensions are also

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available. Consult <a class="reference external" href="https://pypi.python.org/pypi">the Python Package Index</a> to

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find packages of interest to you.</p>

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</div>

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<h3><a class="toc-backref" href="#id8">How does the Python version numbering scheme work?</a><a class="headerlink" href="#how-does-the-python-version-numbering-scheme-work" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>

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<p>Python versions are numbered A.B.C or A.B. A is the major version number – it

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is only incremented for really major changes in the language. B is the minor

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version number, incremented for less earth-shattering changes. C is the

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micro-level – it is incremented for each bugfix release. See <span class="target" id="index-0"></span><a class="pep reference external" href="https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0006"><strong>PEP 6</strong></a> for more

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information about bugfix releases.</p>

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<p>Not all releases are bugfix releases. In the run-up to a new major release, a

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series of development releases are made, denoted as alpha, beta, or release

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candidate. Alphas are early releases in which interfaces aren’t yet finalized;

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it’s not unexpected to see an interface change between two alpha releases.

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Betas are more stable, preserving existing interfaces but possibly adding new

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modules, and release candidates are frozen, making no changes except as needed

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to fix critical bugs.</p>

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<p>Alpha, beta and release candidate versions have an additional suffix. The

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suffix for an alpha version is “aN” for some small number N, the suffix for a

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beta version is “bN” for some small number N, and the suffix for a release

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candidate version is “cN” for some small number N. In other words, all versions

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labeled 2.0aN precede the versions labeled 2.0bN, which precede versions labeled

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2.0cN, and <em>those</em> precede 2.0.</p>

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<p>You may also find version numbers with a “+” suffix, e.g. “2.2+”. These are

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unreleased versions, built directly from the Subversion trunk. In practice,

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after a final minor release is made, the Subversion trunk is incremented to the

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next minor version, which becomes the “a0” version,

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e.g. “2.4a0”.</p>

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<p>See also the documentation for <a class="reference internal" href="../library/sys.html#sys.version" title="sys.version"><code class="xref py py-data docutils literal"><span class="pre">sys.version</span></code></a>, <a class="reference internal" href="../library/sys.html#sys.hexversion" title="sys.hexversion"><code class="xref py py-data docutils literal"><span class="pre">sys.hexversion</span></code></a>, and

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<a class="reference internal" href="../library/sys.html#sys.version_info" title="sys.version_info"><code class="xref py py-data docutils literal"><span class="pre">sys.version_info</span></code></a>.</p>

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</div>

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<h3><a class="toc-backref" href="#id9">How do I obtain a copy of the Python source?</a><a class="headerlink" href="#how-do-i-obtain-a-copy-of-the-python-source" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>

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<p>The latest Python source distribution is always available from python.org, at

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<a class="reference external" href="https://www.python.org/download/">https://www.python.org/download/</a>. The latest development sources can be obtained

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via anonymous Mercurial access at <a class="reference external" href="https://hg.python.org/cpython">https://hg.python.org/cpython</a>.</p>

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<p>The source distribution is a gzipped tar file containing the complete C source,

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Sphinx-formatted documentation, Python library modules, example programs, and

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several useful pieces of freely distributable software. The source will compile

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and run out of the box on most UNIX platforms.</p>

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<p>Consult the <a class="reference external" href="https://docs.python.org/devguide/setup.html">Getting Started section of the Python Developer’s Guide</a> for more

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information on getting the source code and compiling it.</p>

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</div>

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<h3><a class="toc-backref" href="#id10">How do I get documentation on Python?</a><a class="headerlink" href="#how-do-i-get-documentation-on-python" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>

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<p>The standard documentation for the current stable version of Python is available

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at <a class="reference external" href="https://docs.python.org/3/">https://docs.python.org/3/</a>. PDF, plain text, and downloadable HTML versions are

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also available at <a class="reference external" href="https://docs.python.org/3/download.html">https://docs.python.org/3/download.html</a>.</p>

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<p>The documentation is written in reStructuredText and processed by <a class="reference external" href="http://sphinx-doc.org/">the Sphinx

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documentation tool</a>. The reStructuredText source for

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the documentation is part of the Python source distribution.</p>

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</div>

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<h3><a class="toc-backref" href="#id11">I’ve never programmed before. Is there a Python tutorial?</a><a class="headerlink" href="#i-ve-never-programmed-before-is-there-a-python-tutorial" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>

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<p>There are numerous tutorials and books available. The standard documentation

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includes <a class="reference internal" href="../tutorial/index.html#tutorial-index"><span>The Python Tutorial</span></a>.</p>

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<p>Consult <a class="reference external" href="https://wiki.python.org/moin/BeginnersGuide">the Beginner’s Guide</a> to

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find information for beginning Python programmers, including lists of tutorials.</p>

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</div>

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<h3><a class="toc-backref" href="#id12">Is there a newsgroup or mailing list devoted to Python?</a><a class="headerlink" href="#is-there-a-newsgroup-or-mailing-list-devoted-to-python" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>

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<p>There is a newsgroup, <em class="newsgroup">comp.lang.python</em>, and a mailing list,

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<a class="reference external" href="https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list">python-list</a>. The

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newsgroup and mailing list are gatewayed into each other – if you can read news

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it’s unnecessary to subscribe to the mailing list.

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<em class="newsgroup">comp.lang.python</em> is high-traffic, receiving hundreds of postings

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every day, and Usenet readers are often more able to cope with this volume.</p>

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<p>Announcements of new software releases and events can be found in

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comp.lang.python.announce, a low-traffic moderated list that receives about five

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postings per day. It’s available as <a class="reference external" href="https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-announce-list">the python-announce mailing list</a>.</p>

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<p>More info about other mailing lists and newsgroups

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can be found at <a class="reference external" href="https://www.python.org/community/lists/">https://www.python.org/community/lists/</a>.</p>

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</div>

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<h3><a class="toc-backref" href="#id13">How do I get a beta test version of Python?</a><a class="headerlink" href="#how-do-i-get-a-beta-test-version-of-python" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>

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<p>Alpha and beta releases are available from <a class="reference external" href="https://www.python.org/download/">https://www.python.org/download/</a>. All

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releases are announced on the comp.lang.python and comp.lang.python.announce

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newsgroups and on the Python home page at <a class="reference external" href="https://www.python.org/">https://www.python.org/</a>; an RSS feed of

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news is available.</p>

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<p>You can also access the development version of Python through Mercurial. See

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<a class="reference external" href="https://docs.python.org/devguide/faq.html">https://docs.python.org/devguide/faq.html</a> for details.</p>

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</div>

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<h3><a class="toc-backref" href="#id14">How do I submit bug reports and patches for Python?</a><a class="headerlink" href="#how-do-i-submit-bug-reports-and-patches-for-python" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>

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<p>To report a bug or submit a patch, please use the Roundup installation at

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<a class="reference external" href="https://bugs.python.org/">https://bugs.python.org/</a>.</p>

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<p>You must have a Roundup account to report bugs; this makes it possible for us to

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contact you if we have follow-up questions. It will also enable Roundup to send

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you updates as we act on your bug. If you had previously used SourceForge to

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report bugs to Python, you can obtain your Roundup password through Roundup’s

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<a class="reference external" href="https://bugs.python.org/user?@template=forgotten">password reset procedure</a>.</p>

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<p>For more information on how Python is developed, consult <a class="reference external" href="https://docs.python.org/devguide/">the Python Developer’s

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Guide</a>.</p>

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</div>

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<h3><a class="toc-backref" href="#id15">Are there any published articles about Python that I can reference?</a><a class="headerlink" href="#are-there-any-published-articles-about-python-that-i-can-reference" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>

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<p>It’s probably best to cite your favorite book about Python.</p>

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<p>The very first article about Python was written in 1991 and is now quite

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outdated.</p>

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<div>Guido van Rossum and Jelke de Boer, “Interactively Testing Remote Servers

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Using the Python Programming Language”, CWI Quarterly, Volume 4, Issue 4

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(December 1991), Amsterdam, pp 283-303.</div></blockquote>

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</div>

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<h3><a class="toc-backref" href="#id16">Are there any books on Python?</a><a class="headerlink" href="#are-there-any-books-on-python" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>

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<p>Yes, there are many, and more are being published. See the python.org wiki at

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<a class="reference external" href="https://wiki.python.org/moin/PythonBooks">https://wiki.python.org/moin/PythonBooks</a> for a list.</p>

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<p>You can also search online bookstores for “Python” and filter out the Monty

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Python references; or perhaps search for “Python” and “language”.</p>

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</div>

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<h3><a class="toc-backref" href="#id17">Where in the world is www.python.org located?</a><a class="headerlink" href="#where-in-the-world-is-www-python-org-located" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>

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<p>The Python project’s infrastructure is located all over the world.

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<a class="reference external" href="https://www.python.org">www.python.org</a> is graciously hosted by <a class="reference external" href="http://www.rackspace.com">Rackspace</a>, with CDN caching provided by <a class="reference external" href="https://www.fastly.com">Fastly</a>. <a class="reference external" href="http://www.upfrontsystems.co.za">Upfront Systems</a> hosts <a class="reference external" href="https://bugs.python.org">bugs.python.org</a>. Many other Python services like <a class="reference external" href="https://wiki.python.org">the Wiki</a> are hosted by <a class="reference external" href="https://osuosl.org">Oregon State

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University Open Source Lab</a>.</p>

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</div>

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<h3><a class="toc-backref" href="#id18">Why is it called Python?</a><a class="headerlink" href="#why-is-it-called-python" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>

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<p>When he began implementing Python, Guido van Rossum was also reading the

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published scripts from <a class="reference external" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Python">“Monty Python’s Flying Circus”</a>, a BBC comedy series from the 1970s. Van Rossum

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thought he needed a name that was short, unique, and slightly mysterious, so he

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decided to call the language Python.</p>

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</div>

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<h3><a class="toc-backref" href="#id19">Do I have to like “Monty Python’s Flying Circus”?</a><a class="headerlink" href="#do-i-have-to-like-monty-python-s-flying-circus" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>

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<p>No, but it helps. :)</p>

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</div>

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</div>

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<h2><a class="toc-backref" href="#id20">Python in the real world</a><a class="headerlink" href="#python-in-the-real-world" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>

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<h3><a class="toc-backref" href="#id21">How stable is Python?</a><a class="headerlink" href="#how-stable-is-python" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>

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<p>Very stable. New, stable releases have been coming out roughly every 6 to 18

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months since 1991, and this seems likely to continue. Currently there are

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usually around 18 months between major releases.</p>

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<p>The developers issue “bugfix” releases of older versions, so the stability of

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existing releases gradually improves. Bugfix releases, indicated by a third

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component of the version number (e.g. 2.5.3, 2.6.2), are managed for stability;

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only fixes for known problems are included in a bugfix release, and it’s

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guaranteed that interfaces will remain the same throughout a series of bugfix

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releases.</p>

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<p>The latest stable releases can always be found on the <a class="reference external" href="https://www.python.org/download/">Python download page</a>. There are two recommended production-ready

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versions at this point in time, because at the moment there are two branches of

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stable releases: 2.x and 3.x. Python 3.x may be less useful than 2.x, since

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currently there is more third party software available for Python 2 than for

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Python 3. Python 2 code will generally not run unchanged in Python 3.</p>

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</div>

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<h3><a class="toc-backref" href="#id22">How many people are using Python?</a><a class="headerlink" href="#how-many-people-are-using-python" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>

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<p>There are probably tens of thousands of users, though it’s difficult to obtain

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an exact count.</p>

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<p>Python is available for free download, so there are no sales figures, and it’s

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available from many different sites and packaged with many Linux distributions,

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so download statistics don’t tell the whole story either.</p>

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<p>The comp.lang.python newsgroup is very active, but not all Python users post to

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the group or even read it.</p>

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</div>

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<h3><a class="toc-backref" href="#id23">Have any significant projects been done in Python?</a><a class="headerlink" href="#have-any-significant-projects-been-done-in-python" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>

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<p>See <a class="reference external" href="https://www.python.org/about/success">https://www.python.org/about/success</a> for a list of projects that use Python.

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Consulting the proceedings for <a class="reference external" href="https://www.python.org/community/workshops/">past Python conferences</a> will reveal contributions from many

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different companies and organizations.</p>

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<p>High-profile Python projects include <a class="reference external" href="http://www.list.org">the Mailman mailing list manager</a> and <a class="reference external" href="http://www.zope.org">the Zope application server</a>. Several Linux distributions, most notably <a class="reference external" href="http://www.redhat.com">Red Hat</a>, have written part or all of their installer and

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system administration software in Python. Companies that use Python internally

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include Google, Yahoo, and Lucasfilm Ltd.</p>

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</div>

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<h3><a class="toc-backref" href="#id24">What new developments are expected for Python in the future?</a><a class="headerlink" href="#what-new-developments-are-expected-for-python-in-the-future" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>

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<p>See <a class="reference external" href="https://www.python.org/dev/peps/">https://www.python.org/dev/peps/</a> for the Python Enhancement Proposals

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(PEPs). PEPs are design documents describing a suggested new feature for Python,

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providing a concise technical specification and a rationale. Look for a PEP

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titled “Python X.Y Release Schedule”, where X.Y is a version that hasn’t been

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publicly released yet.</p>

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<p>New development is discussed on <a class="reference external" href="https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-dev/">the python-dev mailing list</a>.</p>

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</div>

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<h3><a class="toc-backref" href="#id25">Is it reasonable to propose incompatible changes to Python?</a><a class="headerlink" href="#is-it-reasonable-to-propose-incompatible-changes-to-python" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>

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<p>In general, no. There are already millions of lines of Python code around the

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world, so any change in the language that invalidates more than a very small

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fraction of existing programs has to be frowned upon. Even if you can provide a

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conversion program, there’s still the problem of updating all documentation;

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many books have been written about Python, and we don’t want to invalidate them

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all at a single stroke.</p>

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<p>Providing a gradual upgrade path is necessary if a feature has to be changed.

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<span class="target" id="index-1"></span><a class="pep reference external" href="https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0005"><strong>PEP 5</strong></a> describes the procedure followed for introducing backward-incompatible

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changes while minimizing disruption for users.</p>

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</div>

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<h3><a class="toc-backref" href="#id26">Is Python a good language for beginning programmers?</a><a class="headerlink" href="#is-python-a-good-language-for-beginning-programmers" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>

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<p>It is still common to start students with a procedural and statically typed

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language such as Pascal, C, or a subset of C++ or Java. Students may be better

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served by learning Python as their first language. Python has a very simple and

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consistent syntax and a large standard library and, most importantly, using

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Python in a beginning programming course lets students concentrate on important

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programming skills such as problem decomposition and data type design. With

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Python, students can be quickly introduced to basic concepts such as loops and

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procedures. They can probably even work with user-defined objects in their very

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first course.</p>

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<p>For a student who has never programmed before, using a statically typed language

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seems unnatural. It presents additional complexity that the student must master

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and slows the pace of the course. The students are trying to learn to think

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like a computer, decompose problems, design consistent interfaces, and

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encapsulate data. While learning to use a statically typed language is

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important in the long term, it is not necessarily the best topic to address in

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the students’ first programming course.</p>

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<p>Many other aspects of Python make it a good first language. Like Java, Python

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has a large standard library so that students can be assigned programming

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projects very early in the course that <em>do</em> something. Assignments aren’t

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restricted to the standard four-function calculator and check balancing

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programs. By using the standard library, students can gain the satisfaction of

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working on realistic applications as they learn the fundamentals of programming.

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Using the standard library also teaches students about code reuse. Third-party

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modules such as PyGame are also helpful in extending the students’ reach.</p>

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<p>Python’s interactive interpreter enables students to test language features

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while they’re programming. They can keep a window with the interpreter running

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while they enter their program’s source in another window. If they can’t

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remember the methods for a list, they can do something like this:</p>

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<span class="go">['__add__', '__class__', '__contains__', '__delattr__', '__delitem__',</span>

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<span class="go">'__dir__', '__doc__', '__eq__', '__format__', '__ge__',</span>

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<span class="go">'__getattribute__', '__getitem__', '__gt__', '__hash__', '__iadd__',</span>

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<span class="go">'__mul__', '__ne__', '__new__', '__reduce__', '__reduce_ex__',</span>

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<span class="go">'__repr__', '__reversed__', '__rmul__', '__setattr__', '__setitem__',</span>

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<span class="go">'__sizeof__', '__str__', '__subclasshook__', 'append', 'clear',</span>

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<span class="go">'copy', 'count', 'extend', 'index', 'insert', 'pop', 'remove',</span>

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<span class="go">'reverse', 'sort']</span>

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<span class="go">['append', 'clear', 'copy', 'count', 'extend', 'index', 'insert', 'pop', 'remove', 'reverse', 'sort']</span>

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<span class="gp">>>> </span><span class="n">help</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">L</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">append</span><span class="p">)</span>

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<span class="go">Help on built-in function append:</span>

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<span class="go">append(...)</span>

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<span class="go"> L.append(object) -> None -- append object to end</span>

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<span class="gp">>>> </span><span class="n">L</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">append</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="mi">1</span><span class="p">)</span>

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</pre></div>

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</div>

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<p>With the interpreter, documentation is never far from the student as he’s

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programming.</p>

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<p>There are also good IDEs for Python. IDLE is a cross-platform IDE for Python

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that is written in Python using Tkinter. PythonWin is a Windows-specific IDE.

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Emacs users will be happy to know that there is a very good Python mode for

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Emacs. All of these programming environments provide syntax highlighting,

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auto-indenting, and access to the interactive interpreter while coding. Consult

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<a class="reference external" href="https://wiki.python.org/moin/PythonEditors">the Python wiki</a> for a full list

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of Python editing environments.</p>

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<p>If you want to discuss Python’s use in education, you may be interested in

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joining <a class="reference external" href="https://www.python.org/community/sigs/current/edu-sig">the edu-sig mailing list</a>.</p>

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</div>

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</div>

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</div>

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</div>

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</div>

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</div>

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<h3><a href="../contents.html">Table Of Contents</a></h3>

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<ul>

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<li><a class="reference internal" href="#">General Python FAQ</a><ul>

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<li><a class="reference internal" href="#general-information">General Information</a></li>

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<li><a class="reference internal" href="#python-in-the-real-world">Python in the real world</a></li>

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</ul>

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</li>

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</ul>

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<h4>Previous topic</h4>

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title="previous chapter">Python Frequently Asked Questions</a></p>

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<h4>Next topic</h4>

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title="next chapter">Programming FAQ</a></p>

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<a href="https://www.python.org/psf/donations/">Please donate.</a>

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