| quote on Python's way of facilitating learning. |
[Jun. 1st, 2007|11:27 am] |
"I would like to venture an alternative explanation (inspired to some extent by comments from
Kirby Urner and from Ian Bicking about how Python relates to object-oriented programming). That Python is arguably the best language for beginners and arguably the best main language for professionals is neither a coincidence nor a remarkable achievement. The properties that make
Python uniquely powerful arise from its being codesigned as a language of learning and a language of production simultaneously and at its roots.
It's the quiet power of Python that makes it such a revelation to those of us who discover it after years of struggling with less expressive languages. I don't know if any of the core group has ever expressed what makes something Pythonic (except, perhaps, in cryptic zen terms), but I suggest it is that the power of Python is there when you need it and stays out of your way when you don't need it. Pythonic code then is code which is in keeping with this principle.
The positive consequences of this aesthetic seem to the Python devotee to be stunningly vast.
Some of them reflect directly onto beginners. Consider that expert code in Python is
indistinguishable from beginner code in those cases when the expert is doing something a
beginner might do. The amount of unlearning required to become expert in Python is very small,
and the amount of incomprehensible baggage required to start is zero. In other words, Python avoids disrespecting beginners with ugly and tedious compromises, and leaves a clear path to
the study of logical and algorithmic thinking, minimally burdened by arbitrary syntax.
"
-- http://pythonpapers.cgpublisher.com/ volume 2 issue 2, 'Python in Education'
Apparently Python was originally developed with the express purpose of making programming something that everyone can and will do some of. It is well on the way to achieving this. A world in which most people have at least somewhat robust logic skills is a goal that I applaud. |
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