Why is Python the most suitable programming language for getting started? Detailed explanation of Python

The author of this article lists some Python features and believes that Python is the most suitable programming language for getting started. Let’s take a look.

I recently published three articles about how my background in art history influences my teaching. Now I want to share an article on why Python is the best choice for teenagers and adults to get started with.

What are the characteristics of a great introductory programming language? Or asked another way, "What should we give them when we teach them to program?" For adults and teenage students, I think the following five points are very important.

Five things students gain from introductory languages

• A great first experience, like the first page of a book, first You need to be "obsessed", and you will inevitably encounter setbacks when learning new knowledge, but you must have continued enthusiasm and curiosity, which is crucial for young people who have never been exposed to coding;

• The ability of Web programming is becoming more and more important for career development and programming skills. Students should master a certain foundation of Web architecture when they have the opportunity;

• Desktop programming capabilities, although the trend will shift more to Web applications in the future, nothing can be as straightforward as developing and running a local program;

• Marketable career skills, while already excellent in academic and amateur programming, teach students skills that should also come in handy in a professional setting;

• Community support and ease The language environment, again, is crucial for young people who have never been exposed to coding.

Some teachers or students may not agree with these as necessary requirements for entry into the language. But my opinion and experience is that no language can do the following five things like Python.

1. A great introductory experience

According to convention, the first program written by the user is to print "Hello World". Of all the languages ​​that implement the "helHello World" program, Python is arguably the simplest. Simply type the following into the Python compiler and press enter.

Interactive Python Console
>>> print("Hello World")
Hello World
>>>

This interactive example is worth trying!

The readability of Python code makes it the best choice for entry-level languages, especially when compared with the Java language with lengthy and obvious syntax:

public class HelloWorld {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.out.println("Hello, World");
    }

}

After writing the above Java code, It needs to be compiled and then run from the command line. These unavoidable processes make programming difficult for students. And students who can do it by typing print(“Hello World”) and pressing enter will have the opportunity and confidence to learn more.

2.Web Programming

Python is widely familiar on the Web. It is different from low-level languages ​​​​such as C.Frameworks, and like Django, Pyramid and Flask, which allows students to create real web applications that are as powerful as the websites they use every day. Flask is a language I personally love to spread the word because, combined with a free Heroku account, it allows students to deploy their own simple blog in under an hour. Adding a web application's response path is also easy.

@app.route("/about")
def about():
    return render_template("about.html", now=datetime.datetime.now())

These lines of code are not simple, but students can understand them themselves after a few classes. Driven by confidence and curiosity, learning to respond to web application requests in the most basic way is also a huge improvement.

3. Desktop application

The PHP and JavaScript languages ​​designed specifically for the Web limit students’ development for the Web, however Python is available on the local computer Development is equally familiar. Pygame, wxPython, and other development libraries for desktop applications empower students to build and run their own desktop applications. Katie Cunningham has written what I consider to be the definitive guide to teaching Pygame. I use Pygame to teach teenagers and graduates how to develop desktop applications and have a lot of fun.

4. Professional skills

Unlike Scratch or Logo language teaching, Python has a wider range of uses in professional and academic circles. It is a language that students can begin and grow with. If you learn low-level languages, you will find that Python and C are closely integrated, and if you explore higher-level languages ​​such as Ruby, you will find that there is also a smooth transition. Those who want tighter control over their web applications will find that Javascript technology combines well with Python web frameworks. If you want to explore paradigms like functional programming, you'll find that you can do it without learning a new language.

The most important thing, however, is that students who have a better experience when they start programming will have enough willingness and curiosity to develop professional skills that best meet their goals.

5. Community support

I have written before about how to make code meaningful. An obvious way to do this is through student participation in community meetings, which I often attend (more information here ). The Python community meetups are certainly the most popular, as they are a great place to start exploring things and get acquainted with future challenges.

The actual part of the example is the Turtle component built into Python, which provides a simple and effective way to teach abstract Python basics. The Turtle component was first used by MIT’s Seymour Papert, and was further promoted in the design logo language in 1960. Here you can see the latest feature introduction of components in 2009. Trinket makes Turtle components easier to use and learn. For more information, check out the interactive examples on our homepage.

Use Python to teach!

• My next article will be about the best interactive resources for teaching Python. In the meantime, I’ve put together a list below of community resources to help beginners, as well as other articles discussing why Python is a great language to get started with. I hope you find it helpful!

• The Python Software Foundation maintains Beginner's Tutorials and Guides, which all feature new language support.

• Special Interest Group for Python Education.

• A series of links to excellent audio-visual resources published on Python.org.

• College research paper on switching from Java to Python. Many thanks to North Carolina State University graduate student Michael Head for his contribution.

• Life Hacker Article writes that Python won first place in a reader poll for the best introductory language.

• Jessica McKellar recently laid out the state of Python education in schools in a PyTennessee report, noting some concrete action steps we can take to show support.

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