Visual Studio express...Cure for Python Dislexia

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1

Actually, I dig this IDE because it is really helping me understand how to code and what the code I learn to write, actually does.

I have been struggling with Python for a long time. My problem was not understanding the paradigm of OOP as much as the syntax in why and what it was used for in certain instances.

Python suffered for me, as I saw no practical usage of the methods aside from making lists, creating classes that showed me no practicle examples in real-world applications. Also, it was a bummer to read almost the whole Python documentation before I found docs on creating a simple exe from a script that was required as well as having need for the actual source code to accomplish this.

I like python, but not as much as I like the modules specifically written for Blender and the GameEngine. But, I suck because I still have no practical knowledge of how, for instance, to create a simple browser or paint program in Python and create a exe.

In Java, i could do this in a day, and I suck at Java. I guess it seems like I my need spoon feeding because Java, and even C seem more elegant and ready for action. I still suck at C, but I am further along on C than Python.

Why? Python seems so cool to me though, with the safe typing, and no need for structs and directives(Which I am now beginning to understand how very cool preprocessor directives are and how useful a struct can be when snapping in or prototyping functionality to test, for example.)

But, C# just seems to be so fricken cool. Why is that? The language seems to take cool things of C and make them easier to understand for me. Could this be a cool gateway language to understanding C/C++ and even python?

Why is there no IDE like Visual Studio for Python. WxWindows, wxPython, Glade, all seemed cool, but it boils down to (Where in the API, do I find out how to write an event handler to make an object appear on screen when I click the mouse,[Close IDLE, close Glade, search docs, get board, move on to Javascript.])

I guess MS spoon feeds, and Python’s support of volunteers are stretched too thin already to spoon feed.

I guess, I am sticking with BPy study/GE/C# until I can grasp actually doing something practical in Python.

Python needs an IDE like NetBeans. PyDev just don’t seem to work, no matter how I set my environment variables or class path. frustrating, Python seems. I guess I wont give up, it’s just my ignorance speaking.

I was looking at Grasshopper for Netbeans, hoping that this could help me. seems daunting right now. Maybe it could help.

Im sorry for being all over the place with this post. i was hoping that some coders could drop knowledge i could grab, or pick and use as guides in my quest for curing my Python Dislexia

2

I learned BASIC back in the 1980’s, I am ruined as a programmer now :stuck_out_tongue:

I look at python code, and all I see is the parts that resemble BASIC.

3

So far, C# seems very cool and the learning material seems to be everywhere. I am not going to dive into the XNA stuff, but I am excited about the SQL stuff, I did not know it was that easy. I wonder if MySQL is this easy too.

4

Python is high level so you do less work. But its only a language and making windows and such is very much dependent on the library’s you use. Here is a little python example of how you open a file, read all lines and print each word separated by a ’ '. try doing that in C and you will see why python is awesome.

‘-’ = white space, coudn’t figure out how to insert white spaces

textFile = file(‘myFile.txt’)
–for line in textFile.readlines:
----for each in line.split():
------print "%s " % each
textFile.close()

As far as C++ goes - std is a pain in the ass. Just so you know.

Added:
In order to make an EXE in python you use a package called Py2Exe which is a distributions library.

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I’d say python and C++ are both worth knowing if your going to get into coding. Each has their place. So what is it you really want to make?

6

Cool, Thanks. I think C++ is a little tough for me, but Visual Studio allows me to interact with elements I want and see what the code does, and then find help and documentation related specifically to what I am doing, then I can step incrementally through the code to see what it is actually doing at each line during execution during debug.

I am primarily using C# right now, but I IDLE, is cool, but does nothing like that. Right now, I think C#'s code looks better. It seems more readable and I seem to understand it a little better.

If I need and exe. i just select my project files and build it and not worry about weather a script is compatable with my version of the API.

Python is cool, but I am too ignorant of it to see just how cool. C# rules.:evilgrin:

EDIT: BTW, to preserve whitespace for your code examples, just use the code tags.



textFile = file('myFile.txt')
or line in textFile.readlines:
  for each in line.split():
       print "%s " % each
textFile.close()
7

Thanks for the tip. In my day job we use a whole slew of languages in our development so depending on the project at hand I might be coding in Java, C++ or C#. We officially never adopted python – but I use it when the application calls for it.

The most useful aspect of python is its ability to be run from a consol. It’s very handy to be able to test things with out having to recompile between tests. But I’ll admit python isn’t for every developer. It took me over a year to really get use to using it – not because it was hard to use, but because I had a very big bios against using it. I wanted to just do C++ coding and over time I’ve amended my ways.

So if you ever get stuck on something or would like something looked at drop a line – I wouldn’t mind helping out.

8

Awesome, you are just the kinda pal I need.

I will probably PM ya and toss ya a “Please help me” after a while, but I will wait, because I am sure you are busy and get your share of computers at work.

My goal as of now, is to get a firm grasp on C# and then begin hacking Paint.Net

9

From what I’ve seen, C# demands more understanding of OOP principles implemented properly, but once picked up, it’s much easier to work with than C++.