Kirby: > I tend not to use them much (switches), in part because I don't write > 1970s-style via-menu i/o loops so much as just import the tools I need > from a namespace and use them directly, i.e. the "switch" statement is > behind my eyes (one might say)). That's how I expect others to use my > modules as well -- no "switch" need apply.
For an example of this approach, check out this recent thread on the Math Forum. Some teachers were concerned about finding the center of volume of a tetrahedron with simple 3-tuple coordinates (all ones and zeros). I show up with my Python interpreter and start operating a Vector type as I point to relevant off-screen diagrams and little-known math facts, involving the fractions 1/3 and 1/4. It's really a math lecture, with Python interleaved with the chalk and pretty much replacing the calculator. Like J or APL, it's another notation for learning math in. This is what I call Pythonic Mathematics. http://mathforum.org/kb/thread.jspa?threadID=1343350 Kirby _______________________________________________ Edu-sig mailing list [email protected] http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
