Hi Matt, Joe mentioned http://diveintopython.org/ and it's a great starting point.
You can find Python recipes at http://code.activestate.com/recipes/langs/python/, and also check out http://stackoverflow.com as well. All I can say is just get your hands dirty with a project you are working on, or some utility you want replacing. Have fun! /// Vicky ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~ http://irishbornchinese.com ~~ ~~ http://www.python.ie ~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On Tue, Aug 24, 2010 at 5:41 PM, M to the B <[email protected]>wrote: > Hello everyone and thanks for your replies. > > I think that a better approach for me would be to just start picking > away at some Python code, as opposed to reading books/tutorials/blogs > since evidently I have a problem with those. > > What I'm looking for would be easily digestible chunks of real Python > code, preferably <=1000 LOC. I was thinking maybe admin scripts or > small data processing utilities, to cut my teeth on the syntax. Would > anyone know where I can find that? > > Thanks, > > - Matt > > On Aug 23, 1:28 pm, Vicky Twomey-Lee <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hi Matt, > > > > First of all, welcome. Drop along to meet-ups, it's a great way to chat > to > > others on their own experiences. > > > > Good luck, > > > > /// Vicky > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > > ~~http://irishbornchinese.com~~ > > ~~ http://www.python.ie ~~ > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > > > > On Mon, Aug 23, 2010 at 1:21 PM, M to the B <[email protected] > >wrote: > > > > > Thanks Sean. > > > > > I've been thinking about that for a while after I started this thread > > > yesterday. It's true that I find significant whitespace weird. In a > > > way, it does remind me of an unhappy experience writing Pascal and > > > Delphi many moons ago. Likewise, the lack of semi-colons goes against > > > the flow for me - to this day, I terminate lines of shell script with > > > gratuitous semi-colons. > > > > > But I think the biggest roadblock for me is the duality between Python > > > as a language that is used to write machine-readable code on the one > > > hand, and on the other Python as a cause to be advocated for.I think > > > the former is a bit weird but not unmanageably so. The latter is where > > > the irrational element creeps in. There's a lot of people blogging > > > about Python and related topics out there. I understand now that it > > > reminds me of my early experience with Linux. I started using it in 98 > > > (Red Hat 5.2!) and I saw it as a very fun thing to play with. But some > > > time thereafter, I started reading Slashdot comments and that's when > > > the conflicting opinions, the competitive snobbery and the trolling > > > sucked the joy out of it for me. I'm not saying that Python folks are > > > like that, but seeing Python as something many people are very > > > opinionated about puts me off. > > > > > So I've a lead for my own problem there: I should try reading more > > > code and fewer comments. > > > > > Thank you. > > > > > - Matt > > > > > On Aug 22, 11:03 pm, Sean O'Donnell <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Hi Matt, and welcome > > > > > > Im not sure if this is what you are looking for, but I ran from > python > > > > screaming the first few times I tried it. Significant white-space, it > > > > really annoyed me for a very long time. I think it probably came from > > > > nightmarish experiences with a cobol system I had to work on in > college, > > > > it had all sorts of weird rules about what had to start in what > column. > > > > > > Python kept cropping up over time as providing nice solutions for > > > > problems I needed to solve, and eventually I overcame the block and > > > > spent enough time with it to become comfortable. > > > > > > I would be curious to hear a little more about the specifics of the > > > > nature of the block. In any case, good luck overcoming the block. (By > > > > the way, I have used Perl in the past, but not Fortran, but if I came > > > > across a problem that it seemed well suited to I would take it for a > > > > spin. I don't consider myself just a Python programmer, only > primarily a > > > > python programmer, always choose the right tool for the job, and no > one > > > > language is always the right tool). > > > > > > All the best > > > > > > Sean > > > > > > On Sun, 2010-08-22 at 09:28 -0700, M to the B wrote: > > > > > > > Hello, > > > > > > > My name is Matt and I've just joined this group. My reason for > joining > > > > > is that I've a question I'd like to ask Python users and I'm based > in > > > > > Ireland, so this seems like a reasonable place. I'd like to give a > > > > > quick bit of context first, before getting to said question. > > > > > > > I've been tinkering with computers since I was a kid, and over the > > > > > years I've used a fairly wide selection of languages, from assembly > to > > > > > ML, in different capacities and at different levels of proficiency. > > > > > Lately, I've mostly been using Perl at work and while I like Perl > for > > > > > letting me do what I want and putting bread on the table, I'm very > > > > > much aware of its drawbacks. It's also getting a bit long in the > > > > > tooth. > > > > > As it happens, one of my colleagues -who is probably on this group- > is > > > > > a Python advocate and has convinced me that Python is the language > I > > > > > should take up. I've been given useful pointers, I bought a book > > > > > but... I still haven't learned a thing about Python because of a > > > > > stupid mental block when it comes to the language and its users. I > > > > > understand and appreciate that it is wholly irrational and > ridiculous > > > > > to be afraid of a programming language and therefore I want to ask: > > > > > > > Has anyone around here overcome similar prejudice before becoming a > > > > > Python user? Or maybe in relation to some other language? If so, > I'd > > > > > like to hear about your experience. > > > > > > > I wish to assure you I'm not trolling. In my experience, it's not > > > > > uncommon for programmers and hackers of various stripes to hold > > > > > preconceptions in favour of or against a given language/technology > and/ > > > > > or its users (would you take up Perl for instance? or FORTRAN?). > I'm > > > > > hoping that by asking a large enough set of people, I'll come > across > > > > > folks who have managed to expand their horizons in spite of such > > > > > prejudice. > > > > > > > Thank you, > > > > > > > - Matt > > > > > -- > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups > > > "Python Ireland" group. > > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > > [email protected]<pythonireland%[email protected]> > <pythonireland%[email protected]<pythonireland%[email protected]> > > > > > . > > > For more options, visit this group at > > >http://groups.google.com/group/pythonireland?hl=en. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Python Ireland" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]<pythonireland%[email protected]> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/pythonireland?hl=en. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Python Ireland" group. 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