Re: [Edu-sig] Bootable Python CDs?
Paul Fernhout wrote: I previously wrote: Then you would have a custom Python which would be useful for wandering faculty (assuming the admins let you reboot the machine, and it was configured to allowing booting from removable media). I just noticed this: http://wiki.python.org/moin/PythonCd Welcome to your Python CD! This is a bootable CD based on [Debian GNU/Linux and KNOPPIX. The special thing about it is that it has lots of Python stuff! Anyone used it? I did not try that one but developped my own a few years ago: http://www.info.ucl.ac.be/~dooms/python/python.html It is a morphix mainmodule which is easily complemented by minimodules. I have been using it since to teach Python to adults. The CD includes VPython, Jython, mysql, Boost.Python, etc... I gets a little old now and would need a upgrade (Python 2.3, some newer network cards not supported). I'm curious: is it even practical to expect to walk into most modern educational computer lab in a typical school and expect to be able to reboot all the computers to run from your own Python CD? Do people's school computer labs typically allow a boot from removable media? At the place where I use this CD, they disable USB but let me boot from the CD. Best, -- Grégoire Dooms. ___ Edu-sig mailing list Edu-sig@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
Re: [Edu-sig] The end is near :)
Message: 1 Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2006 17:32:37 -0700 From: Scott David Daniels [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [Edu-sig] The end is near :) The attention and discussion that used to go on on this list about Python and education. When you post at a ration approaching, and at times exceeding, half of the discussion a number of people slowly (or not so slowly) go away. That is what's to lose: conversation with others. +1 and +1 on the subject too :-) -- Grégoire Dooms ___ Edu-sig mailing list Edu-sig@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
Re: [Edu-sig] Properties use case
Arthur wrote: -Original Message- From: Laura Creighton [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] And I think he will like tens of thousands of threads, too, though if these just means tens of thousands of chances to modify only part of your complex number, when you wanted an atomic action guaranteed to modify both parts as one, then he may hate it before he likes it. :-) Sorry - I suspect everyone else is quite done with this, but I'm still bothered by mixed signals. I would like to be able to present PyGeo as good, sensible code. Not Museum Quality, to be sure. But good and responsible. There is an implication in what you are saying that I am still off the mark. Perhaps I am. But its not fair, in my mind, to throw that at me knowing that it still has not gotten through to me (and Zelle ?) in what way I am off the mark. For the life of me I don't see the problem. My class has 2 __slots__ - .real and .imag. It does with them the kind of things that classes do. How is this class different and less thread safe than an infinite number of other classes that do with attributes the kinds of things that classes do with attributes? This is a complex matter and I'll try to give a very short (hence a little categoric) answer. First of all, IMO Laura was referring to several thousands of lightweight thread such as those found in the Oz/Mozart language (http://www.mozart-oz.org). And that is because we have had a PyPy/Oz sprint two weeks ago where we made plans and prototypes for the integration of some ideas of Mozart into PyPy (mostly logic variables, search, and constraint programming, micro-threads were already on the go). In that language stateful datatypes such as mutable objects are an exception. By default the variable store is a single assignment store. That means when you create a variable (e.g. with this statement X=_ ) it is uninitialized (called unbound). Then when you assign it you cannot rebind it to an other value: X=4 works but if you do X=5 later you get a sort of exception (failure). In a sense = does not do assignment but true mathematical equality (called unification). So you can do 4=X as well as 1+X = 5. The language supports very lightweight threads (having a million of those is no problem), when they try to use the value of a variable , they block if the variable is unbound. So you can launch inter-dependant threads accessing values computed by each others without wondering about the synchronization. That is called dataflow concurrency. In a sense, your mutable complex object is opposite to that approach where (almost) all variables never ever change their value. I have unintentionally stimulated a CS nerve, apparently. But would still love to get to the bottom of issue. HTH :-) Or get an official CS - proper use case aside - bill of health. I would refer you to the CTM book: http://www2.info.ucl.ac.be/people/PVR/book.html You will find there lots of interresting ideas about computer language semantics. Best, -- Grégoire Dooms ___ Edu-sig mailing list Edu-sig@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
Re: [Edu-sig] python wrappers for gecode
Laura Creighton wrote: Somebody was looking for these earlier. According to the bottom of this message, Logilab has a primative version of this now. It is available at http://codespeak.net/pypy/dist/pypy/lib/logic/gecode_wrapper/ You should however know that it is very preliminary and currently not really useable. If someone wants to offer support, please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] and [EMAIL PROTECTED] Best, -- Gre'goire Dooms ___ Edu-sig mailing list Edu-sig@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
[Edu-sig] 1 hour introduction to Python
Hello, next friday I'll give a one hour hands-on Python introduction to our students in second year of Bsc in Computer Science. The course is part of a tools class (other courses in this class are about svn, latex and so on). They already know Java and Oz. The first objective of the course is to arm them with shell scripting tools but I would like to convince them to continue learning/using/loving it for other tasks too. I think I will basically do this (10-15 minutes per item) : - language syntax - read/write files, os.listdir and glob.glob - os.system, os.popen, urllib.urlopen - online documentation and other resources Do you have ideas of subjects/features I could show them ? Or useful resources ? -- Grégoire Dooms ___ Edu-sig mailing list Edu-sig@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
Re: [Edu-sig] Europython Monday 3 July to Wednesday 5 July 2006
Laura Creighton a écrit : I would like to know who of you are already planning on coming, who are thinking of it, and what we can do to get more python educators and 'the rest of us' to the conference. I do not know whether it is better to discuss this here or on the Europython mailing list. I have been using Python for 3 years for one of our AI courses at UCLouvain. The software is based on Peter Norvig's AIMA python code, but I've also developped a few puzzles and games for weekly assignments. This course also features an agent development contest where groups of students compete in a championship. I am considering preparing a talk about this experience. All the best, -- Grégoire Dooms ___ Edu-sig mailing list Edu-sig@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
Re: [Edu-sig] Parody text book?
kirby urner a écrit : Did anyone else get asked to review this bogus text book by some company in England? Yes, I turned down the offer because I lacked time to do the review on time. I am amused to see it was bogus. Tell us more about it. Best, -- Grégoire ___ Edu-sig mailing list Edu-sig@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
Re: [Edu-sig] Python as Application
Arthur wrote: My route to a practical, business-oriented understanding of technology included - probably as its most important effort - undertaking the effort of learning abstract mathematics with the help of a multi-paradigm Open Source programming language. Seeing multi-paradigm triggers the tought of Oz/Mozart in my brain. Do you know Mozart? http://www.mozart-oz.org/ ? It is a Opens-Source multiparadigm language with functional programming (including terminal recursivity), logic (single-assignment) variables, dataflow concurrency (through suspending thread on undetermined variables), object-orientation, transparent distribution, and constraint programming (did I forget one ? :-) A recent very good introductory book uses it to travel among the world of the different programming paradigms: Concepts, Techniques, and Models of Computer Programming http://mitpress.mit.edu/0262220695 I found many things similar to Python stuff in there and I think both languages could benefit from each other. Best, -- Grégoire Dooms ___ Edu-sig mailing list Edu-sig@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
Re: [Edu-sig] Python Quiz
Kirby Urner wrote: class Shell: def __init__(ghost): pass def __repr__(ghost): return 'What famous Japanese cartoon?' OK that was easy. So how about: class Shell (object): def __init__(ghost): pass def __repr__(ghost): return 'What famous Japanimation?' Hint: think new-style class. Is it that new-style classes are to old-style classes what animation is to old-style cartoons ? -- Grégoire PS: this mailing list is really deviating from Python in/for education. ___ Edu-sig mailing list Edu-sig@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
Re: [Edu-sig] Looking for a comprehensive Python and Tkinter documentation (like the Java documentation)
Florian Reichl wrote: snip Look at this: http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/docs/api/index.html Here you find every class. And if you look at a class you see all its methods, constructors and fields. You find the class hierachy it inherited and all the subclasses. That makes it easy to use and navigate. Is there anything like that made for Python??? The most comprehensive documentation I know for Tkinter is http://infohost.nmt.edu/tcc/help/pubs/tkinter.pdf It's very useful but I dislike the minimal application example at the beginning because it inherits from Frame and does self.grid() in __init__ Hope this helps. -- Grégoire Dooms ___ Edu-sig mailing list Edu-sig@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
