Hi Kelvin,
My responses interleaved between your comments below.
On Mon, Aug 04, 2014 at 11:02:05PM -0500, Kelvin Baumgart wrote:
My current OS is Windows 8 unfortunately. I'm definitely desiring to change
this however for the time being I require an external DVD burner to obtain
backups/OS before I can really progress. For the time being I'm recently
someone who has an unparalleled drive towards becoming a programmer. I'd
imagine seeing someone attempting to install an older version of Python may
be out of the norm.
Installing an older version is a little unusual, but not unheard of. I
myself have versions of Python going back to 0.9 installed.
As my ambition to pursue skills I've began an online
course on Introduction to Computer Science and Programming which is being
taught through MIT. Their curriculum is centered on 2.5.4 however any 2.5
or 2.6 versions are allegedly acceptable accordingly to the syllabus.
If you have a choice between 2.5 and 2.6, choose 2.6.
I'm
literally what you could consider an absolute novice who's just starting
dabbling with this sort of thing, so please look past any naivety that
probably engulfs this email.
You and half the people on this list :-)
Essentially if you could help get started with
installation by giving me professional input towards what OS or anything
else relevant to my cause I will be greatly appreciative for your time and
effort.
If you're familiar with Windows, stick to Windows. But, I think it's
probably fair to say that Linux is a better OS for professional Python
development than Windows is. That isn't to say that you cannot write
Python code on Windows, just that it's a bit harder. With Linux, you
have a much wider range of free, professional-quality tools that will
make your life as a developer easier.
But, as a beginner, don't worry about that. Stick to what you know. You
can always experiment later.
Do the MIT course notes assume you're using a specific editor? If so,
you might like to use that one. Otherwise, you'll want a *good* editor.
You can write Python code with Notepad, if you're desperate enough, it's
just text, but you'll be more productive with a programmers editors. I'm
not a Windows user, so I can't make any personal recommendations, but
you can start here:
https://wiki.python.org/moin/PythonEditors
I've used geany (on Linux, not Windows), and can recommend it. I've also
used Spyder (again, on Linux) but the version I used just felt sluggish
and too busy, but many people disagree. The beauty of starting with
free, open source software is that it costs you nothing but a little bit
of time to try it out.
If you have a scientific background, and are used to software like
Mathematica that has notebooks, you should consider using IPython.
As far as installing Python goes, you can get a bare-bones Windows
installer from here:
https://www.python.org/download/releases/2.6.6/
If you feel brave enough to compile your own from source, and have a
Windows C compiler, try this:
https://www.python.org/download/releases/2.6.8/
but if you have no idea what a C compiler is or how to use it, stick to
the first link. Or, you can use a third-party package:
http://komodoide.com/komodo-edit/
although I don't know what version(s) of Python it supports. I hear good
things about Komodo.
Without saying I've browsed through the forms and FAQ yet I've
haven't quite seen any particular thread that has these exact variables I
face. I hope to hear back from you soon, and look forward to receiving
guidance from those with expertise on such a trivial problem.
No problem at all! Feel free to ask any questions you may have.
--
Steven
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