>> Should I advise him to >> stick with 2.6 for a bit, since most of the material out there will >> be for 2.x? Or since he's learning from scratch, should he jump >> straight to 3.x In which case what can you recommend for him to work >> through - I must stress he has absolutely no clue at all about >> programming, no education beyond 16 yrs old, but is keen to learn. > > (While I'm aware this answer may launch sharp replies from some of you, I'll > be bold and say what I mean;-) > > I guess python is no more a language especially suited for absolute beginners > for a while already. It has grown too many features, too much complication > and several layers of abstraction. So, my answers would not be py2.6 or > py3.1, rather py1.5.
very bold indeed. if learning purely for being introduced to programming, etc., not work-related, etc., you have an interesting idea. but even so, you don't have to learn *every* feature of 2.x or 3.x to learn programming. you can just learn the 1.5 syntax. basically, i'm not going to give a sharp reply, however, it is an unusual suggestion, but it isn't mind-blowing as there are some systems out there that are built using 1.5, e.g., the Red Hat installer, http://www.scons.org ... etc. it also helps keep the 1st edition of my book "Core Python Programming" alive -- that edition was written against 1.5.2, 1.6, and 2.0 back in 2000-2001. :-) cheers, -- wesley - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "Python Web Development with Django", Addison Wesley, (c) 2009 http://withdjango.com wesley.j.chun :: wescpy-at-gmail.com python training and technical consulting cyberweb.consulting : silicon valley, ca http://cyberwebconsulting.com _______________________________________________ Tutor maillist - Tutor@python.org To unsubscribe or change subscription options: http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/tutor
