I just began my college courses at University of Maine last week, including Introduction to Computer Science. While I had previous programming experience in Scratch, C++ and a bit of Java, I knew that the course would primarily focus on Python. To feel prepared for the class, I started the O'Reilly School of Technology Python courses a month before the first day of classes.
After working for a month on my O'Reilly class, the Euler Project and the Python Challenge, I feel I have a basic grounding in Python. Now, I must say that Python is unlike any other language I have brushed upon in the past. The language is simple and direct. Typically, the commands are abbreviated versions of exactly what the command does; a relief to newer programmers like myself. The syntax is relatively simple when compared with C++, so the number of errors on account of a missed semicolon is drastically reduced.
Last night, I attended a project night with the Boston Python Users group. A mix of newcomers to the language and professional developers; help was rapidly being given and received. I got help with several projects I had been working on, and now know of channels to get Python questions answered.
Even for complete newcomers to computer science, Python is a very accessible language. Documentation and tutorials are widespread, and many are tooled for people with no programming experience. The community does not feel like that of C++, which was often cold and intended only for experienced users, instead, it has a warm, welcoming feel.
I commend Python for making one of the first programming languages that is easy to learn and very accessible. Anyone with any interest in computers should definitely look into learning the basics. I know I look forward to working more with Python and learning many more of its applications in the world.
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