Paul's Python Intro 01...posted on my geocities

[ec]

Paul, 

I used OOo from knoppix3.6 to post this to my
geocities site. It apparently was just a copy/paste
into OOo and then save as .html. I then went to my
acct at geocities and just uploaded the file, It seems
to work! Maybe it will work with plug just as 'lazily'
also.


http://www.geocities.com/eculbert/Python_1.html


--- Paul Dickson <dickson@permanentmail.com> wrote:

> It's been a long time since there's been a universal
> programming language
> the likes of BASIC.  At one point, just about every
> personal computer came
> with it, usually built directly into the ROM in lieu
> of a operating
> system.  But now I think I've found another language
> that's available for
> every machine, be it Windows, Mac, Linux, and
> mainframes; and no, it's not
> Java.
> 
> I'm talking about a language called Python (named in
> honor of Monty
> Python's Flying Circus).  It is both a compiled
> language like Java, but it
> also contains an interpreter that can be used very
> similarly to the way
> BASIC was on those old PCs.  The interpreter can be
> used simply as an
> advanced calculator, or a test bed for developing
> programs.
> 
> Unless you are running a distribution of Linux, you
> will have to download
> this programming language.  You'll find it on the
> web at:
> 
> 	http://www.python.org/download/
> 
> I'll leave the installation up to you, but please
> post any problems you
> might have to this mailing list.  Either I, or
> someone else can then help
> you.
> 
> On the above site, there are links to documentation
> and tutorials, so this
> series of articles won't be an in-depth look at the
> language, but more a
> quick look with examples.
> 
> You can get to the interpreter in at least two ways:
> open a Command Prompt
> session and typing python, or launching IDLE.  From
> my terminal window on
> Linux, when I type "python", I get:
> 
>     Python 2.3.3 (#1, May  7 2004, 10:31:40)
>     [GCC 3.3.3 20040412 (Red Hat Linux 3.3.3-7)] on
> linux2
>     Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license"
> for more information.
>     >>>
> 
> You should get something similar.  To exit,
> press-and-hold the control key
> and press Z.  On Windows, this signals an
> End-of-File, so the program
> stops reading input and exits.  On Linux, the same
> function is Ctrl-D.
> 
> The >>> is a prompt.  The cursor is waiting there
> for input.
> 
>     >>> 3+4*5
>     23
>     >>> a=3; b=6
>     >>> a+b
>     9
>     >>> c=a*b
>     >>> print c
>     18
>     >>> a="Testing"
>     >>> a.lower()
>     'testing'
>     >>> a[:4]
>     'Test'
>     >>> print a[:4]
>     Test
>     >>>
> 
> This briefly shows some math, assigning variables,
> text strings, and
> slices of strings.
> 
> Actually try the examples I give.  This will give
> you a better feeling for
> what's going on with the interpreter than just
> reading my examples.
> 
> In my next message I'll briefly cover strings
> 
> If you want a lot more info about this language, I
> recommend the book
> "Learning Python" by Mark Lutz and David Ascher,
> especially if you already
> know how to program in other languages.  The second
> edition is only about
> 9 months old and cover Python 2.3, so it's very
> up-to-date.
> 
> 	-Paul
> _______________________________________________
> PLUG-devel mailing list  - 
> PLUG-devel@lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us
>
http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-devel
> 

=====
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