1. Both object oriented and more traditional structured programming can be done in python in addition to a number of other methods that are directly supported or are supported by extension. You can teach students different programming paradigms from the same basic syntactical structures. This is probably the biggest distinguishing factor.
2. It can be used to build stand alone applications on Macs, Linux, and PCs. Macs and Linux come with it pre-installed and you can start from the terminal without additional support or installation. Unlike PHP you do not need a web server running which can be appealing, especially in lower grades, since it removes a layer of complexity.
3. It can be used as a scripting language in terminal or web applications.
4. In my opinion the syntax is no better or worse than other languages but emphasis on readable code is foundational to the Python philosophy which may make it a bit easier to teach.
5. It has deep roots and broad resources in the open source community and a wide range of hooks into other open source projects which are not limited to web applications.
PHP has a good community and is a potentially marketable, real-world skill but as a teaching tool Python offers the most flexibility and the ability to explore the three main types of programming (web, app, scripting) and constructs (object-oriented vs structured) from a single syntax base.
_J
____________________________
Jason at jasonpj@yahoo.com
From: Bill Fitzgerald <dwfitzgerald@yahoo.com>
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Cc:
Sent: Sunday, December 5, 2010 5:51:40 PM
Subject: Re: Programming
After reading through the entire thread, I'm a little amazed to see that no one has recommended teaching PHP.
Given the amount of work that exists around PHP-based web apps, and the fact that people can use basic PHP knowledge to connect with open source communities that offer resources that mot individual schools can never match, it seems like a no-brainer.
Is this just an oversight, or are there reasons for this?
And please, no "Language X is better for reason Y" responses - spaghetti/insecure code can be written in anything, and elegant code can be written in anything.
Cheers,
Bill
----- Original Message -----
From:James Gapp <jgapp@harborday.org>
To:ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Cc:
Sent:Friday, December 3, 2010 3:48:40 PM
Subject:Programming
I was wondering if anyone had some ideas for teaching programming. In the
past I taught Basic and Pascal - but these are a little out of date. SO
because not programmed for a while is there a good resource to learn them
and WHICH should I start with C, C+?????
Thus far I have found "scratch" which is certainly good but maybe too
elementary.
Thank you in advance.
--James
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