hmm... it only works on python 2.2, and I have 2.3...

-~-The Cow of Darkness-~-

Python 2.3 is a bad idea, it''s still in the Alpha stage, so I''d recommend getting 2.22 for now.

Now you might want to check on the site for Documentation on using the Windows IDLE, or w/e OS you''re using, the IDLE is a great help, if you know how to use it.

It''s very simple really, so just check it out.

And check out the online tut''s, there''s even a complete comprehensive book online

Of course that''''s just my opinion, I could be wrong.
-)(-Dennis Miller-)(-

Yes I deffinately love python for it's ease of use and learning, but I still want to learn C++, Python has basically simplified the more complicated things in C++ for me, which is good.

The book online is actually an intro course to programming, I have the PDF version (final version). Basically it's to introduce students to the thought process behind programming, so they can be taught C++/C or w/e language when they have the thought process down.

So, yes, I'm not sticking with it perse', and for the fact that there's only 1 book on windows programming for Python, that's discouraging .

Well, later all :D

Of course that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.
-)(-Dennis Miller-)(-

[edited by - Drevay on March 15, 2003 7:51:46 PM]

[edited by - Drevay on March 15, 2003 7:52:57 PM]

quote: Original post by Beer Hunter
I''d expect that opengl could be used with python.

Currently, the main thing which intrigues me about c++ is that an auto object''s destructor is called as soon as it goes out of scope. In a language such as c, your code might read as: "open file, read file, close file." - the c++ equivalent would read "open file (and close it later), read file." Does python have this, or equivalent functionality?

Well, sort of. An object''s destructor is not necessarily called when the "object" goes out of scope. In Python, all variables are simply references to an object, which is only destroyed when no more references exist. It should be noted that assignments can create a reference to the same object (if the assignments are naked -- "r = x" would create a reference to the object referred to by x. "r = x / 30" would create a reference to a new object that is the object referred to by x divided by 30). If the only reference to an object is a single reference, then yes, that behavior can be achieved. Create a class with a member function with the __del__ special name, and that function will be called when the object is destroyed.

Beer Hunter, that's kind of inspiring code.

[edited by - Thunder_Hawk on March 15, 2003 9:49:52 PM]

quote: Original post by Flarelocke
In Python, all variables are simply references to an object, which is only destroyed when no more references exist. ... Create a class with a member function with the __del__ special name, and that function will be called when the object is destroyed.

Thanks for this information. I''ll certainly give Python a try when Real Life™ gives me the time to do so.

Where does Lisp fit into the scheme of things with regard to one''s love affair with the snake?

I think Lua (http://www.lua.org) is faster, but it has less development behind it. I''m curious--how easy is it to expose a C function to Python code? That''s what functionality I love about Lua.

quote: Where does Lisp fit into the scheme of things with regard to one''s love affair with the snake?

If you want the whole story, google for "Python for lisp programmers". In brief, Python has been called "Lisp with infix syntax and without parentheses and macros." Most functional programming idioms are possible in Python. Python''s built in functions map, reduce, and so on may be familiar. Python has a "lambda x: x*x" construct for creating functions on the fly. I dunno if Lisp has list comprehensions, but Haskell does, and so does Python.

quote: I think Lua (http://www.lua.org) is faster, but it has less development behind it. I''m curious--how easy is it to expose a C function to Python code? That''s what functionality I love about Lua.

Well, there''s the old-fashioned way, which is described in the Python docs. Then there''s the new-fangled way, which is described by the docs on Boost:ython at boost.org. The boost:ython way takes only a few lines to export a simple function. I don''t know anything about the old way.

quote: So, yes, I''m not sticking with it perse'', and for the fact that there''s only 1 book on windows programming for Python, that''s discouraging

Python has extensive documentation online. It''s really quite impressive. Anyway, the standard way to do GUI work in Python is using the Tkinter library, which is a python version of the Gui library used by Tcl (Tk). There are other packages that one can use(pyGtk, wxPython), but many of them are mostly compatible with the Tkinter library (i.e. all you have to change is the name that you''re importing). Nearly all of them are cross platform, so programming in Windows is absolutely no different from programming on Linux.

So look instead for a book on programming in Python using Tkinter.

See Boost''s Python library

char const* greet()    {       return "hello, world";    }    #include <boost/python.hpp>    using namespace boost:ython;    BOOST_PYTHON_MODULE(hello)    {        def("greet", greet);    }