[clue-tech] Son's PC and intro to programming

[Tommy Phillips]

daniel aguilar wrote:
> I'm in the process of rebuilding my son's pc and need
> to find some parts. Anyone have a amd xp2000-2600 FSB
> 266 to 333? A HSF for it and a video card that will
> play nice with linux? Have parts to trade and/or cash.
>
> Also, looking for TrueBASIC for linux or windows.
>
> Suggestions on a good BEGINNERS programming language
> would be welcomed; linux based the better.
>
> Thanks, daniel
>
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>   
Can't help with the parts, but I am going to enthusiastically suggest 
Python as a starter programming language.  Here's why:

Free (as in beer, and as in speech).  Among other things, this gives 
users the ability to track and possibly influence the evolution of the 
language.
A very active user community, including mailing lists, blogs, and 
conferences.
Simple syntax, powerful primitives.
Large, useful standard libraries, and many useful extensions, ranging 
from Pygame to SciPy to Twisted.
Highly interactive environment allows a high-feedback learning style.
Growing base of corporate support, including both Google and Microsoft.

Two things I don't like much about Python, and I can live with them:

Python's parallel processing model needs work.
The indentation syntax acts as a distraction, especially to programmers 
experienced with other languages.in practice, it's no problem (you 
indent blocks anyway, why fuss because the language requires it?).  In 
fact, this one feature kept me from paying attention to Python for 
longer than I would like to admit.

-Tommy Phillips


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