[gailcarm]

I actually am an experienced programmer - just not in Python yet. ;) I wrote the post from the perspective of someone with a keen interest in computer science education. My specialty is teaching beginners, whether it's a week-long course for eighth graders or non-major undergrads. This context is likely not clear in the post on its own.

When learning Python, I looked at it through the lens of someone just getting started with programming. While it's not really possible to do this in a completely unbiased way, that was where my musings came from.

In terms of your thoughts on programming: I find them interesting. I think it's a reasonable perspective. For the audiences I work with, it can be important to hook students early on with the cool stuff or else you might lose them too early. I personally hope we can then get them into what you define as programming, but even if we can't, at least they leave with something.

[pdonis]

> This context is likely not clear in the post on its own.

No, it wasn't--knowing the context actually makes your post quite a bit more thought-provoking. What languages have you programmed in?

[gailcarm]

I admit I get used to writing with the assumption that my readers know where I'm coming from. This is the first link that has ended up here (I didn't even know it for a while!), and it's a good reminder for me to ensure I work the context in.

The easiest way to list the languages I know is to share this: http://gailcarmichael.com/work/technical