On Sep 21, 3:44 pm, Ron Adam <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I think key may be to discuss names and name binding with your friend. How > a name is not the object it self, like a variable is in other languages. > For example show him how an object can have more than one name. And discus > how names can be bound to nearly anything, including classes and functions.
I could discuss name binding but it would be great if Python said this itself. After all, you can even bind a module with the foo = bar syntax by using __import__ function. If function definitions followed the same pattern, I think a beginner would subconsciously (maybe even consciously) realize that function names are just like everything else. Actually, this would be helpful for many people. If you come from a language like Java you're used to thinking of attributes and methods as living in different namespaces. I think a new syntax will encourage seasoned programmers think in a more Pythonic way. Python has done a very good job in easing people into programming. My friend doesn't come to me very often because the syntax is clear and simple and the builtin datatypes allow you to do so much. My goal is that I would never have to explain to him about name binding; that he'd pick it up by learning the language on his own. He's learned lists, dictionaries and even some OOP without me. I don't think name binding would be a stretch. > You could also discus factory functions with him. Once he gets that a > function can return another function, then it won't be so much of a leap > for a function to take a function as an argument. I think this isn't the most intuitive way of approaching first order functions. It's true that if a function can return another function then a function must be first order (i.e., it's just like any other variable), but that seems almost backwards to me. I think it would make more sense to have beginners _know_ that functions are like all other variables and can therefore be passed by other functions or returned by other functions. That I think would be better accomplished if they define functions the same way you would define other variables that you know can be passed and returned. -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
