On Mon, 27 Oct 2014 14:06:11 +1100, Ben Finney <ben+pyt...@benfinney.id.au> wrote:
>Seymore4Head <Seymore4Head@Hotmail.invalid> writes: > >> I am trying to learn classes. >> I am currently using Python 2.7 at the command line. > >(I think you mean the interactive Python interpreter, or just the >Python shell.) > >Since you are learning Python, I will strongly recommend you ignore >Python 2 unless it becomes unavoidable. > At the moment, it is unavoidable. The instructors are teaching Python 2 so I have to learn Python 2, for now. >Instead, learn Python 3 primarily; it is much better because it omits a >bunch of legacy behaviour you don't need. > >> If you try to type commands at the [interactive shell] and make the >> slightest mistake you have to start over. > >Right. There is line-by-line history, and editing enabled with the >readline plug-in. (This is an advantage of using a programmer-friendly >operating system, which MS Windows sadly is not.) > >> I was trying to copy and paste these instructions into the >> [interactive Python shell]. >> >> http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Python_Programming/Classes >> >>> class Foo: >> ... def setx(self, x): >> ... self.x = x >> ... def bar(self): >> ... print self.x >> >> There is really no way to do that without pasting line by line is >> there and adding deleting spaces? And if you use spaces and tabs, >> they are not the same. > >Right on all counts. > >The interactive Python shell is good for very quickly experimenting and >demonstrating how Python actually behaves, statement by statement. But >as you point out, it is not a good choice for anything more complex. It >is a good learning and debugging tool. > >When you start to write larger units of code, like a class or a >function, you can trade immediacy for flexibility: write your code into >a text editor, save it to a file foo.py, then run that code at a >separate OS command prompt by invoking python foo.py in the terminal. > >That way, you can continue to adjust and tweak the code as you learn how >your changes affect the code. You do need to keep invoking the actions >separately edit the file, save the file, run the file with Python >but this is what's needed when you want to run a program more than once >anyway, so it's a good step to take. > >Find a good, *general-purpose* programmer's editor. Preferably licensed >under free software terms, with a strong community supporting it, and >available on all major platforms for when you switch to a decent >programmer-friendly operating system. I am actually using Notepad some too. Thanks -- https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
