On Sun, Jul 01, 2018 at 03:32:59PM +1000, Chris Roy-Smith wrote: > Python is the first language I have > attempted since macro assembler for CP/M. Python seems to be another world.
Yes indeed, high-level languages like Python *are* a radically different programming experience than low-level languages like assembler. The fundamental execution and data models of the languages are *very* different: - assembler lives in a universe of bytes and words; there are few abstractions and you are dealing (very nearly) with the lowest level of flipping bits in hardware, or at least of moving bytes. - Python lives in a world of big, complex abstractions like dicts and Unicode text and even objects as complex as "web server", and the fundamental operations are multiple layers away from moving bytes. It's not surprising that this may require some re-adjustment of your mental model of how to program. > It appears that I broke the code I started experimenting with, to try > changing the command, and that may have added to my confusion. "Save As..." before engaging in big changes is your friend :-) Even better would be to learn a form of VCS (version control system) such as Mercurial (hg) or git. Depending on the text editor you are using, it may have VCS integration available. Off-topic: I see you are a fellow Internode user, like me. Which part of Australia are you in, and is your internet connection giving you as much grief as mine is? I'm pretty sure that Internode is *grossly* oversubscribed. E.g. when I try doing a google search, I'll usually get "Waiting for www.google.com..." which then times out about six or twelve times on average before succeeding to connect, after which it is damn near instantaneous. I downloaded 2 GB of data in about ten minutes yesterday, not long followed by a 2K email that took *three hours* to leave my computer because the connection to Internode's mail server kept timing out. -- Steve _______________________________________________ Tutor maillist - Tutor@python.org To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/tutor
