Murach's Python Programming: five simple questions about book and Python

[Ahmed Ibrahim]

Hi Michael Urban and Joel Murach,

For someone as me who is still learning programming's basics and he had chosen Java as first programming language to learn, i have five questions:

- Why should i learn Python language if Java is the most popular language in the world as i know, in another form of the question what does Python do Java doesn't ?

- What is the better in next step for someone learning Java - learning C#/C++ or Python ?

- Is Python language required when applying to new job in software development (trainee or junior level) ?

- Is Python language platform independent language like Java ?

- After completing (Murach's Python Programming) book, what is the level i will have in Python, can i write real world applications including web applications ?



Regards,

[Joel Murach]

Hi Ahmed,

Those are some good questions. Here are my answers...

- Why should i learn Python language if Java is the most popular language in the world as i know, in another form of the question what does Python do Java doesn't ?

Like Java, Python is a general-purpose programming language, and the two languages can accomplish many of the same tasks. I would say that almost anything you can do in Java, you can do in Python, and vice versa. However, I would say that Java is better for developing large enterprise applications, and Python is better for smaller applications and server-side scripting. Whenever you have a job to do, and you get to choose the tool, you should choose the best tool for the job. Sometimes, it's Java, and sometimes it's Python...or another language altogether.

- What is the better in next step for someone learning Java - learning C#/C++ or Python ?

C#/C++ are compiled languages that have a strongly-typed syntax that's similar to Java. Python is an interpreted language that has a loosely-typed syntax that's a significantly different approach than Java. As a result, I think you'll expand your horizons more by learning Python. Also, I think Python is a great language to learn when you're getting started, maybe even better than Java. So, I would recommend learning Python over C# or C++.

- Is Python language required when applying to new job in software development (trainee or junior level) ?

That depends on the job. But Python is a popular language that's widely used by businesses around the world, so there's a good chance that it might be one of the languages that employers are looking for.

- Is Python language platform independent language like Java ?

Yes.

- After completing (Murach's Python Programming) book, what is the level i will have in Python, can i write real world applications including web applications ?

I would say that you would have a solid foundation in the Python programming language and be able to write real world desktop applications. This book doesn't cover web applications, so you wouldn't be able to write them. But, you would have the basic Python skills you need to begin learning web programming with Python if you want to do that.

Thanks!

[Ahmed Ibrahim]

Joel Murach wrote:
- After completing (Murach's Python Programming) book, what is the level i will have in Python, can i write real world applications including web applications ?

I would say that you would have a solid foundation in the Python programming language and be able to write real world desktop applications. This book doesn't cover web applications, so you wouldn't be able to write them. But, you would have the basic Python skills you need to begin learning web programming with Python if you want to do that.

First of all I would like to say thank you Joel for answering all my questions with details and giving me your advice.

Just one more question i have about desktop and web applications:
- Why does the book cover only desktop applications and not web applications although web applications are required a lot in real world applications and maybe more than desktop applications ?


Regards,

[Joel Murach]

You're welcome. Here's an answer to your final question...

- Why does the book cover only desktop applications and not web applications although web applications are required a lot in real world applications and maybe more than desktop applications ?

Mainly because desktop applications are a better way to learn the basics of a language. They don't require any additional framework or server, and they don't require that you already know HTML and CSS. As a result, you can quickly and easily build applications that show how the Python language works. After that, you're ready to learn how to code web applications. Of course, that requires some sort of framework such as the Django framework and some knowledge of HTML and CSS.

Thanks!