null Posted October 30, 2003 Report Share Posted October 30, 2003 (edited) I've mentioned a couple of time here that I wanted to learn OO (I know cobol and other procedural langs) and I wanted to take a Java elective class at college. I have not enrolled yet, but I have purchased a few java books (Murach's, Head first Java, Thinking in Java). However, I have also been browsing thru Python books and reading up on the web about people's thoughts about it. Seems many people think python makes a better first OO language than java (since it is supposedly easier to learn). Maybe it doesn't really matter. any thoughts ? Edited November 4, 2003 by null Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyv Posted October 30, 2003 Report Share Posted October 30, 2003 Well im extremely biased but i say Python all the way! You should give both a go and decide which you want to really learn first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
null Posted October 30, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2003 My choices are either taking the Java course and reading up & practicing it on my own, with help from the instructor if I need.... or... Learning python completely on my own, with no college course.... I know I can get java help on this board, I've seem to remember phunni mentioning that he was a java instructor (or used to be?) and I know other people here know java. So who's the local python expert here...? hmmm... I think I'll take the java course first, then if I'm comfortable with java, maybe play around with python a little Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzylizard Posted October 30, 2003 Report Share Posted October 30, 2003 Personally, if you want to learn OO programming then I would suggest SmallTalk or Ruby. Both are pure OO languages, whereas Java is not. However, if those are unavailable, then definitely learn java. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramfree17 Posted October 31, 2003 Report Share Posted October 31, 2003 java and python. i want to learn python too (together with a bunch of other things) but sadly i dont have the time. maybe after i get married and all that. the only time we stop learning is the time we decide that we are dead. and yes, i meant when we decide and not a moment sooner. :P ciao! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willisoften Posted October 31, 2003 Report Share Posted October 31, 2003 I'm currently learning Java at University. Java is considered an easy way to teach students OOP. Personally I think that you write a heck of a lot of code to do comparitively little. However, I'd say go for the course. Unless your extremely self disciplined learning from books is a bit of a grind. Learning with others is more fun although if learning with complete beginners you may be frustrated by initially slow pace. Helping other students can be a good way to learn too though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iphitus Posted October 31, 2003 Report Share Posted October 31, 2003 Python, i've taught myself. Enuf said. Its easy and powerful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theYinYeti Posted November 1, 2003 Report Share Posted November 1, 2003 I've never used Python. It is indeed supposed to be easier to learn and use than Java. However, think twice. One of Java's biggest strengths is Javadoc. There simply is never a Java package that does not come along with its Javadoc HTML pages. And that's the best way to ensure that whatever you set your hands on, you'll be able to use it the right way. Besides, Java is much more usefull for professional life. That being said, I'd also like to learn Python, myself... Yves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willisoften Posted November 1, 2003 Report Share Posted November 1, 2003 Python, i've taught myself. Enuf said. Its easy and powerful Sorry does that mean you have taught python to others in the past or you've taught yourself python? In either case a rundown on the resources (books tutorials websitesetc ) you found useful would be appreciated. Just because I reccomended the Java course doesn't mean I'm not interested in Python. Though as I'm in the second year of my degree time is admittedly limited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iphitus Posted November 2, 2003 Report Share Posted November 2, 2003 Python, i've taught myself. Enuf said. Its easy and powerful Sorry does that mean you have taught python to others in the past or you've taught yourself python? In either case a rundown on the resources (books tutorials websitesetc ) you found useful would be appreciated. Just because I reccomended the Java course doesn't mean I'm not interested in Python. Though as I'm in the second year of my degree time is admittedly limited. I taught/am teaching myself. I'm certainly no master at python, i know most of the basics though. I'm also starting PyGTK. I used the tutorial included with the documentation. And for pygtk, the one on it's site. And I would like to say, the docs for pythone are great. I previously taught myself basic C++ so that helped to an extent too. iphitus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willisoften Posted November 2, 2003 Report Share Posted November 2, 2003 OK Thanks, I'll try to take a look, I'm like a kid in a sweet shop though I never know what to choose next! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
null Posted November 4, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2003 thanks for all the comments. I tried to post once or twice in the middle of this thread, but always got a Not Logged In error Anyway, in the beginning I was kind of curious who here knew python. I see that nobody went into a Career discussion. I suppose Java would be much more helpful - I don't see any ads for python people... The reason I started this thread was because of my browsing thru python books at the bookstores, and also the fact that one of the authors of the 3 Java books that I have (Murach's Beginning Java 2, Thinking in Java, Head First Java by O'Reilly) says in the beginning of the book that Python is the best OO language out there. I don't remember which book said that, but I think it was Thinking in Java. Right now I am reading a general OO book that helps me re-teach my linear-thinking brain to think in terms of objects. btw - can one of the Board Bosses change the title of this thread back to the correct title - Java vs Python for your first OO language Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinynorman Posted November 4, 2003 Report Share Posted November 4, 2003 btw - can one of the Board Bosses change the title of this thread back to the correct title - Java vs Python for your first OO language You can change it yourself by editing your original post. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
null Posted November 4, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2003 you're right, I never noticed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phunni Posted November 5, 2003 Report Share Posted November 5, 2003 Java is considered an easy way to teach students OOP. Personally I think that you write a heck of a lot of code to do comparitively little. Out of interest - is that an observation of Java or OO? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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