DISCOVERY
I researched and watched YouTube Videos to determine a new language that is
currently in high demand. I have ruled out Java for now because it's been around a while. However, I may
work with it at some point. Python looks to me like its rapidly gaining popularity and might be worth
putting my time into it. It does look relatively easy to learn. Programmers that are already familiar
with the various flavors of C, C++ or Java should be able to learn Python easily. I did purchase the
PYTHON CRASH COURSE book to aid me if necessary. There are also a ton of training videos on
YouTube.
INSTALLATION
Python is a scripting language, there is no compiler.
The neat part is that Python is available for free. In my case, I used the free extension within VSCode
and it installs in seconds - See my VSCode mini review. Python and VSCode complement each other nicely.
VSCode and Python work on Windows, Linux & Mac.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
I have just begun to scratch the surface of this language. I
come from a C background, so I can read Python code and follow the examples as it's not terribly
different.
Python excels at automation, so I decided to automate something. I wrote a quick script as my first
attempt at something useful as opposed to the typical Hello world example found in nearly
every coding textbook. I completed this over the course of an afternoon. I suspect I would be able to
code faster as I get more familiar with the syntax of the language. I wrote the script on my Windows
computer and copied it over to 3 different real and virtual Linux machines via the VSCode Remote
Explorer plugin. The script could now be run from each Linux machine to update the OS and software. Yes,
it was simple task, but a person has to start somewhere! I figured it all out by myself as a new Python
user, a new Linux user, and a new VScode user. Learning is fun!