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Have you always wanted to become a programmer, but never followed through? For a lot of people, the ideal first programming language is Python. The strongest advantage to Python for beginners is that its syntax focuses on readability, meaning it’s much easier to see what you’re doing than in a lot of other programming languages. Another big advantage is that Python is both free and open source. It ships standard with most Linux distributions, or you can always download it for free.
The other big reason to use Python is that it will continue to be useful long after you’ve passed the beginner stage in your programming career. It makes a great scripting language for web applications, and is frequently used in scientific computing – it’s a popular choice for scientists writing their own applications. It has seen a lot of use in the information security industry, where tight code is especially important, and you’ll see it in various bits and pieces of different Linux distros. People have even used it in games.
If you want to learn how to program using Python, try this. Get a copy; this should be easy. Second, get a project that’s simple, and interesting enough to you that it can sustain your interest over a long period of time. Like a chess clock program, if you’re into chess. Has someone else made a better one, that you can probably download for free? It’s like the difference between going to the store to buy a bedspread and making your own quilt from scraps. One of them, besides being full of homey goodness, will teach you how to quilt. If you do well with that sort of thing, you may want to pick up a book of projects to work your way through; otherwise, keep making your own until the program can do what you want it to be able to do.
