if your serious about programming you should learn at least one new language a year. Even if you don't end up using it much each language does things differently so if you go to do something in C/C++ you may be able to use something you learned from python. Python is also a "popular language" so it is good as any to learn.

I current can program in C, C++, Java, PHP and now learning Python. I like learning new languages.

The language I don't believe is the real learning part. The real learning aspect is the API and the documentation for the API. It is so important to have good online documentations and tutorials (for the basics) for any language.

Learning the syntax, keywords and very basic data structures takes hardly half an hour. The challenge is to put them together and use that language to the best use.

When I learn a language I usually look at tutorials and then create several programs using various aspects of the API on my own. It is a great exercise. I recommend it to anybody learning a programming language.

Once you have a good hold of the structure of programming in that particular language then you can easily develop applications using the API documentation alone.

Here's a python review from the legendary Eric Raymond:

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/3882

He, he! Saw my OS did you? Well, here's the deal.......I've got 3 other boxes just for Linux. I'm installing Slack, Deb, Arch, Gentoo, and LFS........

I'll be off this Win box in no time But thanks for the reply!! I'm starting Python too............

JR

oh, what stupid cow i am! i am so sorry!
i was so sure you're using win out of what you said that i never thought to take a look what distros you've got written there and even failed to realize this forum is called *linux*questions!

please, accept my deepest apologies.

btw, once you've managed to install gentoo and lfs, i imagine you also managed to run network in arch. perhaps you could help me out with the following problem:
i use dhcp but setting it in rc.conf won't work. setting a specific ip does help and everyting looks like it's fine until i try to ping anything or update pacman.
do you have any idea where my problem might be?

Well, don't worry about it! I said "I'm installing them" NOT that I've been sucessful with them all. Hit a snag with Debian a few minutes ago......Installing an old Mandrake to check it out!

Sorry, can't help you just yet.........but thanks for asking!!

JR

ok

may i have a perhaps stupid and certainly unrelated question? in your signature, it says "you think YOU'RE new? i WAS born yesterday!", and to my non-native-english mind, it would look like the opposition is you:me whereas the words emphasized are you and was. do you think there could be a way to explain it to me?

I would say that it's wise to learn all of the major languages you're likely to encounter as a scripting-language here:

• Python
• Perl
• PHP
• Shell scripting yeech!

You will naturally gravitate toward having a personal preference, but you need to be conversant in whatever you might see. The time spent doing so will be well-spent.

Ok. What the sig means is that "whenever somebody says they are new to Linux, my answer is that I'm more new!"

In other words, I'm saying I don't know what I am talking about, and give me a break. (don't hold it agains't me).

I had some guys in my apartment that had immigrated from Poland. Nice guys and we had some conversations. One was fluent in English. one was not. I like them both. I think you may be like them, in that you want to really learn what the English are saying. Good for you! Send me an e-mail, I'll answer better, ok?

JR

erm, this is not exactly what i was asking about. i did get the meaning, only i can't understand why you put 'was' in capitals, because i would only put 'i' in capitals though i could only hradly imagine how it could be even more capital...
thank you for the proposition but i'm afraid the forum does not let me send you an e-mail. do you think you could please send me an e-mail first at kstachowski@o2.pl?