Learning Python

[SidT]

I decided to start learning Python. Does anyone have any resourses they would like to reccommend?
Also, I tried to run a sample Python code, and it didn't work correctly. I think it's because of some system requirements or a program was missing or something. Anyone know of any system requirement or program Python needs to function correctly?

[johnny]

I decided to start learning Python. Does anyone have any resourses they would like to reccommend?
Also, I tried to run a sample Python code, and it didn't work correctly. I think it's because of some system requirements or a program was missing or something. Anyone know of any system requirement or program Python needs to function correctly?

A current usual computer with good operating system (i.e. Windows XP etc.) should do just fine. I also highly recommend to either find a good website for downloading the programming software, or buy a software, shouldn't be that expensive to buy one.

[SidT]

OK, thanks.

[julien]

I would not carry a judgement between Perl, PHP and Python (for the simple reason that I am only quite familiar with PHP), but before you make a decision you might be interested in comparing the different solutions. For instance, try to have a look at this page which offers a comparison between PHP and Python. You can then see the advantages and disadvantages of both languages before learning either of them. Good luck !

[johnny]

Yes, I might learn some Python in the future, but not guaranteed.

[SidT]

Thanks. Interesting link, by the way.
PHP seems like a good language to learn, but it seems that it is useful for only web development. Can PHP code be compiled into an executable?

[julien]

I don't believe PHP code can be compiled into an exe file; besides, it's a rather loosely typed language and I agree that I wouldn't use it for software development but just for web programming.

[CRGreathouse]

There's phc, but generally PHP isn't well-suited for high-performance anything -- it's a web development language.