Re: Computer Skills

[Tim Wilson <wilson@chemsun.chem.umn.edu>]

On Thu, 17 Sep 1998, Steven T. Ratliff wrote:

> The choice of a computer language is a difficult one.  I would argue 
> for Fortran 90 (and Fortran 95 as compilers are available).  However, 
> once you know one language, it is relatively easy to learn others.  

I'd like to chime in here with another suggestion for a computer
programming language that would be useful to know. I'm currently trying to
learn Python. It's a very high-level scripting language that it pretty
easy to learn. It's object-oriented and extensible. Many people classify
it as a "glue" language--something that can be used to glue together
programs written in C, Fortran, or other compiled languages.

Maybe the most impressive thing about Python is that is quite compatible
across different platforms. You can get Python for Unix, Win95, Mac, and I
think there are others too. There are extensions for creating GUIs, doing
numerical analysis, and lots of other projects. You can also use it to
interface with lab equipment.

Check out http://www.python.org for more details. I'm hoping to develop a
web-based electronic gradebook program using Python to interface with a
SQL database on a central server.

-Tim

--
Timothy D. Wilson			"A little song, a little dance,
University of MN, chem. dept.		a little seltzer down your 
wilson@chem.umn.edu			pants."   -Chuckles the Clown
Phone: (612) 625-9828                       as eulogized by Ted Baxter