GatorLUG Meeting | 2009-10-21 | 6-8pm | Zero to Python in 40 minutes

GatorLUG Meeting Agenda for October 21, 2009

6:00 - 6:20 Announcements / General Discussion

Florida Linux Show | Android Phones | Social Networks

6:20 - 7:00 Zero to Python in 40 minutes | Jim Wilson

(Editor's note: Jim hates it when I edit his stuff, so the following is his unedited copy. And, since he is doing the presentation, I figure all the programmers who disagree with his assertion can regale him with their arguments.- cbc)

A typical programmer can write and debug only about ten lines of code each day, independent of the language she uses. In contrast to low-level languages like Java, C++ or assembly, a dynamic, high-level language can make the most of those ten lousy lines.

Of course there are tradeoffs: A dynamic language usually runs substantially slower than a language that lives closer to the hardware.

Python is a high-level dynamic language that touts a crystal-clear syntax that's so easy to learn, Jim Wilson will attempt to teach it in well under an hour. He will also discuss several speed up tricks to get Python programs to run about as fast at hand-optimized C.

http://python.org

7:00 - 8:00 Tech Talk - all you can eat!