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I'm currently a beginning developer (3 years). I have been mainly doing Web Development for as long as I have been developing. This is my comfort zone when it comes to programming.

I like both JavaScript and PHP because they are easy to use; however, I would really like to further my knowledge when it comes to programming. I've been doing some research on many different languages just getting to know the look and feel of other languages.

I like C as it has a similar syntax to JavaScript. I also like Ruby and Java. However, I think I need to learn one at a time. I have decided on Python because of its clean syntax and the fact that a lot of people consider it a good beginner language.

My Problem

I'm coming from languages that are both easy to learn and use (JavaScript and PHP). For example, for JavaScript all you need is:

<script type="text/javascript">
    //script here
</script>

And you can execute a script and you can do things such as DOM manipulation.

For PHP all you need is a server that has PHP installed and you can use:

<?php
    //script here
?>

You can then just execute it either through AJAX or a request in a form.

I don't understand how to use Python. I don't believe you can just do AJAX requests with python files like you can with PHP files. What can I do with Python? Or do I use it? What have you made using it?

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There are either too many possible answers, or good answers would be too long for this format. Please add details to narrow the answer set or to isolate an issue that can be answered in a few paragraphs. –  gnat Jul 20 '13 at 8:11
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closed as too broad by gnat, GlenH7, Dynamic, MichaelT, user16764 Jul 20 '13 at 21:22

There are either too many possible answers, or good answers would be too long for this format. Please add details to narrow the answer set or to isolate an issue that can be answered in a few paragraphs.If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.

2 Answers

up vote 1 down vote accepted

Python isn't a web development language by default. You can run CGI scripts manually or you can run something like the Django framework to use it as a server-side language or Brython to use it client side.

It is otherwise a massively flexible language used for everything from games to hard science. Python.org has a much more extensive list.

Be aware that there are two main versions of Python: 2.7 and 3.x. The future is 3.x but many libraries and tools still only work with Python 2.7.

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Thank you, I will be looking into CGI scripts and Brython. Interesting :) –  Shawn31313 Jul 20 '13 at 4:36
 
Might take a look at the Sockets tutorial too, learn how things work under the hood. –  World Engineer♦ Jul 20 '13 at 4:41
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up vote 0 down vote

Consider using a web framework. I recommend using Django, they have a good tutorial that will guide you step by step through creating an application.

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Thanks for the reply. I have consider using something like that. But i'm also interested in what you can do with Python outside of the Web Development field. –  Shawn31313 Jul 20 '13 at 4:22
 
While some consider Python a scripting language, it is a general purpose programming language. You can even make games using PyGame. Try checking Github for Python projects, you will find plethora of appliances. –  gruszczy Jul 20 '13 at 4:37
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