So what would be the first 10 commands you would teach someone from Python?

Python Help
1

simple as that… Tell me like what are the most basic commands you would teach someone about?

:slight_smile: So one could make an article about a quick jump into Python.

Please don’t start with nay-saying with your posh talking “before you learn some commands, it makes sense to actually read a few books about what python is and graduate from a university that teaches you how to work with DBes and learn how to semiconductors work bla bla bla”

ok?

If you have an idea what ten commands you would teach a child, then just go ahead give it a shot.
If not, please skip the thread because I am so tired of online forums where people just give diversion comments and never really answer the question or lock my threats because of grammar errrors or “asked in a wrong section”. I remember internet when it was all much easier and better… Really… Online forums there days are so weird. So yeah…

Let’s teach kids 10 commands. I have some ideas but I am interested in your opinion as well…

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2

Ten simple operations to start with. (Some of them are technically more
than one operation, but they are closely related and can be grouped
together.)

  • print()
  • assignment (x = 1)
  • arithmetic operations + - * / **
  • equality ==
  • inequalities < <= > >=`
  • range()
  • for loops
  • input()
  • if…else
  • asyncio transports and protocols
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3

If we are only allowed 10 commands, my choices would include all of the above, except that one. In place of it would be:

  • def

EDIT (December 31, 2021):

If we were to expand the concept of a basic Python toolkit to include a list of types to teach, it might include:

  • int
  • float
  • str
  • bool
  • list
  • dict
4

I agree, but I would also replace range() with

  • import

After which you can use the standard library, opening up a lot of useful opportunities.

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5

Yes, my version 2 of the list, to be posted tomorrow after some additional planning, will include that, especially since this list is to be oriented toward kids. That is so that they can do this …

from turtle import *

… and then have some fun drawing graphics.

6

Please quote ten first words you want your child to speak.

Python (or others like C, Java, Go, Rust etc) are languages to express ones ideas. Grammar is different but the principle is the same. You have idea, feeling or emotion you express it using language.

How can “ten commands” be applied with same relevance in all situations? It’s like asking for ten most important verbs in natural language. Are you lonely? Angry? Have world changing idea?

There is no shortcut- you master the language only when you can express any idea. Will it take 1, 10 or 100 commands/words doesn’t matter.

Therefore I suggest to focus on expressing your ideas and not on words. In my non-English language there is saying: you have to see a forest behind the trees.

And of course- happy new year!

7

The list below is based on a collection of ten basic tasks that are useful for executing algorithms. Each item in the list names a task and specifies Python tools, commands or otherwise, needed for performing that task.

  • output:
    the print() function
  • assignment:
    the = operator and other applicable operators
  • calculations:
    operators for performing arithmetic computations and string concatenation
  • input:
    the input() function
  • making choices:
    conditional blocks (if, elif, and else), including use of comparison and boolean operators for specifying conditions
  • calling functions:
    function call syntax, including parentheses, passing parameters, and dot notation syntax for method calls
  • using collections of objects:
    [] and {} brackets for their roles in dictionary, list, and string creation and access, including slicing
  • iteration:
    for and while loops
  • defining composite tasks:
    def for function creation
  • bringing in modules:
    import statements for enabling use of turtle graphics, math methods, and beyond
8

I thought Noobfor’s rant was an exaggeration. Thank you for proving me

wrong, now I know better.

Aivar wrote:

"How can “ten commands” be applied with same relevance in all

situations?"

Obviously they can’t, and nobody suggested that they would.

You appear to have missed the point of the exercise, which is not to

teach ten commands and then stop, with the learner supposedly now

capable of programming everything and anything. The point is to come up

with an initial ten commands as an introduction to Python, suitable for

teaching kids with no programming experience.

Think about it logically: if you are teaching Python to (let’s say) an

average 12 year old who has never programmed before, there must be a

first Python command (or function, operator, statement, whatever) that

you demonstrate. If you are like most teachers, it is more likely to be

print() or + than await or del. If there is a first, then there

will be a second, then a third, and so on.

That doesn’t mean that we stop at ten and announce that the student has

learned everything that there is to know about Python.

Aivar:

“It’s like asking for ten most important verbs in natural language.”

Bad analogy. We can ask what are the ten most important verbs in natural

language, and while they will be different from one language to another,

I expect that they will likely have quite similar across many languages.

In English, the ten most important verbs are:

  • be, have, do, say, make, go, take, come, see, get.

They are all irregular verbs, so you might not recognise them when you

see them. For example, any of the following are the same verb in

different tenses:

  • be, to be, will be, is, was, are, were, am, being, been

In any case, most important is not necessarily the same as what you

would teach first. I think that Python’s import statement is easily in

the top ten most important things in the language, but I wouldn’t teach

it until the second or third lesson, after the students have learned how

to do basic arithmetic, assignment, comparisons, use print, etc.

9

My response was based on these sentences in post:

Yeah, there is ‘first’ in thread theme but not in body where there is explanation what is expected. Of course there is rule for that in Python: In the face of ambiguity, refuse the temptation to guess.

Yes, I know that you have to start somewhere but I personally don’t believe in ‘ten things which will make you rich’, ‘loose 30 kilograms in 10 minutes’ and similar.

10

mom
dad
hungry
sad
happy
change
diapers
pee
hold
itching
hurts

11

I never said ten commands will make you rich, but if you are starting somewhere, you gotta start somewhere :smiley:

ten commands and after next ten and ten commands you are at 30.

You can do great things after a couple of tens :smiley:

and programming can be fun and exciting. This thread really made my day by all these good responses. Thank you guys

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