[Catalyst] lets open a can of worms

[Len Jaffe]

Any of you seen the python challenge?

Its a series of puzzles which have programming
solutions.  They are intended to be a python learning
exercise, and are quite fun.

I found that the bounce around, and sort of jump well
past "python syntax beginner" and mostly make you
learn about libraries/modules both core, and
third-party.

I found that I could think of the obvious solution in
perl, but had to read the hints forum for hint on
which modules to look at to solve the problems in a
pythonic way.

The other problem I had with the whole exercise, is
the solutions' explanations.  After you solve a
challenge, you can view the page with the explanation
of the solution.  The solutions all appeard to have
been through a rousing game of python golf.  The last
thing a beginner needs is a single line of chained
iterators/maps/regexes.  I need one operation per
line, as many lines as it takes.  I felt that it took
some of the wind out of the argument that python is
supposed to be easier to read than perl.

So, has anybody tried it out? 
I've been thinking about doing them in Python, perl,
and ruby, to be able to learn python and ruby, and to
be able to make reasonable comparisons between the
three languages.

oh yeah: www.pythonchallenge.com

Len.

Leonard A. Jaffe     lenjaffe at jaffesystems.com
Leonard Jaffe Computer Systems Consulting Ltd.
Columbus, OH, USA 614-404-4214 F: 530-380-7423