Re: BlindConfidential: Learning to Program for the Blind
- From: Jamal Mazrui <empower@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2007 10:22:51 -0500 (EST)
I think this is an important discussion and hope we can engage
constructively without a language flame war. My thoughts are as follows.
I agree that the indentation requirement of Python is enough of a problem
to be a challenge worth sparing a blind beginner to programming. If it
were a minor inconvenience, then I think the value of learning to format
for sighted users of one's code may be justified. The problem,however,
affects both writing and reading code with speech output (not necessarily
braille), in both efficiency and reliability aspects. I have tried to
make EdSharp and TextPal make the problem more manageable, but they cannot
automatically indent code that was not indented originally because the
indentation, itself, conveys meaning that often cannot be known otherwise.
Between Python and Ruby for a beginner, I recommend Ruby. It has an
interactive shell that is even more speech friendly than Python's.
Indentation is optional, not required, and automatic code formatters are
available. An excellent tutorial that teaches programming through Ruby is
available at the following web page:
"Learn to Program"
http://pine.fm/LearnToProgram/
Jamal
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