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I am Mathematician and I currently work mainly on Operations Research field, building algorithms for solving Mathematical Programming or Optimization problems.

I learnt Fortran, Pascal and C (oh, and Visual Basic) when I was a student, not very deeply, but in the case of C I managed quite well with pointers, structs and so on, for example.

Later, I've been using Visual C++ for my research, building algorithms for my problems and so on. I am not able to create any GUI and I don't use objects but a classical procedural perspective, so in fact I use C with some characteristics from C++.

There was a moment when I tried to learn Python. It seemed so friendly, fresh, interesting, simple but powerful...  But at the end, I was a little bit confused, because of many different reasons, for example:

  1. I was used to procedural languages, and Python is functional oriented, a little bit at least.

  2. I was used to languages that can create .exe files (compiled), and Python is interpreted. Also, I learnt that for that reason C is ---generally speaking--- faster than Pyhton, when we talk about creating complex algorithms and so on.

  3. There are different versions of Python, all of them stable and up-to-date! I mean, there is Python 2.x, and Python 3.x. And there are things that work in version 3 but not in version 2, etc.

  4. Maybe this is even more subjective than the previous reasons, but I find more, better and more stable or reliable libraries in C than in Python.

  5. Also, I found it a bit difficult to choose between different GUIs for Python programming and different flavors, as Python IDE, Tkinter, IronPython...

I do think that Python is a powerful language despite being interpreted. And also I still think it is more beautiful than C. I like Python, but I would like that I liked more!

So, finally, my question is, how can I truly learn and master Python, in a sure way, so that I am able to use it as my main choice for programming mathematical algorithms?

When I say "sure", I mean, which are (in your opinion) the safest path and tools for learning and using Python in a reliable way?, which are the more mature and stable libraries, GUIs, and so on?

Sorry if this question is a little bit strange, but I guess there could be more people with the same kind of doubts about Python as me.

Vicent
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    Just dive in. You will not damage your brain. – dawg Oct 26 '12 at 13:52
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    @drewk -- Don't bother Looking Before You Leap in python :) – mgilson Oct 26 '12 at 13:53
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    @Lundin: please don't suggest sites like that. If you _know_ the question is on-topic somewhere else, vote to migrate (if possible) or flag it for moderator attention (if not). No need in having the OP re-post over there if it turns out _not_ to be on-topic. – Mat Oct 26 '12 at 13:54
  • @Mat I don't see why this would be off-topic at Programmers, or I wouldn't have suggested it. Giving the OP some sort of nudge is in my opinion better than "BAM, CLOSED, OFF-TOPIC, GO AWAY". The post was already closed when I read it. I've flagged it for moderator attention. – Lundin Oct 26 '12 at 14:22
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    @Lundin - "What language should I learn?" and related questions are explicitly off topic on Programmers. – ChrisF Oct 26 '12 at 14:25
  • Can I still move it to http://programmers.stackexchange.com by my own? – Vicent Oct 26 '12 at 14:26
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    @Lundin Please read the [Programmers Stack Exchange FAQ](http://programmers.stackexchange.com/faq) or the FAQ of any SE site before suggesting migration. Questions about what to learn or how to learn things are off-topic on Programmers. Suggesting inappropraite sites to people only causes them to have a poor experience with closed questions and can trigger low quality question blocks. – Thomas Owens Oct 26 '12 at 14:26
  • @Vicent: ChrisF is a moderator there and has just stated it is off-topic for that site too. – Mat Oct 26 '12 at 14:27
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    @Thomas So, what must I do with my question? Is it off-topic for all topics?? – Vicent Oct 26 '12 at 14:27
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    @Vicent: your question won't find a home on the Stack Exchange network, sorry. You're looking for a discussion forum to get people's opinions and experiences. (I don't know a good place for that, sorry.) – Mat Oct 26 '12 at 14:35

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