Editing Day 1 pre-lecture (section)

== Why Python ==

I know a dozen programming languages and write 4-5 regularly. But '''Python is the correct first language to learn'''.

=== Python is a fantastic language to learn ===

Believe it or not, compared to other programming languages:

* Python has a low "syntatic overhead".
* It's easy to get work done quickly.
* It's relatively forgiving.

=== Python is versatile useful for a range of applications ===

There are easier programming languages to learn. But Python is important because it is ''not a toy''. In designing the curriculum for these workshops, we have tried to only teach tools that we, as professional data scientists and programmers, use ourselves and find useful.

Python is used for:

* Big Companies — Big companies like Google use Python to run much of the code that collects all the webpages that go into their search results.
* Web applications (Instagram, Pintrest, and the Washington Post all run websites written largely in Python).
* Python can be used to extend existing applications. You can use it to script many graphical applications.
* Python can be used to build graphical games (e.g., Civilization 4; Frets on Fire is a free version of Guitar Hero)
* Python is used for movies and graphics (e.g., Industrial Light and Magic; Disney Feature Animation)
* One of the langauges for science (national weather services, NASA, genomics reseachers)
* ''Python really shines when it comes to dealing with data and with the web.''

[[Category:CDSW]]