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Online Python Tutor: Learn programming by visualizing code execution

pythontutor.com

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Re: Online Python Tutor: Learn programming by visualizing code execution

#31

Post by anonymous »

agentultra wrote: post #27
upthedale wrote: post #25

Looks good. However, my big criticism of these sorts of visualisations is they seem to be entirely geared towards imperative programming. Has anyone seen similar visualisations for more functionally structured code? Oh, I see you can write your own code to be visualised. Here's a simple list comprehension: http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#code=myList+%3D+range(... Not the most enlightening visual.

Generators are similarly confusing to visualize... http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#code=def+fib(n)%3A%0A+...

It does look a bit confusing, but it does step through the program in the order it executes. Unlike list comprehension, where it completely misses some instructions.

Re: Online Python Tutor: Learn programming by visualizing code execution

#35

Post by seanmcdirmid »

TuringTest wrote: post #24
pgbovine wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bret has certainly been an inspiration to lots of us who work in this field, but I still don't think this is an implementation of his vision. To truly implement his vision, someone would need to design a new programming language and environment. My motivation has been to ease the learning path for an existing popular language (Python).

I have been thinking of such a language for several years. Now that life programming environments are getting traction, I might be able to bootstrap the process and program my ideated language on top of one of them. See this 2003 PhD thesis at MIT for two examples of existing languages designed to take full advantage of live programming environments. (Flogo I -graphical- and Flogo II -textual): http://llk.media.mit.e…

Christopher Hancock's thesis is pretty good; flogo II plays around with this feature called "live text" where it embeds code exucution visualizations directly in the text of the code. I still haven't seen anyone pull that off again.

Re: Online Python Tutor: Learn programming by visualizing code execution

#36

Post by Too »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #13

Just 5 days ago HN was all so negative about Bret Victor's visions[1] of how programming should be taught. And yet here we are, looking at a working example of one of the ideas he wrote about. [1] - http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4577133

1006 points? Negative? Most of the comments are actually positive

Re: Online Python Tutor: Learn programming by visualizing code execution

#37

Post by Too »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #13

Just 5 days ago HN was all so negative about Bret Victor's visions[1] of how programming should be taught. And yet here we are, looking at a working example of one of the ideas he wrote about. [1] - http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4577133

1006 points? Negative? Most of the comments are actually positive

Re: Online Python Tutor: Learn programming by visualizing code execution

#40

Post by pgbovine »

scott_s wrote: post #12
ronyeh wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think Philip has posted this project on here before. His user name is: http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=pgbovine Another project he worked on that you may have seen on HN is the PhD Grind book (about getting a CS PhD from Stanford).

Oh, I know. He's been a regular here for a while. Which is why I was surprised I did not know about one of his projects.

I've never actually posted any of my projects in the past. Every so often I wake up to an inbox flurry and then check HN :)
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