Well, I finished Learning to Code the Hard Way by Zed Shaw, (although, shame on me, I didn't do all of the assignments) but it did not end up teaching me what I really wanted to learn, which was how to create a GUI data storage and crunching interface for a non-coder that someone like my mom or my girlfriend could use fairly intuitively (not to mention download and set up). I have the nagging feeling that what I read over without trying was in fact much more of a "game changer" in terms of flexibility with data-storage and information, but the fact is that I really don't want to learn about that until I learn how to present it to a non-tech user.
I really appreciated the explanation Shaw gave of the Object-Class distinction, which is really just a classification system similar to the Domain-Kingdom-Phylum-Class-Order-Family-Genus-Species idea, Where Classes are higher-level, and Objects (which can also be classes themselves) are base level and considered Objects when they are directly used to perform functions and store data. This could be a simplistic way of thinking, but after reading Shaw, I am sure that if it is not 100% the right way of thinking, it is close.
So after finishing Shaw, who expanded a few horizons, but not the one I wanted, I went back to the internet. Apparently, there are several applications like wxPython, Dabo and Tkinter that allow one to create GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces) from python modules, but I really wanted to get back into a book or structured course of some sort to guide my learning. I also learned about the turtle class, which causes an arrow to rove about a white field, leaving a trail, as its path is directed from the command line, which is sorta-kinda a rudimentary GUI that worked on my Mac OS X system without having to install anything extra. Finally, I discovered this youtube video (turtle class from python command line demo at 06:56) from a talk by a Kiwi named Richard Jones in Singapore on videogame development through python, which (towards the end) suggested some possible reading choices.
Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python by Al Sweigart seemed the most likely choice, and I have just downloaded and started reading it. While I am not after games per se, I am after creating programs that allow the user to enjoyably process, learn and store data, which in its optimized form would be like a game. We'll just have to see how far I can go with this new book. I'm thinking this time I will skim it first to make sure it's covering stuff that's in the vein of what I want to know, which is how to make programs with GUIs containing buttons, maybe audio, and blanks that the user can type into and that will display the data he or she wants access to, preferably from anywhere through the web. This book seems likely to get me started on at least the first few items on that checklist.
