An Intro to Python

I guess some of you (although I'm not entirely sure who "you" are/is..." were wondering: "This blog's called Forensic Python, and we've seen a little about forensics (I graduated, so there will be a bit of a delay on that) and a lot about poems; but where's the Pythonic goodness?"

I promise, there will be more pythonic charm, starting now.

Here's a brief intro/manual for what Python is, and where to get started.

Python is a programming language. This means a formal language which you can learn and can use to translate what you want your computer to do into phrases that the computer can understand. Now that that's out of the way, on to something less patronizing.

Some advantages of Python include its high level of readability, the complete portability of its interpreter, the combination of power and simplicity it provides, and the ease of learning it. Some disadvantages include the fact that it is an interpreted language, which results in slower runtimes compared to most compiled languages.

Probably the first two places to start for anybody interested in learning Python are here:
Official Python Site
Thinking like a Computer Scientist: Python Edition
Dive into Python
The first link is to where to get Python and where the documentation is.
The second is probably the best guidebook I've seen for someone who is looking at Python as their first language. It teaches good coding habits as well as useful concepts.
If you know a language or two, the third link will probably be better for you.

A great thing about Python is that there are many great resources available for free online. I suggest finding a forum or a chatroom in case you have questions.