[nfbcs] Where to start in computer science:

Aaron Cannon cannona at fireantproductions.com
Sat Jan 27 13:16:18 UTC 2018 

Hi Kendra.

First off, I disagree that a braille display is essential. I coded for well over a decade before I was able to get a braille display. Is it a valuable tool? Absolutely. But not essential. So if you don't have one, don't let that stop you, or concern you.

For all my editing needs, I use EdSharp. It's showing its age in some ways, but I still use it because it makes managing indentation super simple (though other good editors do as well), Jaws is accurately able to tell me the difference between when the cursor is at the end of the line, and when it is on a space character, and figuring out what line I'm on is a simple keystroke (though again, this is probably available from other editors as well).

Good luck. Like others, the indentation in Python sounds like a bigger barrier than it actually is for us blind folks.

Aaron

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> On Jan 27, 2018, at 00:49, rjaquiss via nfbcs <nfbcs at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hello Kendra:
> 
>     I use a braille display whenever I code. A braille display lets me see the exact syntax and spacing of my code. I think a braille display is absolutely essential for computer science. You can also use it to look at data tables.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Robert
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kendra Schaber via nfbcs
> Sent: Friday, January 26, 2018 8:33 PM
> To: NFB in Computer Science Mailing List
> Cc: Kendra Schaber
> Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Where to start in computer science:
> 
> Hi all! 
> How does a blind computer science get around the challenge of knowing the spacing in Python? 
> 
> 
> 
> Blessed be!!! 
> Kendra Schaber
> National Federation of the Blind,
> Capitol Chapter,
> Salem, Oregon.  
> "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear" Author Unknown. 
> 
> 
>> On Jan 26, 2018, at 19:27, Greg Kearney via nfbcs <nfbcs at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> LaTeX is a set of macros of the TeX typesetting language. TeX itself is a very complex system which could be considered a programming language but is not generally thought of that way. 
>> 
>> I have my degrees in the humanities but I learned LaTeX which I Used in generating my term papers and theses. A story here white make this more understandable. I had a professor who was reader of my thesis he was notoriously picky about the way citations were done. It was his habit to demand that the citations be done in whatever system you have not used when typing up the paper. One of the advantages of the LaTeX System is that it allows you to specify a particular citation system and then print out a paper with that system. So I put it out about a dozen copies of my thesis each one using a different citation system. I have them all with me when I went in for my review. After looking at my paper the professor Decided that I needed to have the paper in a different citation system than the one I had given him. I reached into my briefcase and took out the paper with the citation system he had asked for. I don’t explained that I had dozens of others in different systems in my bag if he would like to see them. 
>> 
>> One note about python would you might want to keep in mind unlike most computer languages spaces in python have actual meaning so rather than enclosing structures in brackets or braces the structure is indicated by spaces of indentation one space or tab character too few or too many will cause the program to fail. This is particularly challenging for blind computer science students as they must pay particular attention to how the spaces are use and how many there are. 
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>> Greg Kearney
>> 
>> 
>>> On Jan 26, 2018, at 9:03 PM, Kendra Schaber via nfbcs <nfbcs at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Hi Don and all! 
>>> Good to know!!! Where would you go to gget the most accessable tutorial to learn La-Tex? 
>>> 
>>> Blessed be!!! 
>>> Kendra Schaber
>>> National Federation of the Blind,
>>> Capitol Chapter,
>>> Salem, Oregon.  
>>> "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear" Author Unknown. 
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> On Jan 26, 2018, at 18:30, Donald Winiecki via nfbcs <nfbcs at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> LaTex (pronounced La-Tek) is actually a typesetting or 
>>>> page-formatting language.  It is used throughout the sciences 
>>>> because it is specially designed to handle scientific notation of 
>>>> any kind in a very explicit and consistent way.  LaTex uses only 
>>>> ASCII characters so it is also very often used to translate from 
>>>> print to braille (and back) while retaining absolute clarity.  
>>>> However, as suggested by others in this thread, it is not as compact 
>>>> as UEB or Nemeth are designed to be.  Regardless, it will become a 
>>>> major part of your toolchain when communicating mathematical and scientific content with your peers.
>>>> 
>>>> There are many online introductions and tutorials on LaTex, but I 
>>>> apologise because I cannot say how accessible they are.
>>>> 
>>>> Python is a general purpose programming language that has a very 
>>>> large following.  It is considered to be good for small to mid-size 
>>>> programs, which is probably what you'll be writing when producing 
>>>> programs to solve particular problems encountered in courses and in 
>>>> research.  It is also a well-regarded tool in data science, which 
>>>> itself may be part of your eventual work in climatology.
>>>> 
>>>> I'm excited for you!  I remember my initial courses in meteorology 
>>>> and my first programming course in Fortran way back in the 1980s.  
>>>> While I switch paths along the way, I still make substantive use of 
>>>> the methods and tools I learned back then to produce my own tools for research.
>>>> 
>>>> Best,
>>>> 
>>>> _don
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> On Fri, Jan 26, 2018 at 3:57 PM, Martin, Vincent F via nfbcs < 
>>>> nfbcs at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> Do you know what you will be required to learn specifically?  Is it 
>>>>> programming logic or a specific programming language?  With your 
>>>>> proposed major, I suspect you will also have to learn to analyze 
>>>>> Statistical data as well.
>>>>> 
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kendra 
>>>>> Schaber via nfbcs
>>>>> Sent: Friday, January 26, 2018 2:24 PM
>>>>> To: nfbcs at nfbnet.org
>>>>> Cc: Kendra Schaber <redwing731 at gmail.com>
>>>>> Subject: [nfbcs] Where to start in computer science:
>>>>> 
>>>>> Hi all!
>>>>> I’m a complete novis in computer science but I have to learn it as 
>>>>> part of getting a climatology degree. I was advised to also learn a 
>>>>> language called Latex which I know nothing about. Does anyone know 
>>>>> of the best places to start learning about Latex and other computer languages?
>>>>> Thank you!!!
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> Blessed be!!!
>>>>> Kendra Schaber
>>>>> National Federation of the Blind,
>>>>> Capitol Chapter,
>>>>> Salem, Oregon.
>>>>> "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear" Author Unknown.
>>>>> 
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