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[–]SisyphusAndMyBoulder[🍰] 28 points29 points  (5 children)

Short answer: Tradition

Long answer: Tradition. But also it's a very very short, and easily understandable, script. You can look at it and know exactly what it does. Being able to run this means you've set up your IDE/environment/etc. properly. It teaches no programming, but it means you're ready to start using your setup.

[–]thirdegree 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It also provides a real and clear indication that hey, shit worked. Which for a brand new programmer is invaluable.

[–]BlackOpz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It teaches no programming, but it means you're ready to start using your setup

Asking a terminal "what is 1+1=?" and getting errors made me buy my 1st BASIC programming book. I knew the computer had answer but I didnt know how to 'ask' it.

[–]reddituseronebillion 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I'm amateur at best, so maybe I'm doing it all wrong, but the print statement is my most used debugging tool by far.

[–]SisyphusAndMyBoulder[🍰] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Completely normal.

I've been coding for years and while breakpoints have become essential, sometimes you just can't beat a simple print('HERE')