Python has tremendously more complex syntax and semantics than a classical BASIC interpreter. Calling python &quot;executable pseudocode&quot; is as disingenuous as claiming that C has a straightforward translation to machine code (maybe if you&#x27;re using C on a PDP-11 in 1972…).<p>I think Python has an ill-deserved reputation as a simple language for beginners to pick up because <i>if you know some other programming language</i> Python is mostly familiar. I&#x27;ve spent years teaching hands-on introductory programming to middle- and high-schoolers, and my experience is emphatically that if you don&#x27;t already know how to program, Python is confusing and difficult to come to grips with.