This is not a complex point, but I've been using Python about since it came
out (since 2002) and have found it both flexible and very easy to learn and
use. I'd recommend it as a scripting language for beginning programmers and
those experimenting around.

Our library isn't  using Python for any formal projects that I'm aware of,
but I've used it in extracurricular projects to pre-process Japanese files
for text analysis and plan to use it for further NLP experimentation now
that Stanford Core NLP has had a Python wrapper written - although I
haven't tried it out yet. (Aside, great - I used it in Java when it first
was released and what a lot of extraneous code I had to write.) However,
the library has been doing an informal "focused lab" in which we had a
group get together and work through the Codecademy introduction to Python.

In terms of simplicity and ease of learning I highly recommend it, but
others may have better recommendations too.

Molly Des Jardin
Japanese Studies Librarian
University of Pennsylvania


-- 
Molly C. Des Jardin, PhD
http://www.mollydesjardin.com
@mdesjardin