olbigtenor:
> Greetings

Howdy!

> If I am asking too many questions of this kind of nature - - - please
> advise - - - my guru died some years ago (may even be known to some of you)

Well gurus tend to die them also...

> so I have no place to get information

Ouch, you have us.

...
> In the beginning stages of learning how to program.
> My mentor had advised that I seriously consider Python

It is good to know a script language, I like perl very much.

> - - - but - - - looking at the slow processing time

If python solves your problem, it will be a much faster processing
the having no solution. At least you could build a prototype
implementation and test out the problem more quiokly than doing all
the nitty-gritty handiwork in C.

> and the impetus provided by this group I have been working on learning C.
> (Now its slow going - - - - it seems that learning has become a going
> around in too many circles with not a lot of " write this - - - see
> this - - - means x and you use it for these reasons and in
> the following fashion. " - - - Maybe its too close to what I call
> monkey see monkey do kind of learning but I know it works AND the info
> sticks - - -

It's good to know ones best kind of learning, from what I heard, some
learn by seeing, some by hearing, and some by feeling (tactile).

> maybe its the idea that counting now starts with zero
> instead of one has warped some other things - - - LOL.)

Well it isn't that counting starts with zero, it is that to go to
number 2, you have to add one to number 1, soo think it more as an
offset than a count:

int arr[10]; // 10 is the count, the number of elements.

int start = arr[0]; // i.e. at offset 0 of arr, there is where start is
int end = arr[9]; // i.e. att offset 9 of arr, there is the end
int count = sizeof(arr)/sizeof(int); // this is a count, the number of elements

> So I remember hearing about Cython - - - - sounds like that really
> might be useful - - - you know a marriage between C and Python - - -
> so fast and you can get down close to the proc etc etc. Is this
> something to consider in trying to program microcontrollers and SoCs
> (microprocessors) to do things for me or is this better left until I
> get some fluency in C and then added?

there doesn't seem to be any cpython for mcus available:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cpython#Distribution

> Please advise

If you are at ease with python you are not going to do anything
advanced, why not just stick with micropython and use a mcu that
supports it.
At least you can start with micropython and if and when it fails
to deliver, try some other language.
In the meantime try out a few languages and see if they suits you.

Regards,
/Karl Hammar