[Novalug] Why Python

Samer Masterson nosefrog@gmail.com
Sat Jul 20 09:19:17 EDT 2013


I think your analysis is correct, except you're missing one of the biggest
reasons people use scripting languages: they're really freaking powerful. I
remember making something python after being a C geek for longest time, and
it blew my mind. One line in python could be three or four in C, especially
when dealing with strings. Like I said in the email that I managed to send
only to Dave, python really feels like a natural, higher level extension of
C, because at the end of the day, C's just one abstraction away from a Von
Neumann machine, and python is two. A lot of python's popularity with
developers is that you keep the same mental model that you had with
traditional statically-typed languages, except now your code is easier to
reason about and you're getting more stuff done.

I think if you introduced python to any java/c++/c developer, after two
days they would be hooked. I know people are starting to realize that
static languages aren't the be-all and end-all of software development. At
George Mason, our first programming class is in python, which I think is
fantastic, and almost makes up for the fact that the second is in Java (on
another note, why do we learn object-oriented programming in Java? You'd
think if they actually wanted us to learn what OO is, instead of trying to
churn out java-drones, we'd be doing something like smalltalk. (literally
half that class was dedicated to learning the java syntax & standard
library. I guess we haven't gotten the memo that syntax isn't programming)).

And I think you made the exact same mistake I did when I tried learning
python: I tried doing the tutorials and was board out of my mind and
thought there was nothing to the language. If you know C, if you know Java,
if you know C++, then you already know everything you need to get started
in python. The key is to take a project that you were going to write in
another language and write it in python instead. Then you'll see what
everybody's raving about.


On Sat, Jul 20, 2013 at 8:48 AM, Varol Okan <mymail@movingsatellites.com>wrote:

>  I think it is interesting to once-in-a-while step back and look at
> what's going on.
>
> Note: I am oversimplifying here but ... read on!
>
> As a sysadmin I think what you are looking for in a scripting language is
> to get small to medium tasks done. So a functional scripting language with
> strong support for strings, arrays, and file support is perfect.
>
> As a developer what you want is a language which allows you to extend its
> functionality through libraries and includes. It is best if it is object
> oriented so you can apply the concepts near and dear to a developer.
>
> The second approach would allow to write more complex apps and develop (
> or use ) a framework which can be used for Rapid Application Development.
>
> I think scripting has its benefits ... Clearly.
>
> Though as a hard-core developer I sometimes wonder why you would want to
> jump through hoops and loops to fit a square peg into a round hole. There
> are clearly limits with any development tools. It just seems that sometimes
> things are being actively developed which should be taken out and shot at
> first sight.
>
> Pausing here for a second and thinking about UNIX I think there ARE
> timeless concepts which work (
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_philosophy), especially the rule of
> separation and simplicity are violated a lot IMHO with new tools ( toys ).
>
> So I guess I leave this discussion here with the enlightenment that
> learning a new scripting language is really only something you'd do if
> a) You are looking to prep you CV
> b) You start working on a project which would require it.
>
> ... as an engineer though; I have to say I am saddened by this. Engineers
> always want to play with new toys :)
> So I guess I'll add
> c) You want to play, learn and have fun.
>
> Varol
>
>
>
> On 07/20/2013 12:55 AM, Christopher Jones wrote:
>
> I think it depends on what your're scripting bash and perl will do just
> about anything you need as an SA.
>
>
> On Fri, Jul 19, 2013 at 8:38 PM, Varol Okan <mymail@movingsatellites.com>wrote:
>
>> I have been happily using bash for all my needs and once in a blue moon
>> I used Perl.
>>
>> Looking at the current scripting landscape I see mostly Python and Ruby.
>>  From all I can tell it seems Python is the one used most broadly.
>>
>> Ruby is currently a hot commodity in the job market AFAIKT.
>>
>> I played around with Python a bit and went through a bunch of 'boring'
>> tutorials and I don't know why this is such a big thing.
>>
>> Looking at Ruby I found a couple of very interesting and exciting
>> tutorials.
>> http://railsforzombies.org/ was the one I liked best ( grin ) but there
>> were other great tuts out there.
>>
>> So my question is then, what is it with Python ? Why has Python
>> strangled other scripting languages ?
>>
>>
>>
>> Varol
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
>
> --
>  Chris Jones
>  RHCSA
>
>
>
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