Choosing Perl/Python for my particular niche

[Paddy McCarthy]

Hi Fred,
If there are particular C/C++ packages of algorithms that you use then
you might try searching for the package name +python on the web. You
might find someone who has already turned the library into aPython
module.

There are several Scientific libraries for Python that have good
graphing capabilities as well as speed advantages for certain
operations. - Try installing the Enthought Python distribution for
windows at: http://www.enthought.com/python/

Another good page is ScriptEDA:
http://www-cad.eecs.berkeley.edu/~pinhong/scriptEDA/ - I was using the
gate-level verilog parser a month ago.

On Scripting language choice, I find TCL to be in many EDA tools, but
its datastructures and syntax  make it a language I use when I have
to, rather than a language of choice.

Perl IS used a lot in EDA but I like to think of it as being dangerous
in a lot of hands as great Engineers start scripting larger and larger
applications in Perl and usually end up with something that is hard to
maintain and hard to write. Perl does have its sweet spot - I do like
the `perl -p -i -e` mewthod of making sed like alterations to files
in-place, butthe languages support for subroutine arguments - compared
to Pythons; and the need to compute and pass around references to
lists and hashes for simple nested datastructures - things like that
shout small programs only to me.

Python is my language of choice for a large amount of programming in
the EDA field (when given the choince :-).

Perl has a large library, Python has a large library - what you need
to do is do some web searches for libraries in your field to see which
is more appropriate -

When I have to write an algorithm from scratch then I do it in Python.
It does get out of the way and allow me to concentrate on the
algorithm most of the time. (Although I wish it had constrained random
generation of integers like Vera or Specman :-).

I hope I've helped,  Paddy.