Is Python for me?

[Greg Jorgensen]

In article <20010210175216.26827.00000474 at ng-mh1.aol.com>,
dvdavins at aol.com (DvdAvins) wrote:
> I'm planning to write a program for myself which, if I'm happy with
> the way it turns out, I will likely distribute as shareware.
> ...
> I'm investigating at M, Python, BETA, Scheme, Haskell, Icon, and
Common Lisp. Which would you use? Why?

You don't say anything about the program you are planning, so no one
can give a meaningful answer to your question. The language I would
choose for a cross-platform GUI application may not be the language I'd
choose for writing web server applications, or querying a database.
There is no one best programming language for everything.

I would use the language and tools I am most productive with. For the
vast majority of programmers, that means using one of the handful (or
fewer) programming languages they know well. I can't tell for sure, but
your post gives the impression that you don't know any of the
programming languages you are asking about. Do you have any programming
experience at all? If yes, what language or languages are you most
experienced and comfortable with?

Imagine if someone asked you: "I'm planning to take some photographs,
and if they turn out I may sell them. Should I use a Nikon, Minolta,
Canon, Hasselblad, or Olympus camera? Why?" What kind of sensible
answer could you give them?

If you don't have any significant programming experience, I'd say
Python is a great choice to start with. The language is easy to learn,
tools are widely available, several good books are in bookstores, and
the support community is first-rate. But the hard part is learning how
to program, not learning a language. I can teach my kids how to use a
camera, but that won't make them as good as Ansel Adams.

For more about learning programming and why you should be prepared to
spend a lot of time at it, have a look at:

http://www.norvig.com/21-days.html

--
Greg Jorgensen
Portland, Oregon, USA
gregj at pobox.com


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