Is this a true statement: Part II

Bengt Richter bokr at accessone.com
Sun Jul 1 20:58:34 EDT 2001


On Fri, 29 Jun 2001 12:33:48 -0700, Paul Prescod
<paulp at ActiveState.com> wrote:
[...]
>
>Here's how I would summarize it. Programs have three main parts: getting
>data (including user events) into the program, doing computation on it,
>and getting data out of the program (including user feedback).
>
I would add that programs have a life before coding
(or generally should, though Python tempts mightily ;-).
They first exist as a need, often in the mind of a non-programmer
(who nevertheless may be pretty astute about needs IRL ;-)

So part of the evaluation of a language, IMV, has to be in terms of
how well it serves the process of conceiving and implementing a
program serving the original needs, not to mention the usual about
others (and yourself later) being able to understand and maintain
the code.

A programming language serves partly as a thinking language of sorts.
If you've never heard of the STL, you're not likely to think of
a solution using its features (except insofar as you might reinvent
some independently). Python is a winner in providing a simple and
powerful mix of capabilities, ISTM.

As a (Python) newbie, I've yet to use Python for anything "real" but
I find myself using it all the time now as a handy tool for Q&D stuff
(which comes out less "D" ;-). And I'll actually do stuff I wouldn't
have had the time to do in C or even C++.

The development environment is also VERY important. E.g., I like
Delphi for GUI development, MSVC++ IDE for debugging C++ (even when
I am writing C++ for Linux or BSD and have to go to the extra trouble
of #ifdef WIN32's etc.), Perl for its regular expressions (and
surprising speed in that department), and flex for the ease of
defining a text parser.

Python is growing on me very fast, since it provides so much power
so simply and safely. And the community seems friendly, which counts.
Makes we want to contribute one of these days.

I just wonder how people have time to read and post so much,
especially the core people who must be insanely busy anyway.

[...]




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