Is this a true statement?

[Rainer Deyke]

"Steven D. Majewski" <sdm7g at Virginia.EDU> wrote in message
news:mailman.993411997.2625.python-list at python.org...
> I don't retract the statement that the fact that you can compute
> any computable function in any Turing complete does not mean that
> you can *DO* the same thing in any language.

I agree here.

To a program, "doing something" means "interacting with the outer world".
It is a given that, if a program can receive the proper input from the
world, it can calculate (but not necessarily perform) the proper output.
Python includes many ways of interacting with the outer world in its
standard library, but C++ usually includes more.  Python can sometimes get
around this by outputting machine code, but only if the problem is defined
in a way that allows this.

To a programmer, however, "doing something" generally means structuring code
in a certain way.  Programming is about putting all information in only one
place.  Variables are one tool for doing this:

print 117
print 117
# vs.
a = 117
print a
print a

Functions are another:

print 117
print 117
# vs.
def f():
  print 117
f()
f()

>From this perspective, there are a couple of areas where C++ is more
powerful, but they are eclipsed by the many areas where Python is more
powerful.


--
Rainer Deyke (root at rainerdeyke.com)
Shareware computer games           -           http://rainerdeyke.com
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