Python vs. C#

Brandon J. Van Every vanevery at 3DProgrammer.com
Mon Aug 11 17:57:55 EDT 2003


Istvan Albert wrote:
> Brandon J. Van Every wrote:
>
>> For instance, Perl has become popular because
>> it's overwhelmingly useful for sysadmin and web admin.  But I am not
>> seeing Python's overwhelming utility compared to other languages.
>> You can do apps, you can do web admin, but most people are doing
>> Java, C#, or Perl.  And unlike C++ they aren't bad languages, so
>> Python is not offering an obvious "slam dunk" remedy.
>
> As far as I'm concerned it does not have to be "slam dunk". Just a
> little better is enough, that goes a long way and adds up quickly in
> larger projects. That's why people use python, it is not a conspiracy
> nor a brainwashing that made it popular. For many tasks it works
> better than anything else out there.

Right, but what if C# is "a little better" for tools integration and extant
worker skills on the Windows platform?  If it actually has its own class of
noticeable improvements in that domain, plus Microsoft's marketing muscle
behind it, then C# sweeps the table on Windows.  Leaving Python to the UNIX
world.  And there, it comes down to whether Python or Java is the better
tool for a particular job.

> C# was created to counteract Java. Unlike Python it would die quickly
> if it weren't for the marketing muscle of Microsoft.

I am not convinced.  As the books tell it, C# was created to take the best
features of Java and some other languages.  And as a dyed in the wool C++
programmer, most of what I've learned about C# so far certainly looks like
sanity.  I am currently thinking of it as "C++ without the pain."

> So claiming as the holy grail seems a bit of a joke.

It's not a holy grail.  It is probably a better real world language product
on the Windows platform.  My question is about the strategic consequences of
that likely fact.  What's Python's strategic plan?  Why is there going to be
room for 4 "high level languages" in the future?  Why are we going to need
Java, C#, Perl, *and* Python?

-- 
Cheers,                         www.3DProgrammer.com
Brandon Van Every               Seattle, WA

20% of the world is real.
80% is gobbledygook we make up inside our own heads.







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