What does Python do

[Peter Hansen]

Grant Edwards wrote:
> 
> >I claim an even stronger proposition:  Python
> >is the single best language for most beginners.
> >Its applicability is as wide as *any* language
> >(yes, including C and Java), and it's quite in-
> >viting to first-timers.
> 
> There are some things for which C is still more applicable than
> Python: low-level programming such as real-time embedded
> systems and device drivers where C is used as a "portable
> assembler".  OTOH, I don't consider C applicable for GUI
> application development (Python is).
> 
> Since beginners aren't generally doing real-time embedded SW or
> device drivers, I concur that Python is probably the best
> language (of the ones I know) for a beginner.

Actually, Python can be suitable for real-time embedded 
software, as well.  (I suppose I could even stretch things
a little and say it's potentially suitable for device 
drivers, but not in the way most people would define
them.)

Python is actually *more* suitable for real-time work,
in certain circumstances, than Java.  For example, it
seems to be a little more deterministic (without the
garbage collection).  On the other hand the threading
model could mess things up for you, but if you focus
on a specific platform, even that is not necessarily
a problem.