Underscore data hiding (was python development practices?)

[Peter Hansen]

Skip Montanaro wrote:
> 
>     Peter> On Wed, 31 Oct 2001 18:42:03 -0600, Skip Montanaro <skip at pobox.com>
>     Peter> wrote:
> 
>     >> Smiley or not, you seem to be trying a bit too hard to compare Python
>     >> with C++.  They serve dramatically different audiences.
> 
>     Peter> what are these dramatically different audiences?
> 
> Perhaps I should have phrased that "designed for dramatically different
> audiences".  Stroustrup designed C++ with the high-performance applications
> of his employer in mind (e.g. telephone switching).  He also had C
> compatibility in mind.  

I recall differently.  I think it was for *simulating* telephone switches.
The need for speed was probably related only to the fact that the hardware
back then sucked, so it needed the raw performance only C provided.  The
object-oriented nature was essential for the complexity of the problem,
but given the power of today's hardware, maybe even Stroustrup would
prefer to use Python for the same thing...

-- 
----------------------
Peter Hansen, P.Eng.
peter at engcorp.com