Is Python overhyped (just like Java)?

[Thomas Bellman]

David Abrahams <dave at boost-consulting.com> writes:

> Thomas Bellman <bellman at lysator.liu.se> writes:

>> After a while it was realized that that was untenable, and
>> templates were invented to patch around it.

> That's a very interesting view of the origin of templates!  Did you
> know there's a book by Bjarne Stroustrup called "The Design and
> Evolution of C++" where you can read the real story?

Yes, I actually own that book myself (despite hating C++ :-),
though it has been several years since I read it.  It says that
the motivation was for container classes, but IMHO that's
essentially the same problem: you want to use types/classes with
different inheritance in the same functions or data structures,
as long as the interface is the same.  (For pure container
classes, the needed interface typically is just "you can get a
pointer to it" or something similar.)

And of course, Bjarne doesn't consider templates as a kludge to
work around a basic design deficiency, but that's his problem. :-)


-- 
Thomas Bellman,   Lysator Computer Club,   Linköping University,  Sweden
"God is real, but Jesus is an integer."      !  bellman @ lysator.liu.se
                                             !  Make Love -- Nicht Wahr!