float / double support in Python?

[Terry Reedy]

"Brandon Van Every" <vanevery at 3DProgrammer.com> wrote in message
news:snG0a.3255$tO2.370495 at newsread1.prod.itd.earthlink.net...
> It's not abuse of the original poster.

You are mostly right, except that you clipped and apparently ignored
some of what I wrote and then asked a question (forgot what it was)
that I had already answered in that clipped and apparently ignored
part.  Since I write carefully and fairly tersely, I would prefer that
responders read completely and carefully.

> He didn't promise me anything about  my problem domain.

Intentionally.  I have never programmed a graphics processor.  I know
a little about Intel floating point units, which is that floats are
slower because of conversion to double and back.

>  If you want to say I'm abusing the language authors, fine.

Not fine to me.  A year and a half ago, when some people were dumping
on Guido for changing integer division, a complete newcomer popped in
and suggested that he be assasinated.  Since then, I have been less
tolerant of gratuitous insults..

>  I see no other way to criticize a language.

I have intentionally stayed out of the quasi-flamefests you have
started or participated in.  I mistakenly thought that in this new
thread, you were asking for information, so I tried to provide it.
Now that I know it was a disguised criticism, I am sort of sorry I
did.  I won't make this mistake again.

>  I think you're being too  sensitive.

I think you're being too thick headed.

I personally don't care whether or not you ever program a line of
Python code.  I realized years ago that as an occasional-time
programmer, I would never effectively master C++ even though I was
already competent in C.  And then I discovered Python, which meets my
current needs just fine.

You, on the other hand, did persist with C++.  Fine.  Stick with it if
you want.  Many of the game and other programs I use have been written
by people who did the same.  I benefit from and appreciate their
persistence.

I notice that you have spent more time criticizing Python than you
might have needed to give it a try and decide if it would benefit you
or not.  (It took me just two hours to decide 'yes' for myself.)  But
this is your choice.  I leave you to it.

Signing-off-ly yours,

Terry J. Reedy