Python vs. C++ Builder - speed of development

[Brandon Van Every]

Delaney, Timothy C (Timothy) wrote:
>> From: Brandon Van Every [mailto:vanevery at 3DProgrammer.com]
>>
>> C++ is not the bottleneck of my current development.  At this
>> stage I spend
>> far, far more time figuring out how to objectify various 3D
>> mathematical
>> constructs.  I would have the same problems of mathematical
>> decomposition in
>> any language.  Development is slow for *that* reason, not C++.
>
> May I suggest that you try experimenting and prototyping those
> constructs in Python, rather than just thinking about them.

Hm, which would I prefer:

1) set up a new tools environment, learn a new language, figure out how to
integrate Python with my existing code, think for 1/2 hour, prototype a tiny
bit of incremental functionality with Python, decide whether to keep Python
or convert it to C++.

2) think for 1/2 hour, write it in C++.

I don't gain any economies of scale using Python to solve problems I already
know how to solve in C++.  In fact, I lose weeks screwing around with new
ways of doing things.  Those are weeks I don't have right now.  My C++
approach is quite efficient for the problems I'm currently working on.  That
is the crux of the matter; some people don't want to accept it.

> I've
> always found that I'm better at visualising and designing things if I
> can play with something that works or almost works. Most importantly,
> I'm more likely to find the limitations of an approach if I'm playing
> with it than if I'm just thinking about it or writing it down.

That's what incremental development is for.  I don't know *why* 3 lines on
my spherical triangle converge to a normal.  The paper math was too
involved, I didn't want to spend another half day chasing that rabbit.  But
hey, run the combos, diff the normals, notice in the debugger that they
converge within the accuracy of float vectors.  Must be mathematically true.
Or at least, seems damn likely given what else I know.  10 minutes of
thinking instead of a half day.

Before there was Python, there was functional decomposition, and building
applications from primitives.  I don't know why people resist the idea that
this can be productive no matter what the language.

> If nothing else, it will give you another viewpoint to work from ;)

I'll get into Python when I finally hit jobs that C++ cannot do well.

--
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.