Python training time (was)

[Brandon Van Every]

Andy Freeman wrote:
> "Brandon Van Every" <vanevery at 3DProgrammer.com> wrote in message
> news:<fZD_9.914$ek4.91595 at newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net>...
>> So, how much time do you have to put into Python before you've
>> mastered
>> *every* aspect of the language?  I do mean "every."  Less than a
>> year?  6 months?  3 months?  Be honest.
>
> That's the wrong question.

It isn't "the wrong question," it is exactly the question I intended to ask.
Don't make assumptions about the value of the question!  You don't know why
I asked it.  It's an "upper bound" question.  You can probably observe
something about the relative complexity of languages if you compare the
upper bounds of their learning curves.

> The right question is either "How long does it take to become more
> productive
> in Python than you are in C++?" or "How long does it take to become
> more productive in Python than you'll ever be in C++?"

Useful questions, but they have no inherent rightness.  My answer, for
certain development environments and problem domains, is "never."  There are
some kinds of simple, pedal-to-the-metal, yet object oriented problems that
Python will never be as good a choice for.  3D graphics is full of problems
like that.

I think a more useful question is "What kind of problem do you need to be
working on, for Python to eventually become more productive than you'll ever
be in C++?"

--
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.