funny slashdot quote regarding python 2.3 release

[John Hunter]

>>>>> "Irmen" == Irmen de Jong <irmen at nl.homeip.net> writes:

    Irmen> And let's not forget that time-critical code can very well
    Irmen> be written in a high-performance C extension module.

We recently had a physicist visit to show us how to do some
calculations and analyses he had developed, and he brought with him a
bunch of FORTRAN code he developed to do the calculations.  At first I
wrapped them with f2py (unbelievably easy!) but then just decided to
reimplement them in Numeric since they were amenable to array
processing.  I found that the Numeric version was about 20% faster
than the FORTRAN, in part because there were some inefficiencies in
his hand coded FORTRAN routines.  

Which emphasizes that it's often better to use a well tested,
optimized extension than to code it yourself in a compiled language.
Why reinvent the wheel when you've got a brand new Michelin tire
sitting in the garage?

JDH