Typed Python?

[Hamilcar Barca]

In article <du7d63858ae.fsf at mozart.cc.tut.fi> (Wed, 07 Jul 2004 15:08:41
+0300), Ville Vainio wrote:

> Mostly by students, media and "the guys at the internet" ;-). Students
> often have some idea of what local companies use at least,
> though. ISTR the lecturer didn't disagree either.

The majority of university students fail to recognize they're in school
for an education; if they wanted job training, they should attend a
technical training institute.  Here is a quote from a student in 1980:
"FORTRAN is a dead language."

Is FORTRAN dead?  No.
Do I want to write more FORTRAN code?  No.
Is Python the bestest language ever?  No.
Do I want to write more Python code?  Sure.

> One indicator of the health of the language is the status in the Open
> Source community. 

A language's "status in the Open Source community [sic]" is indicative
almost solely of the language's popularity among a self-selected group of
programmers.  The "health" of language is better measured by its utility
for a specific task.

> It's more democratic than the status in the academia
> (where one zealous professor can have huge influence). 

This putative "democracy" is immaterial.

> After Programming I course (in Scheme), I still felt that I was a
> better C/C++ programmer than Scheme programmer. 

Perhaps you were.  C and C++ are quite important commercially but quite
unimportant in the theory the might introduce.

> I'll say that let them teach Python in the introductory course, and
> let the students that have the craving learn Scheme in their own
> time. More people would learn more things, and have more fun.

The concepts in Scheme matter a great deal in computer science. Those that 
are "craving ... fun" may do it on their own time.  What you're describing 
is the de-evolution of education into job training.