Python 'Lets Me See The Forest'

[Larry Bates]

I have a theory that the more experienced a programmer
is (e.g. has used a number of "hard" languages for
many years) the more they will like and be able to
use the power of Python.  I've been programming for
over 30 years and I LOVE Python.  I committed to doing
all my coding in Python about 2 years ago and have
never regretted it.  I find that I'm still turning
up "jewels" of programming methodology every day.

The power of any good programming language is the
ability to "hide" complexity without limiting
flexibility.  Python does an excellent job of this.
I wouldn't have any problem starting beginning
programmers with Python (it's much better than VB
for the pure beginner).  The beauty is that unlike
many "beginner" languages it never seems to run
out of power.  You can write incredibly complex
programs in Python that run well and are a joy to
maintain.  Python is pseudo-code that actually
runs without being translated into some other
language!

The other thing I like is that it runs everywhere.
I've written Windows NT services, Windows NT COM+
objects, regular text mode programs, Windows GUI
programs (with wxWindows), Linux programs, dynamic
webpage programs, etc.  Without Python I would have
to switch between 3-4 languages and would never get
really proficient with any of them.

The reusability of modules means that I can use
modules that I've written for one project and easily
use them for other projects.  I start out with
thousands of lines of mature, debugged code in these
modules that gives me a real running start at the
project at hand.  Now I know that this ability is
not unique to Python, it just seems that it gets
used more than in most other languages.

Glad you hare having fun.
Larry Bates
Syscon, Inc.


"Kamilche" <klachemin at home.com> wrote in message
news:889cbba0.0406040849.1d8bd884 at posting.google.com...
> Man, I've been banging my head against a C program for a while now.
> I'm embarrassed to admit how long. I really want to use Python, as I
> mentioned in a prior post, but the speed hit is such that I'll
> probably use it only for prototyping.
>
> But boy, development sure is fast in Python! Today, while playing with
> it, I thought of a better way to arrange my data, that makes the
> program more flexible. It's a good enough idea to warrant redoing my
> code (even my C code) to take advantage of it. When I went to write up
> the pseudocode to process the new method, I found myself naturally
> using Python.
>
> C is just so... detail oriented. By the time I set up the data
> structures, do the string manipulation and memory management, I can
> hardly remember what it was I was initially trying to accomplish, much
> less think of a better way to do it! Maybe I'm just getting old... but
> Python just fits my idea of 'mental pseudocode' so well, it's hard to
> resist using it. Dictionaries ARE an underutilized concept in DP, and
> I was using them up the yin yang, even in my C program. Python meshes
> well with my programming style.
>
> --Kamilche