[OT] Compilable Python-like language?

[Carl Banks]

Peter Hansen wrote:
> 
> 
> Carl Banks wrote:
> 
>> Fran?ois Pinard wrote:
>> 
>>>[Ed Cogburn]
>>>>I'm just curious if such a beast exists out there.  I've googled
>>>>around some and read some programming language websites but I have yet
>>>>to find a language similar to Python that can be compiled to binary.
>>>>[...] Is there such a thing?
>>>
>>>What is your real need?  Why do you consider important to compile
>>>something to an executable binary?  The goal is executing a program
>>>written in Python, or Python-like language, isn't it?
>> 
>> I really don't think why he needs it is necessary to answer this
>> question: he stated what he wanted clearly enough.  And I would say
>> questioning his need for a complied language is quite presumptuous.
> 
> Presumptuous?  Hardly.  It's a very valid question to ask.

Asking for more information wasn't what bothered me.

It seemed to me that Pinard's reply (whether he intended it or not)
presumed that the OP didn't know what he was talking about, and was
misguided for even asking it.  I absolutely hate when people do that
to me, and take offense when it happens to others.  This case
especially bothered me because the OP was clearly knowledgable about
programming.

I'm not against asking for more information to give a better answer,
but just second guessing people and telling them they don't really
want what they're asking for (which is the impression I got from
Pinard's reply, whether he intended it or not) gets under my skin.


> By asking for "a compiled language like Python", Ed is making the common 
> mistake of specifying a solution without identifying what his 
> requirements are.  We are simply trying to identify what his real needs 
> are so that we can give him a useful answer,

No offense, but you appear to be presuming that simply answering the
question he asked wasn't useful to him.  <shrug>


> along the lines of, say, 
> "use py2exe for easier packaging" if that were his goal.
> 
> Also, although I don't think this is a problem Ed has, some people are 
> confused about interpreted versus compiled and such things.  It's just 
> possible that someone asking such a question has an incorrect 
> understanding of how programs work, and thus asked a "wrong question" 
> innocently.

I'm ok with that, and I'm all for helping people get their thinking
right.  I just don't like the "WE CAN'T HELP YOU UNLESS YOU TELL US
WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO" attitude, when all the guy wants is a simple
answer to his question.

You know what?  I'd like to have a fast, compiled language that looks
like Python, too.



ok-rant-over-ly yr's

-- 
CARL BANKS                      http://www.aerojockey.com/software
"If you believe in yourself, drink your school, stay on drugs, and
don't do milk, you can get work." 
          -- Parody of Mr. T from a Robert Smigel Cartoon