What is different with Python ?

[Andrea Griffini]

On Tue, 14 Jun 2005 12:49:27 +0200, Peter Maas <peter at somewhere.com>
wrote:

> > Depends if you wanna build or investigate.
>
>Learning is investigating.

Yeah, after thinking to this phrase I've to agree.
Sometimes learning is investigating, sometimes it's
building. Since I discovered programming I've spent
most time just building, but I started on a quite
concrete floor (assembler).
Sometimes, for example when I recently dedicated some
time to functional languages, it's more investigating.
Functional languages is not something I've used extensively,
I've no real experience with them... and at least at
the application level for me is pure magic.
I mean that I can understand how the language is
implemented itself, what is just amazing for me is how
can you build a program for a computer - an incredibly
complex state based machine - with a language where
state is not your guide but your enemy.

>Don't nail me down on that stupid string, I know it's immutable but
>didn't think about it when answering your post. Take <some mutable
>replacement> instead.

Forgive me, I didn't resist :-)... it was such a juicy hit.

But this very fact shows that when programming
you cannot just skim over the details. You can only
avoid using the conscious mind to check the details
if you are so confident with them to leave important
checks (like actual praticality of a solution) to
your subconscius mind.

That strings in python are immutable it's surely
just a detail, and it's implementation specific,
but this doesn't means it's not something you can
ignore for a while. If you use python this is a
*fundamental* property.

That deleting the first element of a list in python
is a slow operation is also a detail and very
implementation specific, but ignore it and your
programs will be just horrible.

Often when I think to a problem I find myself saying
"oh... and for that I know I'll find a good solution"
without actually thinking one. I *know* I can solve
that problem decently because I've been around there.
I do not need to check because my experience tells me
I can first check where I want to go from there first
because getting in that direction is not going to be
a problem. Without this experience and conscious or
subconscious attention to details you'll find yourself
saying "oh... and we could go over there" pointing at
the sun and then blaming your "technicians" because
there are a few little "details" that you didn't
consider.

Andrea