Python development time is faster.

[Éric Daigneault]

"Chris Brat" <chrisBrat at gmail.com> writes:


> I've seen a few posts, columns and articles which state that one of the
> advantages of Python is that code can be developed x times faster than
> languages such as <<Insert popular language name here>>.
> 
> Does anyone have any comments on that statement from personal
> experience?

Well ... Asking this question here is kinna like asking a car dealer if the pontiac in the parking is any good ... :-P

> How is this comparison measured?

This is hard to measure objectively as there are a LOT of factors to take into account. 

>From personal experience I found a palpable difference in development speed in favor of Python.  My previous experiences were with C++, Java, C and some other specialized languages such as SQL and the occasional Brainfuck to show students that readability can be a useful concept in a language.

Other than a few irritants that knowledge and enlightenment quickly iron out the hardest part was to rid myself of the blinkers and shackles that years of Java-C++ enslavement brought on me.

Also...

>Harry George wrote :
>   a) Once you get the hang of the language (a weekend?), you can
>   write without reference to the manuals.  

Tho a printed quick reference card nearby is a major time saver.
I found this one to be useful
http://www.limsi.fr/Individu/pointal/python/pqrc/

>Harry George wrote :
>   Or if you do reference, it
>   is a quick lookup.  No struggling to figure out how to code
>   something.  Or to decypher what a line of code actually does.

This is generally true but see below...

>Harry George wrote :   
>c) Peer code reviews are easy -- both you and the reviewers can
>   understand the code's intent at a glance.

Python is completely open and dynamic in nature, this leaves you, the programmer, a *lot* of space for creativity.  However this much space in the wrong hands will picasso listings that can be very cryptic and could be very hard to maintain.

This being said....  after a bit of experience in programming, design patterns and other marvels of the modern brains, doing bad code in python requires a conscious effort to do.  The bright side is that it gives all the justification to reviewers to smack the offenders on the head with a hardcover copy of the GoF.


Anyways, 

my 2 cents

Éric :D.
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With great power comes great responsibility...