What is unique about Python?

[Max]

gsteff wrote:
> I'm a computer science student, and have recently been trying to
> convince the professor who teaches the programming language design
> course to consider mentioning scripting languages in the future.  Along
> those lines, I've been trying to think of features of Python, and
> scripting languages in general, that can't be found in older languages,
> and have been having a surprising amount of trouble.  Dynamic typing
> can be found in Smalltalk, the module concept can be found in Ada,
> functional parameters and the dynamic creation of functions can be
> found in Lisp.  The indentation-based syntax seems to be unique, but
> that's not really what I'm looking for.  So I'm wondering, what is
> innovative about Python, either in its design or implementation?  Or is
> its magic really just in combining many useful features of prior
> languages in an unusually pleasant way?
> 
> Greg
> 

I find that development in python is much faster than anything else. But 
one of the noticeable features, for me and presumably computer science 
students, is the pseudocode-python translation: I've been working 
through a CS textbook to train for the IOI, and noticed how much my 
python implementations look like the textbook's pseudocode (whereas the 
C++ versions look nothing like the pcode).

If anything, python is _more_ expressive - where list comprehensions and 
generators are the natural way of doing things, the textbook has to 
kludge because its target audience is C++, Java and Pascal programmers.

--Max