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Wow, so it finally happened. The beauty of Python meets the power of C. I do hope this project lives long and is not abandoned beyond the students final years

Wow, so it finally happened. The beauty of Python meets the power of C. I do hope this project lives long and is not abandoned beyond the students final years at college.

dinedal 11y ago
Some of the current open issues worry me, this is a very very early stage project. I will keep an eye on it and wish it the best, but I feel like Nim is still my go to (pun not intended) for "C speeds but not C level"
- rubiquity 11y ago
  Nim was the first language that popped into my mind as well when I read "The beauty of Python meets the power of C."
p4wnc6 11y ago
Julia and Cython are just two of the languages that already achieve this (albeit with their own warts and bumps) and from what I see at the Ritchie page, I think I'll stick with those. BTW -- speaking as someone who first learned to program in a dynamically typed language and only later saw the beauty of static typing, I would strongly debate the idea that type inference everywhere is a good thing. The benefit of strict static typing is not so much that it allows a compiler to produce fast code -- there are lots of ways to achieve that. The benefit is that by forcing the programmer to type out the type signatures of functions in advance, you force a level of thought clarity and appreciation for the way that different pieces of code have to pass off data or state to other parts. I find it leads to better software not because of the compiler (although a compiler catching your mistakes is great for productivity), but because it makes you think much more clearly. It's sort of like the habit of writing down your moves in chess. The benefit is that it creates a ritual of thought and reflection, and potentially makes you more careful. These days, I see code with enforced type declarations and typed signatures as so much more elegant than similar code that, while having fewer characters, conveys significantly less about the programming intention. Those extra characters for type info are not clutter, not by a long shot.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- sanderjd 11y ago
  I find that specifying parameter types, encouraging pure functions, and encouraging small functions is the best formula to be able to reason locally about code, which I think is one of the most powerful abilities in order to not be overwhelmed by large and complicated projects. I find myself increasingly drawn toward languages and frameworks that encourage this sort of programming. Fortunately, I seem to be in agreement with many language and framework authors these days, and I'm really excited about the landscape over the next few years.
J_Darnley 11y ago
> The beauty of Python > Ritchie is whitespace sensitive As I thought. No thanks.
- chm 11y ago
  I also don't see the interest, but with a decent editor this shouldn't be a problem. For the little Python I write, Vim takes care of formatting the code.
  - restalis 11y ago
    Wouldn't you agree that the code inspection should be easy enough to be performed without fancy tools? It's good to empower yourself with tools to make oneself more efficient but I can't see any compelling reason for us to rely on them so much that we could not do without!
- duaneb 11y ago
  If you're still getting stuck up on semantic whitespace in 2015, you must not use any of: + Python + Haskell + Javascript + Go + Ruby + Bash Anything else I'm missing? Whitespace is useful. Figure out how to view it in your editor and move on already. This is so far beyond bike-shedding it's just a depressing comment on how much programmers obsess on syntax.
  - nostrademons 11y ago
    Swift, where semicolons are optional unless you have multiple statements on the same line. Also C++, C99, and Java if you count // comments.
  - jason_s 11y ago
    ? How does Javascript use semantic whitespace?
    - omaranto 11y ago
      I'm not sure of the details but surely the answer involves semi-colon insertion.

Wow, so it finally happened. The beauty of Python meets the power of C. I do hope this project lives long and is not abandoned beyond the students final years at college.

dinedal 11y ago

Some of the current open issues worry me, this is a very very early stage project. I will keep an eye on it and wish it the best, but I feel like Nim is still my go to (pun not intended) for "C speeds but not C level"

rubiquity 11y ago
Nim was the first language that popped into my mind as well when I read "The beauty of Python meets the power of C."

p4wnc6 11y ago

Julia and Cython are just two of the languages that already achieve this (albeit with their own warts and bumps) and from what I see at the Ritchie page, I think I'll stick with those. BTW -- speaking as someone who first learned to program in a dynamically typed language and only later saw the beauty of static typing, I would strongly debate the idea that type inference everywhere is a good thing. The benefit of strict static typing is not so much that it allows a compiler to produce fast code -- there are lots of ways to achieve that. The benefit is that by forcing the programmer to type out the type signatures of functions in advance, you force a level of thought clarity and appreciation for the way that different pieces of code have to pass off data or state to other parts. I find it leads to better software not because of the compiler (although a compiler catching your mistakes is great for productivity), but because it makes you think much more clearly. It's sort of like the habit of writing down your moves in chess. The benefit is that it creates a ritual of thought and reflection, and potentially makes you more careful. These days, I see code with enforced type declarations and typed signatures as so much more elegant than similar code that, while having fewer characters, conveys significantly less about the programming intention. Those extra characters for type info are not clutter, not by a long shot.

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
sanderjd 11y ago
I find that specifying parameter types, encouraging pure functions, and encouraging small functions is the best formula to be able to reason locally about code, which I think is one of the most powerful abilities in order to not be overwhelmed by large and complicated projects. I find myself increasingly drawn toward languages and frameworks that encourage this sort of programming. Fortunately, I seem to be in agreement with many language and framework authors these days, and I'm really excited about the landscape over the next few years.

J_Darnley 11y ago

> The beauty of Python > Ritchie is whitespace sensitive As I thought. No thanks.

chm 11y ago
I also don't see the interest, but with a decent editor this shouldn't be a problem. For the little Python I write, Vim takes care of formatting the code.
- restalis 11y ago
  Wouldn't you agree that the code inspection should be easy enough to be performed without fancy tools? It's good to empower yourself with tools to make oneself more efficient but I can't see any compelling reason for us to rely on them so much that we could not do without!
duaneb 11y ago
If you're still getting stuck up on semantic whitespace in 2015, you must not use any of: + Python + Haskell + Javascript + Go + Ruby + Bash Anything else I'm missing? Whitespace is useful. Figure out how to view it in your editor and move on already. This is so far beyond bike-shedding it's just a depressing comment on how much programmers obsess on syntax.
- nostrademons 11y ago
  Swift, where semicolons are optional unless you have multiple statements on the same line. Also C++, C99, and Java if you count // comments.
- jason_s 11y ago
  ? How does Javascript use semantic whitespace?
  - omaranto 11y ago
    I'm not sure of the details but surely the answer involves semi-colon insertion.