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Learning Python! I've been a C#/Windows developer for years. I then switched to Ruby, which for some reason inevitably means you switch to a shiny mac, and the

by swalsh 10y ago

Learning Python! I've been a C#/Windows developer for years. I then switched to Ruby, which for some reason inevitably means you switch to a shiny mac, and then your work paradigm changes revolving around the command line. One day a quick task came up, and I decided to hack it out. The only library I could find was a python library, so that's what I used... and it was so quick to get something. 10 lines later my boring task was done. Impressed, I started looking for other things to put this new super power of mine to work, and it's been spiraling out of control. I still use the other languages I know for the majority of my work, but things I might have just never done because I wouldn't have had time are now getting done. It's so great to get things done.

cableshaft 10y ago
Python is so great for getting small tasks done in less than 30 lines of code that would take 5-10 times as much code in most other languages. I wish I had learned it earlier too. Still my favorite language to code without an IDE (C# is pretty great as long as you're in Visual Studio).
- kzisme 10y ago
  I wish visual studio wasn't a requirement sometimes for writing C# - although it makes make it a decent experience.
  - raverbashing 10y ago
    Well, it isn't. But you need to have autocomplete for a better experience. There's Xamarin and other IDEs as well (I'm sure there's an Eclipse plugin but I wouldn't go there)
    - V-2 10y ago
      There's Project Rider in the making. Xamarin Studio - based on my experience from about 4 months ago - is beyond awful at the moment
  - TheLarch 10y ago
    Bah! IDE's seem always to be stifling, and they create complicated projects that are not readily usable outside of the IDE. For instance I often need to build software on a server, and naturally do not wish to install some enormous program to accomplish this. I don't use Eclipse for Java or Visual Studio for C#. I did not use the Racket IDE when I was writing a lot of Scheme code. I do like the new Visual Studio Code editor however. Caveman that I am, I use plain old makefiles.
  - code777777 10y ago
    Visual Studio Code now has IntelliSense for C#[1]. I'm just starting with Python. Code supports it as well[2]. [1]https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/languages/csharp https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/languages/csharp [2]https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/languages/python?utm_expid=101350005-19.kIX9xbW6SzulLMT7tyJnsg.0&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/languages/python?utm_expi...
- tjl 10y ago
  I remember when I first learnt Python. It seemed so similar to the pseudocode that I was taught to write first when I was working on a problem. As a result, I will often prototype an algorithm first in Python before I try it in something else.
kzisme 10y ago
This is good to hear - I recently graduated and took a C#/.NET job (which I enjoy)...but Python and CLI work always is more enjoyable for me than the MS stack. A big worry of mine is not being able to switch between languages, and getting ~stuck~ with one.
- cableshaft 10y ago
  I'm a C# developer at the moment, but I use Python at work for pretty much anything regarding parsing or file manipulation that I need to do, or to hack out a quick proof of concept.
Yhippa 10y ago
These stories are great. Java dev here. I love that you can do almost anything with it but this is such a strong case for deciding on Python as my second language.
nlawalker 10y ago
To the parent, and all the siblings of this comment: If you're fast/productive in C# and you're looking for a good way to accomplish quick tasks or experiment, LINQPad (http://www.linqpad.net/ http://www.linqpad.net/) will become your best friend very quickly. It would probably be faster to list the things I don't use it for than the things I do. The premium license is worth every cent.
x0x0 10y ago
My breaking point came almost a decade ago, but it was a similar story. I tried ruby out of frustration, and in a single afternoon as a brand new ruby developer replaced a week's worth of date parsing code written in c++. Easy integrations of regex, a repl, nice text parsing, etc. I've never looked back. The only downside is the rest of the world discovered ruby and python so I can no longer just be a 10x developer by not using windows/c++/mfc.
TheLarch 10y ago
I wrote a client/server crypto system on Windows. The client was in C, the server code in Python. The Python code took maybe 5% of the time for a similar amount of functionality as in the client. No discernible performance impact from using Python. C was not in of itself a bottleneck in this case, rather the complexity of the Windows crypto API was.

by swalsh 10y ago

cableshaft 10y ago

Python is so great for getting small tasks done in less than 30 lines of code that would take 5-10 times as much code in most other languages. I wish I had learned it earlier too. Still my favorite language to code without an IDE (C# is pretty great as long as you're in Visual Studio).

kzisme 10y ago
I wish visual studio wasn't a requirement sometimes for writing C# - although it makes make it a decent experience.
- raverbashing 10y ago
  Well, it isn't. But you need to have autocomplete for a better experience. There's Xamarin and other IDEs as well (I'm sure there's an Eclipse plugin but I wouldn't go there)
  - V-2 10y ago
    There's Project Rider in the making. Xamarin Studio - based on my experience from about 4 months ago - is beyond awful at the moment
- TheLarch 10y ago
  Bah! IDE's seem always to be stifling, and they create complicated projects that are not readily usable outside of the IDE. For instance I often need to build software on a server, and naturally do not wish to install some enormous program to accomplish this. I don't use Eclipse for Java or Visual Studio for C#. I did not use the Racket IDE when I was writing a lot of Scheme code. I do like the new Visual Studio Code editor however. Caveman that I am, I use plain old makefiles.
- code777777 10y ago
  Visual Studio Code now has IntelliSense for C#[1]. I'm just starting with Python. Code supports it as well[2]. [1]https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/languages/csharp https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/languages/csharp [2]https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/languages/python?utm_expid=101350005-19.kIX9xbW6SzulLMT7tyJnsg.0&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/languages/python?utm_expi...
tjl 10y ago
I remember when I first learnt Python. It seemed so similar to the pseudocode that I was taught to write first when I was working on a problem. As a result, I will often prototype an algorithm first in Python before I try it in something else.

kzisme 10y ago

This is good to hear - I recently graduated and took a C#/.NET job (which I enjoy)...but Python and CLI work always is more enjoyable for me than the MS stack. A big worry of mine is not being able to switch between languages, and getting ~stuck~ with one.

cableshaft 10y ago
I'm a C# developer at the moment, but I use Python at work for pretty much anything regarding parsing or file manipulation that I need to do, or to hack out a quick proof of concept.

Yhippa 10y ago

These stories are great. Java dev here. I love that you can do almost anything with it but this is such a strong case for deciding on Python as my second language.

nlawalker 10y ago

To the parent, and all the siblings of this comment: If you're fast/productive in C# and you're looking for a good way to accomplish quick tasks or experiment, LINQPad (http://www.linqpad.net/ http://www.linqpad.net/) will become your best friend very quickly. It would probably be faster to list the things I don't use it for than the things I do. The premium license is worth every cent.

x0x0 10y ago

My breaking point came almost a decade ago, but it was a similar story. I tried ruby out of frustration, and in a single afternoon as a brand new ruby developer replaced a week's worth of date parsing code written in c++. Easy integrations of regex, a repl, nice text parsing, etc. I've never looked back. The only downside is the rest of the world discovered ruby and python so I can no longer just be a 10x developer by not using windows/c++/mfc.

TheLarch 10y ago

I wrote a client/server crypto system on Windows. The client was in C, the server code in Python. The Python code took maybe 5% of the time for a similar amount of functionality as in the client. No discernible performance impact from using Python. C was not in of itself a bottleneck in this case, rather the complexity of the Windows crypto API was.