4 ms·

Mind elaborating a bit? I've been planning to learn Perl specifically "for crunching through lots of data", like multi-GB databases, and Python for other script

by gralx 8y ago

Mind elaborating a bit? I've been planning to learn Perl specifically "for crunching through lots of data", like multi-GB databases, and Python for other scripting tasks. But a few days ago I learned that Ken Thompson co-wrote Go and that it's used by CloudFlare, Netflix, Docker, Kubernetes, etc. Now your comment makes me wonder if Go would be a better fit for me than Perl. Furthermore, Twitch.tv migrated their chat spam engine from Python to Go, so maybe Go would even be a twofer.

cutler 8y ago
Perl 5 is only a bit faster than Python 3 so not worth learning another language as they're both dynamic scripting languages. Go is compiled so you could get a bigger speed bump.
robertlemmen 8y ago
I do write in golang for money, and in Perl 6 which unfortunately noone pays me for. The two languages are so fundamentally different that I find it hard to even compare them! Golang certainly is quite efficient, probably close to C or C++. It also has lightweight threads which are great and terrible at the same time: you can take the thread-based concurrency model further without resource problems. And the CSP approach helps to make that somewhat safe. But at the end of the day any concurrency built on threads, even lightweight ones, is problematic. It is a ridiculously low-level in terms of abstractions language though, just a tiny notch above C. Perl 6 is quite on the opposite end of that scale. For me the most important differences are cultural however: Perl 6 is quite open and inclusive, both people and the language it self. TIMTOWTDI. I don't think I can or want to describe the Golang culture, but it certainly is quite different. The good thing about Golang is that as a language it is so simple/primitive that you can easily try it out for yourself and get a comprehensive picture over a weekend.

4 ms·

Mind elaborating a bit? I've been planning to learn Perl specifically "for crunching through lots of data", like multi-GB databases, and Python for other script

by gralx 8y ago

cutler 8y ago
Perl 5 is only a bit faster than Python 3 so not worth learning another language as they're both dynamic scripting languages. Go is compiled so you could get a bigger speed bump.
robertlemmen 8y ago
I do write in golang for money, and in Perl 6 which unfortunately noone pays me for. The two languages are so fundamentally different that I find it hard to even compare them! Golang certainly is quite efficient, probably close to C or C++. It also has lightweight threads which are great and terrible at the same time: you can take the thread-based concurrency model further without resource problems. And the CSP approach helps to make that somewhat safe. But at the end of the day any concurrency built on threads, even lightweight ones, is problematic. It is a ridiculously low-level in terms of abstractions language though, just a tiny notch above C. Perl 6 is quite on the opposite end of that scale. For me the most important differences are cultural however: Perl 6 is quite open and inclusive, both people and the language it self. TIMTOWTDI. I don't think I can or want to describe the Golang culture, but it certainly is quite different. The good thing about Golang is that as a language it is so simple/primitive that you can easily try it out for yourself and get a comprehensive picture over a weekend.