My experience with Python is largely the same. I often start with local variables in a script, then put some parts into functions, then start putting some share

My experience with Python is largely the same. I often start with local variables in a script, then put some parts into functions, then start putting some shared/persistent data into dicts. If after some time a pattern emerges where I think "gee, wouldn't it be useful to pack these three variables that always occur together and interact with each other into a class and use some methods to consistently modify them?". Then I create a class that does some specific thing. This transformation occurs gradually over the development process and the data shapes the design of the application. I would call this process a prototype development. At the end I would have the knowledge about the design where I could start implementing it in Java or C++. But the problem is already solved well enough in Python and you almost never need to take the leap to another programming language. The program is not good, the design is not well thought out and the implementation is not very clean. It is a design prototype that you use to write the real application. If only there were time for a fresh start. The solution that we have by that point is not perfect but it does three things: Actually solve the problem, solve it good enough for regular usage and it allows further modification with only minor pain. I wish I could tell the full story but most software stories end before the grand finale.