3 ms·

Article rather under-delivers on its headline. Summary of article: "You might be able to replace Mathematica with Python, at least for certain applications! Bu

by hugh3 16y ago

Article rather under-delivers on its headline. Summary of article: "You might be able to replace Mathematica with Python, at least for certain applications! But I don't know, I haven't tried it, I just had a quick look at some websites."

tumult 16y ago
Mathematica seems like a much cooler language than Python. Python is like a dynamic Lisp but with an emphasis on imperative programming.
- knv 16y ago
  What do you mean by "dynamic Lisp"?
  - tumult 16y ago
    I guess I should have been clearer. It has a focus on run-time replacement of properties on objects. Duck-typing with an object-oriented emphasis. It is a dynamic language that supports lexical scoping but does not focus on the classic functional programming stuff.
- stuhacking 16y ago
  Mathematica is also a lot like Lisp and Mathematica also supports imperative programming. It's also a lot faster than Python. In fact, I would argue that the only drawback with Mathematica is the fact that you become locked in. (whether or not you care about that is your prerogative.)
mayanklahiri 16y ago
When Python's symbolic computation abilities are even at a tenth of Mathematica's (especially for discrete functions like we love in computer science), I'd be more than happy to switch over. Perhaps someone could integrate Python with Sage or Octave.
- jamii 16y ago
  http://www.sagemath.org/ http://www.sagemath.org/ Not quite as swish as mathematica but definitely better than 1/10.
  - dnautics 16y ago
    holy heck, I think I'm going to start doing things in sage. Thanks!!!
- dnautics 16y ago
  not even. I'm working on a mathematica notebook that (mathematically, not physically) simulates the action of an enzyme... It generates a 120x120 matrix of kinetic parameters, symbolically solves to make sure there aren't contradictions (mostly conservation of mass), and then solves the 120-parameter differential equation. Then it does it 1000 times and collates the data (although I'm sure python could do that).

by hugh3 16y ago

tumult 16y ago

Mathematica seems like a much cooler language than Python. Python is like a dynamic Lisp but with an emphasis on imperative programming.

knv 16y ago
What do you mean by "dynamic Lisp"?
- tumult 16y ago
  I guess I should have been clearer. It has a focus on run-time replacement of properties on objects. Duck-typing with an object-oriented emphasis. It is a dynamic language that supports lexical scoping but does not focus on the classic functional programming stuff.
stuhacking 16y ago
Mathematica is also a lot like Lisp and Mathematica also supports imperative programming. It's also a lot faster than Python. In fact, I would argue that the only drawback with Mathematica is the fact that you become locked in. (whether or not you care about that is your prerogative.)

mayanklahiri 16y ago

When Python's symbolic computation abilities are even at a tenth of Mathematica's (especially for discrete functions like we love in computer science), I'd be more than happy to switch over. Perhaps someone could integrate Python with Sage or Octave.

jamii 16y ago
http://www.sagemath.org/ http://www.sagemath.org/ Not quite as swish as mathematica but definitely better than 1/10.
- dnautics 16y ago
  holy heck, I think I'm going to start doing things in sage. Thanks!!!
dnautics 16y ago
not even. I'm working on a mathematica notebook that (mathematically, not physically) simulates the action of an enzyme... It generates a 120x120 matrix of kinetic parameters, symbolically solves to make sure there aren't contradictions (mostly conservation of mass), and then solves the 120-parameter differential equation. Then it does it 1000 times and collates the data (although I'm sure python could do that).