4 ms·

Remember NOT to jump into Python for your new product if don't know Python. If you are developing for a young startup, have time crunch, then stick to what you

Remember NOT to jump into Python for your new product if don't know Python. If you are developing for a young startup, have time crunch, then stick to what you know. IF you do not have a language, or know Python a bit, then pick Python. Here are some of the reasons why I stick to Python (young startup/web APIs): - OOPs is not too strict (might give a headache to some folks) - Mixins, lambda, decorators, comprehensions - Pythonic ways make me feel productive easily - Create a data Model, drop into a shell, import and try things - Can do that on a live server - Do the same with Controllers, or anything else actually - really nothing fancy needed - Command line processing, SSH, OS integration, etc. has so many great libs - Python Dict someone looks like JSON (this is purely accidental but useful) - Debugger support even in free IDE like PyCharm Community Ed is great - Integration to a world of services is so easy, even ones you do not commonly see - Documentation - many libs have consistent structure and that helps a LOT - Really large community, perhaps only smaller than Java - The even larger group of people using Python in all sorts of domains from Biotech to OS scripts What I would like improved in the language would be an even longer list. Every language has a list like that, but when you are focused on being scrappy and building a product, yet making sure that software quality does not take a big hit, Python helps a lot.

zik 7y ago
I know it's only a one off anecdote but two developers in my team who previously didn't know python used it for a small time-critical project and it was a brilliant success.
brainless 7y ago
The main point I am trying to make is that not all of us are language experts. I absolutely know the vital role that language experts play and that we need to solve the issues. But companies need to build in the meanwhile. Python is easier to learn, this is why it is such a popular language in Universities. I am not a high IQ person to even grip some of the nitty-gritty underpinnings of a language. But should that stop me from building a product? In the end, I need a language that is easy to pick-up, be productive, has its heart in the right place. A young Python programmer can web scrap easily or plug into Ansible or so many other things. If you know of another language that would make more practical sense and still be easy to pick-up, I would switch.
yetanotherjosh 7y ago
> Remember NOT to jump into Python for your new product if don't know Python. If you are developing for a young startup, have time crunch, then stick to what you know. Are you saying this as a general maxim (don't try to learn a new tech under pressure) or because of characteristics specific to Python, that make it worse in such a situation than any other language/ecosystem?
h1d 7y ago
That's not how you pick a language. See if the field you're trying to program is well supported and has good libraries and pick that language. Differences in languages themselves, I'm sure you can get used to and is far easier to cope with than lack of decent lib/tool/googleability.

zik 7y ago

I know it's only a one off anecdote but two developers in my team who previously didn't know python used it for a small time-critical project and it was a brilliant success.

brainless 7y ago

The main point I am trying to make is that not all of us are language experts. I absolutely know the vital role that language experts play and that we need to solve the issues. But companies need to build in the meanwhile. Python is easier to learn, this is why it is such a popular language in Universities. I am not a high IQ person to even grip some of the nitty-gritty underpinnings of a language. But should that stop me from building a product? In the end, I need a language that is easy to pick-up, be productive, has its heart in the right place. A young Python programmer can web scrap easily or plug into Ansible or so many other things. If you know of another language that would make more practical sense and still be easy to pick-up, I would switch.

yetanotherjosh 7y ago

> Remember NOT to jump into Python for your new product if don't know Python. If you are developing for a young startup, have time crunch, then stick to what you know. Are you saying this as a general maxim (don't try to learn a new tech under pressure) or because of characteristics specific to Python, that make it worse in such a situation than any other language/ecosystem?

h1d 7y ago

That's not how you pick a language. See if the field you're trying to program is well supported and has good libraries and pick that language. Differences in languages themselves, I'm sure you can get used to and is far easier to cope with than lack of decent lib/tool/googleability.