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I used to write scripts in python. I switched to node. Benefits for me. 1. Python by default requires tons of globally installed libraries. Node by default all

I used to write scripts in python. I switched to node. Benefits for me. 1. Python by default requires tons of globally installed libraries. Node by default all libraries are installed local the the project. Nothing to learn. It just does it. That means I don't have to worry about trashing my system and I don't have to tell users a bunch of prerequisites to get it to work. 2. Node is ~8meg and installs instantly. Python is 18-30meg and the install has a long build process IIRC I will still sometimes reach for python. I needed to parse an 8 gig geodata XML file. The libraries I tried in node were orders of magnitude slower than python for that particular task. I did try node first though since it's where I'm at.

IgorPartola 7y ago
I first tried my hand at Python in 2009. The problem of installing libraries globally was no longer a problem then and still isn’t today. Installing node is faster until you have to install local libraries. I am currently working on a project whose dependencies consist primarily of Vue, Bootstrap, and a few very small libraries such as moment.js. Our node_modules/ is over 1000 individual libraries and growing. It takes 45-65 seconds just to do an npm install when I already have the libraries there. The build process takes 90 seconds on a brand new top of the line machine. Contrast with Python where that number is 0, and installing the dozen dependencies I actually have is a one time process that takes no time at all. I used to fuck around with Gentoo Linux where I would always triple compile the latest gcc to make sure I had the latest and greatest and fastest. And even I think Node’s library ecosystem is a bloated unnecessary mess. I don’t have the words to write a more scathing review of it, but if I could I would. There is a night and day difference in usability and speed between Node and Python ecosystems and the latter wins by such a wide margin it is like they aren’t even in the same league. And don’t get me started on how quickly the JS community likes to break shit. Remember when for a brief moment we were all supposed to switch to yarn? And then migrate back to npm? It’s insane.
- hn_throwaway_99 7y ago
  > And don’t get me started on how quickly the JS community likes to break shit. I totally agree with you on that one, but I would say the maturity of the JS ecosystem is really settling down, and now that MS owns most of it (Typescript, npm, github, vscode) I think it will only get more stable. Also, Python community definitely shouldn't be throwing any stones when it comes to "breaking shit".
  - IgorPartola 7y ago
    If you are talking about Python 2 vs 3, think of them as two separate languages where Python 3 can often use a lot of the libraries developed for Python 2. That makes it all make a lot more sense. Even with that, there was maybe a dozen times in the past 8 years, which is how long I’ve been writing Python code full time, where I felt a problem with the 2 vs 3 thing. They were all quickly resolved. This is unlike Node where things like file access change from version to version, and sometimes shit just doesn’t compile because gyp is of the incorrect version, etc. Node is very high maintenance.

IgorPartola 7y ago

I first tried my hand at Python in 2009. The problem of installing libraries globally was no longer a problem then and still isn’t today. Installing node is faster until you have to install local libraries. I am currently working on a project whose dependencies consist primarily of Vue, Bootstrap, and a few very small libraries such as moment.js. Our node_modules/ is over 1000 individual libraries and growing. It takes 45-65 seconds just to do an npm install when I already have the libraries there. The build process takes 90 seconds on a brand new top of the line machine. Contrast with Python where that number is 0, and installing the dozen dependencies I actually have is a one time process that takes no time at all. I used to fuck around with Gentoo Linux where I would always triple compile the latest gcc to make sure I had the latest and greatest and fastest. And even I think Node’s library ecosystem is a bloated unnecessary mess. I don’t have the words to write a more scathing review of it, but if I could I would. There is a night and day difference in usability and speed between Node and Python ecosystems and the latter wins by such a wide margin it is like they aren’t even in the same league. And don’t get me started on how quickly the JS community likes to break shit. Remember when for a brief moment we were all supposed to switch to yarn? And then migrate back to npm? It’s insane.

hn_throwaway_99 7y ago
> And don’t get me started on how quickly the JS community likes to break shit. I totally agree with you on that one, but I would say the maturity of the JS ecosystem is really settling down, and now that MS owns most of it (Typescript, npm, github, vscode) I think it will only get more stable. Also, Python community definitely shouldn't be throwing any stones when it comes to "breaking shit".
- IgorPartola 7y ago
  If you are talking about Python 2 vs 3, think of them as two separate languages where Python 3 can often use a lot of the libraries developed for Python 2. That makes it all make a lot more sense. Even with that, there was maybe a dozen times in the past 8 years, which is how long I’ve been writing Python code full time, where I felt a problem with the 2 vs 3 thing. They were all quickly resolved. This is unlike Node where things like file access change from version to version, and sometimes shit just doesn’t compile because gyp is of the incorrect version, etc. Node is very high maintenance.