4 ms·

"To put it bluntly, Python is slow. Also, Python is not great for parallelism." Really? Doesn't that depend on the modules, the underlying code? The problem?

echelon 7y ago
The problem is the GIL prevents threads from making progress simultaneously, even with synchronization and locking primitives available. But even so, Python is a little slow when you start thinking about threading. You'd be better off using Rust or Go or something rather than the half-baked support found in scripting languages.
- andybak 7y ago
  > the half-baked support found in scripting languages. It's a long time since I've heard that phrase used disparagingly. Didn't we all decide to use the term "dynamic languages" just to avoid the judgemental overtones associated with "scripting".
  - echelon 7y ago
    > It's a long time since I've heard that phrase used disparagingly. Didn't we all decide to use the term "dynamic languages" just to avoid the judgemental overtones associated with "scripting". I didn't mean to disparage. While I did intend to scrutinize Python's multiprocessing (my experience with it was less than fun), my use of the term "scripting language" was entirely subconscious. But I do have an anecdote. A decade ago I was using Python and Flask for building web apps. Now I use Rust instead, and many of my collages are choosing to use Go. I still use Python for scripting and now also use it for ML. But I wouldn't use it for the web anymore. I think the landscapes and use cases are shifting since there are new tools available. Python is doing new things (pytorch, tensorflow), but less of the things I used to use it for (Flask, Django, ...)
  - 72deluxe 7y ago
    I am not sure. If it runs through an interpreter, isn't it a script??? I think the "judgemental overtones" are in your head, not in the speaker of the word "script".

echelon 7y ago

The problem is the GIL prevents threads from making progress simultaneously, even with synchronization and locking primitives available. But even so, Python is a little slow when you start thinking about threading. You'd be better off using Rust or Go or something rather than the half-baked support found in scripting languages.

andybak 7y ago
> the half-baked support found in scripting languages. It's a long time since I've heard that phrase used disparagingly. Didn't we all decide to use the term "dynamic languages" just to avoid the judgemental overtones associated with "scripting".
- echelon 7y ago
  > It's a long time since I've heard that phrase used disparagingly. Didn't we all decide to use the term "dynamic languages" just to avoid the judgemental overtones associated with "scripting". I didn't mean to disparage. While I did intend to scrutinize Python's multiprocessing (my experience with it was less than fun), my use of the term "scripting language" was entirely subconscious. But I do have an anecdote. A decade ago I was using Python and Flask for building web apps. Now I use Rust instead, and many of my collages are choosing to use Go. I still use Python for scripting and now also use it for ML. But I wouldn't use it for the web anymore. I think the landscapes and use cases are shifting since there are new tools available. Python is doing new things (pytorch, tensorflow), but less of the things I used to use it for (Flask, Django, ...)
- 72deluxe 7y ago
  I am not sure. If it runs through an interpreter, isn't it a script??? I think the "judgemental overtones" are in your head, not in the speaker of the word "script".