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>> Library support. Isn't that rather an argument for Java or Perl? What I don't get is the cheerleading for Python? Ruby has/had something similar going with

by berntb 15y ago

>> Library support. Isn't that rather an argument for Java or Perl? What I don't get is the cheerleading for Python? Ruby has/had something similar going with Rails. I mean, the article even notes that it is a middle of the road choice, optimised to not be extreme.

pjscott 15y ago
It's an argument for any language that has libraries available, weighted by your need for those particular libraries and their quality.
- achompas 15y ago
  Right, in addition to the usual efficiency concerns (can you afford that 0.5-1s of JVM spinup? do you need mature multiprocessing libraries?)
espeed 15y ago
Yes, Java and Perl have large libraries, but wging asked what he would be missing going from Python to Ruby -- missing libraries is the big one.
pbreit 15y ago
No, it's an argument for python over ruby.
amcintyre 15y ago
I suppose it depends on the libraries and what you want to do with them. I personally find the Python REPL in combination with matplotlib, NumPy and SciPy to be extremely handy for poking around in small/medium-sized data sets and debugging numerical apps. Python "stays out of my way" a lot better than Java or C++ would for this ad-hoc kind of exploration. I'm sure there are probably tons of nice alternatives to Python for this kind of work, and there are tasks that other people need to do for which trying to use Python and some readily-available libs just wouldn't be sufficient. I only suggest Python to people whom I know are doing work where it would be helpful; there's no point in pushing it as a one-size-fits-all solution.
lelele 15y ago
> Isn't that rather an argument for Java or Perl? No, because then you'd have to stand either Java or Perl. If you are looking for a language to learn beyond a quick hack, then the language matters more than its libraries. I know Perl, and everybody knows what a boon CPAN is, but still for scripting tasks I have switched to Python. It would have made me feel sick to keep programming in Perl. As I had to choose between Python and Ruby too, besides the library thing, I picked Python because Ruby seemed like it was trying too hard to be powerful and expressive, to the detriment of clarity. I didn't want to invest too much time in learning a scripting language. It's just for scripting, you know, it's not meant to accomplish much. If I need a powerful and expressive language, then I just reach for the big guns.
jamesbritt 15y ago
Isn't that rather an argument for Java or Perl? Or JRuby.

by berntb 15y ago

pjscott 15y ago

It's an argument for any language that has libraries available, weighted by your need for those particular libraries and their quality.

achompas 15y ago
Right, in addition to the usual efficiency concerns (can you afford that 0.5-1s of JVM spinup? do you need mature multiprocessing libraries?)

espeed 15y ago

Yes, Java and Perl have large libraries, but wging asked what he would be missing going from Python to Ruby -- missing libraries is the big one.

pbreit 15y ago

No, it's an argument for python over ruby.

amcintyre 15y ago

I suppose it depends on the libraries and what you want to do with them. I personally find the Python REPL in combination with matplotlib, NumPy and SciPy to be extremely handy for poking around in small/medium-sized data sets and debugging numerical apps. Python "stays out of my way" a lot better than Java or C++ would for this ad-hoc kind of exploration. I'm sure there are probably tons of nice alternatives to Python for this kind of work, and there are tasks that other people need to do for which trying to use Python and some readily-available libs just wouldn't be sufficient. I only suggest Python to people whom I know are doing work where it would be helpful; there's no point in pushing it as a one-size-fits-all solution.

lelele 15y ago

> Isn't that rather an argument for Java or Perl? No, because then you'd have to stand either Java or Perl. If you are looking for a language to learn beyond a quick hack, then the language matters more than its libraries. I know Perl, and everybody knows what a boon CPAN is, but still for scripting tasks I have switched to Python. It would have made me feel sick to keep programming in Perl. As I had to choose between Python and Ruby too, besides the library thing, I picked Python because Ruby seemed like it was trying too hard to be powerful and expressive, to the detriment of clarity. I didn't want to invest too much time in learning a scripting language. It's just for scripting, you know, it's not meant to accomplish much. If I need a powerful and expressive language, then I just reach for the big guns.

jamesbritt 15y ago

Isn't that rather an argument for Java or Perl? Or JRuby.