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Safety is catching (more) errors ahead of time ...for which Python is grossly unsuitable imo. Fun lang though, just not one that ever comes to mind when I hear

Safety is catching (more) errors ahead of time ...for which Python is grossly unsuitable imo. Fun lang though, just not one that ever comes to mind when I hear 'safe'.

eru 2y ago
That's one definition of safety. But it's not the one the author uses in this case. The generic snide about Python that has nothing to do with the article ain't all that informative. You could make the same remark you just made about all Python being unsafe about Rust: 'Isn't all Rust, by design, unsafe?'. And compared to eg Agda or Idris that would be true, but it wouldn't be a very useful nor interesting comment when talking about specifically 'unsafe' Rust vs normal Rust.
- intelVISA 2y ago
  I would agree, Rust is not safe. We need to encourage more formal rigor in our craft and avoid misconceptions like 'safe Rust' or 'safe Python'. Thus my original comment :P
  - eru 2y ago
    Eh, even Agda is only safe in the sense of 'does what you've proven it to do'. That doesn't mean that if you eg write a machine learning library in Agda, your AI won't come and turn us all into paperclips. So it doesn't really make sense to pretend there's some single meaning of 'safe' vs 'unsafe' that's appropriate in all contexts.
  - dahart 2y ago
    It’s a term of art in this case. Or someone proposed the term improper noun https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32673100 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32673100 Fine and good to advocate rigor, whether or not it’s specifically relevant to this post, but maybe be careful with the interpretation and commentary lest people decide the misconception is on your part?
recursive 2y ago
Memory corruption vs type safety. "Safety" is an overloaded term, but that happens a lot in software. You'll probably get best results if you try to understand what people are talking about, rather than just assuming everyone else is an idiot.

Safety is catching (more) errors ahead of time ...for which Python is grossly unsuitable imo. Fun lang though, just not one that ever comes to mind when I hear 'safe'.

eru 2y ago

That's one definition of safety. But it's not the one the author uses in this case. The generic snide about Python that has nothing to do with the article ain't all that informative. You could make the same remark you just made about all Python being unsafe about Rust: 'Isn't all Rust, by design, unsafe?'. And compared to eg Agda or Idris that would be true, but it wouldn't be a very useful nor interesting comment when talking about specifically 'unsafe' Rust vs normal Rust.

intelVISA 2y ago
I would agree, Rust is not safe. We need to encourage more formal rigor in our craft and avoid misconceptions like 'safe Rust' or 'safe Python'. Thus my original comment :P
- eru 2y ago
  Eh, even Agda is only safe in the sense of 'does what you've proven it to do'. That doesn't mean that if you eg write a machine learning library in Agda, your AI won't come and turn us all into paperclips. So it doesn't really make sense to pretend there's some single meaning of 'safe' vs 'unsafe' that's appropriate in all contexts.
- dahart 2y ago
  It’s a term of art in this case. Or someone proposed the term improper noun https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32673100 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32673100 Fine and good to advocate rigor, whether or not it’s specifically relevant to this post, but maybe be careful with the interpretation and commentary lest people decide the misconception is on your part?

recursive 2y ago

Memory corruption vs type safety. "Safety" is an overloaded term, but that happens a lot in software. You'll probably get best results if you try to understand what people are talking about, rather than just assuming everyone else is an idiot.