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Anything complex should be written in a competent language like Java. Script languages (like Bash and Python) are for short (a few lines long) scripts. Using th

Anything complex should be written in a competent language like Java. Script languages (like Bash and Python) are for short (a few lines long) scripts. Using the tool outside the scope of what it was designed for is not a good idea.

teddyh 2y ago
Tell me you have never seriously used Python without telling me you have never seriously used Python. I mean, viewing Python strictly as a scripting language? I am honestly lost for words. There are many huge and major applications and web sites written in Python, without people regretting it after the fact. And yet here you are dismissing it out of hand without a single argument.
- Izkata 2y ago
  Meanwhile most of the time topics like this come up and people hate on shell scripts, those of us that like them see those criticisms the same way you're looking at this comment about python: So far out there it's almost not worth responding. I think that's why GGP and GGGP think "greybeards" don't think it's worthwhile based on experience - it's actually not worth arguing against misinformed comments so newer people don't realize it's still heavily used, just quietly in the background for things it's actually good at. Further down is a comment about that: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42664939 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42664939
  - mturmon 2y ago
    > …not worth arguing against misinformed comments … Yeah, I have these same response patterns. Shell works really well for some use cases. I generally don’t respond to the comments that list the various “footguns” of shell, or that complain about security holes, etc. My use cases are not sensitive to these concerns, and even besides this, I find the concerns overstated.
- dingnuts 2y ago
  Don't be too rude, this is a common view among people who are technically adjacent but not engineers, like IT people. It's an incorrect superstition, of course, but in tech almost everybody has their superstitions. There's no reason to be rude -- ignorance is not a crime.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
- chillpenguin 2y ago
  I see that kind of thing all the time. Usually it is about static types. People think that dynamic languages aren't "serious", or something. It is laughable that these people still make up a significant amount of comments, here in 2024.
TypingOutBugs 2y ago
Why shouldn't you use Python for larger projects, and why do so many startups succeed with large Python repos?
dotancohen 2y ago
When my scripts outgrow bash, they almost always wind up in Python. That said, Sonnet 3.5 had gotten me much further in bash than was possible before - and it's all really maintainable too. I highly suggest consulting with Sonnet on your longer scripts, even just asking it "what would you suggest to improve".
shakna 2y ago
Using a tool beyond its design can be problematic. But Python is not designed to only be a scripting language: > What is Python? > Python is an interpreted, interactive, object-oriented programming language. It incorporates modules, exceptions, dynamic typing, very high level dynamic data types, and classes. It supports multiple programming paradigms beyond object-oriented programming, such as procedural and functional programming. Python combines remarkable power with very clear syntax. It has interfaces to many system calls and libraries, as well as to various window systems, and is extensible in C or C++. It is also usable as an extension language for applications that need a programmable interface. Finally, Python is portable: it runs on many Unix variants including Linux and macOS, and on Windows.

teddyh 2y ago

Tell me you have never seriously used Python without telling me you have never seriously used Python. I mean, viewing Python strictly as a scripting language? I am honestly lost for words. There are many huge and major applications and web sites written in Python, without people regretting it after the fact. And yet here you are dismissing it out of hand without a single argument.

Izkata 2y ago
Meanwhile most of the time topics like this come up and people hate on shell scripts, those of us that like them see those criticisms the same way you're looking at this comment about python: So far out there it's almost not worth responding. I think that's why GGP and GGGP think "greybeards" don't think it's worthwhile based on experience - it's actually not worth arguing against misinformed comments so newer people don't realize it's still heavily used, just quietly in the background for things it's actually good at. Further down is a comment about that: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42664939 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42664939
- mturmon 2y ago
  > …not worth arguing against misinformed comments … Yeah, I have these same response patterns. Shell works really well for some use cases. I generally don’t respond to the comments that list the various “footguns” of shell, or that complain about security holes, etc. My use cases are not sensitive to these concerns, and even besides this, I find the concerns overstated.
dingnuts 2y ago
Don't be too rude, this is a common view among people who are technically adjacent but not engineers, like IT people. It's an incorrect superstition, of course, but in tech almost everybody has their superstitions. There's no reason to be rude -- ignorance is not a crime.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
chillpenguin 2y ago
I see that kind of thing all the time. Usually it is about static types. People think that dynamic languages aren't "serious", or something. It is laughable that these people still make up a significant amount of comments, here in 2024.

TypingOutBugs 2y ago

Why shouldn't you use Python for larger projects, and why do so many startups succeed with large Python repos?

dotancohen 2y ago

When my scripts outgrow bash, they almost always wind up in Python. That said, Sonnet 3.5 had gotten me much further in bash than was possible before - and it's all really maintainable too. I highly suggest consulting with Sonnet on your longer scripts, even just asking it "what would you suggest to improve".

shakna 2y ago

Using a tool beyond its design can be problematic. But Python is not designed to only be a scripting language: > What is Python? > Python is an interpreted, interactive, object-oriented programming language. It incorporates modules, exceptions, dynamic typing, very high level dynamic data types, and classes. It supports multiple programming paradigms beyond object-oriented programming, such as procedural and functional programming. Python combines remarkable power with very clear syntax. It has interfaces to many system calls and libraries, as well as to various window systems, and is extensible in C or C++. It is also usable as an extension language for applications that need a programmable interface. Finally, Python is portable: it runs on many Unix variants including Linux and macOS, and on Windows.