3 ms·

Classes are not primitives in either language... primitives contain a value instead of a reference. I think you mean that classes are first order, but I don't

Classes are not primitives in either language... primitives contain a value instead of a reference. I think you mean that classes are first order, but I don't want to put words in your mouth so perhaps you can clarify what the difference you are pointing to. I think, given that Perl is being used, the question might be, what features make javascript or Python a good reason to switch? I'd want to avoid losing features. Perl is stable. Perl written two decades or more ago still runs fine in modern perl. That's important for data analysis, especially in the sciences. I'll have to read up on Python ... I'd want a tie equivalent to be able to treat large files as if they were arrays/hashs (lists/dicts) without loading them into memory as such.

auvrw 13y ago
> I think you mean that classes are first order, but I don't want to put words in your mouth please do. i'm a language user, not a designer. > what features make javascript or Python a good reason to switch? or, for a mostly-disinterested (in programming, i mean), entrenched group of users like biologists, this question becomes more like, "what features would necessitate a switch?" same question for plan 9 vs. linux or any technology that's trying to do a better job of filling a need that's already being met. ...and, of course, the answer is that there are none. perl has notions of object-oriented-ness. it's possible to build in your own type-checking. the backwards compatibility thing is definitely helpful for the sciences, and it's free, so, like the fortran routines that parts of numpy ultimately wrap, their code can live on. i mentioned python and javascript not because i think they're such great languages but because i feel that they're in that position relative to perl. of course, unlike plan 9, python and javascript got a lot of users. > treat large files as if they were arrays/hashs (lists/dicts) without loading them into memory as such. not totally sure what you mean here. isn't that what databases are for? anyway, for a new code base that's going to evolve a lot and possibly get scrapped entirely (i.e. most hn readers' situation), python is worth checking out.

auvrw 13y ago

> I think you mean that classes are first order, but I don't want to put words in your mouth please do. i'm a language user, not a designer. > what features make javascript or Python a good reason to switch? or, for a mostly-disinterested (in programming, i mean), entrenched group of users like biologists, this question becomes more like, "what features would necessitate a switch?" same question for plan 9 vs. linux or any technology that's trying to do a better job of filling a need that's already being met. ...and, of course, the answer is that there are none. perl has notions of object-oriented-ness. it's possible to build in your own type-checking. the backwards compatibility thing is definitely helpful for the sciences, and it's free, so, like the fortran routines that parts of numpy ultimately wrap, their code can live on. i mentioned python and javascript not because i think they're such great languages but because i feel that they're in that position relative to perl. of course, unlike plan 9, python and javascript got a lot of users. > treat large files as if they were arrays/hashs (lists/dicts) without loading them into memory as such. not totally sure what you mean here. isn't that what databases are for? anyway, for a new code base that's going to evolve a lot and possibly get scrapped entirely (i.e. most hn readers' situation), python is worth checking out.