4 ms·

I'm detecting a bit of a trend here. * Start with python * Find out it's a little horrible. * Hire Guido * Python still a little horrible. * Switch to Go

hunt 12y ago
I don't think they found out Python is horrible - the first line is praising the language, it just didn't suit their needs anymore.
- coldtea 12y ago
  >the first line is praising the language, it just didn't suit their needs anymore. Well, praise for a language is telling people how it suits your needs, so...
  - hunt 12y ago
    It's certainly possible to praise a language without it suiting your needs.
  - TillE 12y ago
    I use C++ because it meets several key needs that other languages don't. That really isn't praise. I like C++, but it's not wonderful and perfect. It's just the right tool for the job.
  - simonh 12y ago
    Apparently it suits their needs quite well: >For clarification, Dropbox will continue to develop majority of its features in Python.
calebm 12y ago
Dropbox is not dropping Python: "Dropbox will continue to develop majority of its features in Python. We have only migrated performance critical components to Go."
- sigzero 12y ago
  Hey now! No actual reading of the source material please. /s
- alexbardas 12y ago
  It's more or less a matter of time until everything will be migrated to go. Since it has better performance and works good for them, there's no point not to do it.
  - mitchty 12y ago
    Not necessarily. First easy reason for not migrating: the cost to do so outweighs the benefits. Why port working code to a new language when all you're doing is maintenance? I don't know about you but its hard to sell upper managers on complete rewrites of things when the end result is: no real change but it might/should/could run faster. Unless performance is a concern to be addressed the risk of changing technology stacks doesn't seem a great idea.
    - thrownaway2424 12y ago
      You don't have to rewrite anything, the old language can still die. If you're writing all your new code in X and your codebase growth is accelerating, the existing code in Y will look less and less relevant over time.
      - mitchty 12y ago
        Perhaps, but it doesn't sound at all that the case is all new stuff is go for them.
calebm 12y ago
Dropbox is not dropping Python: "Dropbox will continue to develop majority of its features in Python. We have only migrated performance critical components to Go."
carlosrg 12y ago
Except they've managed pretty well with Python for everything for several years. And we're talking about Dropbox here, not some small startup. Maybe it's not "a little horrible". Besides that, they're migrating only some parts of the backend. They're not "switching". The rest is still Python.
matthewmacleod 12y ago
I expect your detection is a little broken :) Much more along the lines of: * Start with Python * Have a great time and build successful apps with it * Become global-scale infrastructure provider * Hit problems that only occur at that scale and switch tools The take-away is, you're almost certainly not going to end up at the size of Dropbox. If you're spending ages as a startup futzing around using bleeding-edge technology just because it's cool, you might well be wasting time – or at least prematurely optimising. This is the perfect example – Dropbox has the engineering talent to write a set of libraries to implement basic features. Earlier-stage companies don't have that luxury.
- jamra 12y ago
  Nice comment. I really believe strongly that the fast iterations that python allows for is why companies are so successful. The argument that language x does not scale is a bit naive to the fact that they got to the point where they have enough users to make scaling an issue. Go is wonderful and I love programming in Go, but I would choose either python or node for web apps that require fast iteration. I believe that when offering services over the cloud, utilizing multiple languages for well built individual components is a great approach.
tptacek 12y ago
I'm detecting a different trend: > HN post about any language > Snarky comment about any language > Language war It's depressing that your comment has percolated to the top of the thread; it has nothing whatsoever to do with the story.
- rdtsc 12y ago
  I flagged it.

hunt 12y ago

I don't think they found out Python is horrible - the first line is praising the language, it just didn't suit their needs anymore.

coldtea 12y ago
>the first line is praising the language, it just didn't suit their needs anymore. Well, praise for a language is telling people how it suits your needs, so...
- hunt 12y ago
  It's certainly possible to praise a language without it suiting your needs.
- TillE 12y ago
  I use C++ because it meets several key needs that other languages don't. That really isn't praise. I like C++, but it's not wonderful and perfect. It's just the right tool for the job.
- simonh 12y ago
  Apparently it suits their needs quite well: >For clarification, Dropbox will continue to develop majority of its features in Python.

calebm 12y ago

Dropbox is not dropping Python: "Dropbox will continue to develop majority of its features in Python. We have only migrated performance critical components to Go."

sigzero 12y ago
Hey now! No actual reading of the source material please. /s
alexbardas 12y ago
It's more or less a matter of time until everything will be migrated to go. Since it has better performance and works good for them, there's no point not to do it.
- mitchty 12y ago
  Not necessarily. First easy reason for not migrating: the cost to do so outweighs the benefits. Why port working code to a new language when all you're doing is maintenance? I don't know about you but its hard to sell upper managers on complete rewrites of things when the end result is: no real change but it might/should/could run faster. Unless performance is a concern to be addressed the risk of changing technology stacks doesn't seem a great idea.
  - thrownaway2424 12y ago
    You don't have to rewrite anything, the old language can still die. If you're writing all your new code in X and your codebase growth is accelerating, the existing code in Y will look less and less relevant over time.
    - mitchty 12y ago
      Perhaps, but it doesn't sound at all that the case is all new stuff is go for them.

calebm 12y ago

Dropbox is not dropping Python: "Dropbox will continue to develop majority of its features in Python. We have only migrated performance critical components to Go."

carlosrg 12y ago

Except they've managed pretty well with Python for everything for several years. And we're talking about Dropbox here, not some small startup. Maybe it's not "a little horrible". Besides that, they're migrating only some parts of the backend. They're not "switching". The rest is still Python.

matthewmacleod 12y ago

I expect your detection is a little broken :) Much more along the lines of: * Start with Python * Have a great time and build successful apps with it * Become global-scale infrastructure provider * Hit problems that only occur at that scale and switch tools The take-away is, you're almost certainly not going to end up at the size of Dropbox. If you're spending ages as a startup futzing around using bleeding-edge technology just because it's cool, you might well be wasting time – or at least prematurely optimising. This is the perfect example – Dropbox has the engineering talent to write a set of libraries to implement basic features. Earlier-stage companies don't have that luxury.

jamra 12y ago
Nice comment. I really believe strongly that the fast iterations that python allows for is why companies are so successful. The argument that language x does not scale is a bit naive to the fact that they got to the point where they have enough users to make scaling an issue. Go is wonderful and I love programming in Go, but I would choose either python or node for web apps that require fast iteration. I believe that when offering services over the cloud, utilizing multiple languages for well built individual components is a great approach.

tptacek 12y ago

I'm detecting a different trend: > HN post about any language > Snarky comment about any language > Language war It's depressing that your comment has percolated to the top of the thread; it has nothing whatsoever to do with the story.

rdtsc 12y ago
I flagged it.