For those who have chosen Python as their primary..

For those who have chosen Python as their primary.. - Printable Version

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For those who have chosen Python as their primary.. - latch - 22-11-2010

Part 1

I am not a professional programmer, but I love doing it. I started programming when I was 11 in machine language, moved up to several flavors of BASIC, and assembly language for the 6502. Learned some Java, C++, and VB where I got my degree in computer science. The college actually paid me to tutor VB. I have played around with PHP, WXEuphoria, action script and I am now heavy into Python and C.

I enjoy coding in VB but it is not what I would consider all purpose. I have been on a search for a 'universal' language for some time now, that is NOT c++.

When I was in college, Java seemed like a candidate because it will run on anything with a VM installed. The trans-humanists, like Eliezer Yudkowsky, that are working on bringing about the singularity say Java is one of the best languages because of its portability. Plus it's free. BUT it seemed to have a c++ feel to it. The Python book I am reading now has a quote that undermines my faith in Java by saying, "Java is. in many ways c++--" Michael Feldman

I don't like c++. I have a legal copy of it and I am sure I will use it for cpu intensive parts when I need it, but mostly not on purpose. It's not that c++ is hard, I don't care about that- it is that it takes too long to learn that classes and libraries- THEN you have to learn them for other systems too. Code samples I have seen have a million lines to draw a square. I don't have time for all that- I am all about efficiency and my time is precious to me.

I have read a lot of things saying Python is used in this and that and by this company and that and the whining about the white space, but in the end I have chosen Python because it runs on the 3 major platforms(even default installed on some flavors of linux AND Mac) and you can do web scripting, console apps, gui apps, graphics scripting, all the way up to pwning your network!

In the spirit of my time concern, I wrote this post to get your reasons for choosing Python to help validate mine.

State your opinion!

Part 2

[complaining]

So, real life has been significantly effecting my online presence with my mother dying a few weeks ago and a fricking million people shoehorning into my schedule. I have 11 unread codeproject.com daily news emails being ignored in my inbox and about 5 invoices I need to write for people that owe me money. Not to mention several other interests vying for my attention.

[/complaining]

A goal of mine since I was a child has always being to build a robot that is useful to me, but my attention span is short and life interrupts a lot. Anyways, my computer learning focus is usually geared in that direction. With much research, I have found ways to implement a couple necessary components in VB6 such as digit electronic interfacing the parallel port and rudimentary computer vision. Oddly, right after obtaining a legal copy of VB6, I felt the need to shift from that to Python due to the fact vb is dying and python is multi platform and FREE!

Anywho! Since that paradigm shift, I have found modules and addons that enable me to do everything I did in VB!

Basically this thread is a 'yeah Python!' and a 'yeah Python community!' and to a lesser extent, 'yeah me!' :yeye:

Here is a snap shot showing an app I wrote in vb that detects edges and differentiates horizontal lines from vertical lines from any webcam. The radio button activates an inet control that ftp uploads the images to my hosting service and the check boxes are for writing to the data bits of the parallel port.
[spoiler] [Image: edge.jpg]

[/spoiler]

Sadly, I lost my source code when I accidentally erased a buttload of data I needed to make room to back up a clients computer, I don't intend to rewrite it in vb. I will do the image processing(number crunching loops) in c once I learn how to get Python to pass that stuff to c. Then use Python to scheduling, prioritize objectives and decision making(inner monologue)

This thread is a recycled hybrid of 3 from hf

RE: For those who have choosen Python as their primary.. - Mark - 22-11-2010

Quote:Python is multi platform and FREE! Python runs on the 3 major platforms (even default installed on some flavours of Linux AND Mac) and you can do web scripting, console apps, gui apps, graphics scripting, all the way up to pwning your network!

If anybody is interested into Web development / networking or stuff like that i HIGHLY recommend python. The server i'm using atm can run Python, and a lot of them can.

Quote:Once I learn how to get Python to pass that stuff to c.

I don't know if this is any good to you? http://wiki.python.org/moin/IntegratingPythonWithOtherLanguages#C.2BAC8-C.2B-.2B
I'm sure there's also something called cPython but i've not looked in to it.