On 01/03/2011 08:43, Erik de Castro Lopo wrote:
Fred Marshall wrote:
I'm interested in developing Python-based programs, including an
engineering app. ... re-writing from Fortran and C versions. One of the
objectives would to be make reasonable use of the available structure
(objects, etc.). So, I'd like to read a couple of good, simple
scientific-oriented programs that do that kind of thing.
Why Python? I really can't understand the rush of every man and
his dog to Python.
Its not that I'm a stick in the mud stuck with C and C++, rather
that I used Python for a number of years from 1998 to 2004 and
rejected it in favour of strict statically typed functional
langauges like Ocaml and Haskell.
My understanding is/was that Guido originally proposed Python as the
replacement for BASIC; i.e. to be the new first language students at
school would be exposed to. So rather than compare it to C and C++, I
suppose one should, strategically speaking, compare it to Visual Basic
and/or Java.
The other aspect is purely pragmatic - it has bindings for tk, MIDI and
audio (and of course Csound as you know), which adds up to a fairly
hefty scripting package complete with GUI design options - great for
"knocking up stuff quickly". But - I am ~still~ caught out by the
semantic significance of indenting. Looks OK enough on paper, but doing
it interactively is another matter.
Richard Dobson
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