I think it’s just because it is always recommended as an “easy” language that’s good for beginners.
The only other thing it has going for it is that it has a REPL (and even that was shit until very recently), which I think is why it became popular for research.
If that’s the case, then why didn’t Javascript take its place instead? It’s arguably even better at Python in both of those areas…
Agreed. I have seen a lot of Python code that was really painful to massage back into a more structured object hierarchy. Java certainly does a bit better in that respect, and as a language, it does a much better job of encouraging better practices, but I think it’s also largely due to the kinds of people that use those languages as well.
Sure, but as with all things, it can depend on a lot of factors. All code needs some degree of testing, though one could certainly argue that Python needs more than Java and Java needs more than Rust/Haskell/etc. So you could argue that the productivity gain of using Python is offset by the productivity loss of extra testing. It’s still hard to say which one wins out in the end.
It can scale though. It parallelizes really well if you use queuing systems to distribute the load. You just have to make sure that the hot loops are in C/C++, and it is very easy to interface with compiled binaries via the C API.
Python’s type system is dramatically better than Javascript’s though. Try doing things like '' + True and Javascript will do incredibly stupid things. Python will just give you a type error. Also, look at things like == vs === in Javascript as well. That’s the biggest reason why Typescript replaced it overnight. Python has found a better balance between productivity and error safety.
In my opinion, the biggest shortcoming of Python’s dynamic typing system is that you need to have very thorough test coverage to be sure that your code doesn’t have semantic errors (a lot more than, say, Java). It has gotten better with the introduction of type hints, those I don’t have much experience with them, so I can’t say how much.
Having worked on large C++ projects, the solution to this issue is using a good IDE with an LSP. But it is quite a regrettable situation because setting up an LSP can be a difficult, and they also tend to break quite easily. Understanding how to make an LSP work is an important productivity skill in those kinds of positions.
Distribution usually isn’t considered a strong point for Python, though.
It depends. If it’s a simple script with no external dependencies, then it’s very easy to distribute. But if your application has external dependencies and you are trying to install it on your host (and you aren’t using docker or similar technologies), then yes, it’s harder than just shipping an executable or .jar file. The fact that Python’s standard library is so comprehensive helps a lot in this regard, but it only works up to a certain point.
Yeah, you can use it both for full applications (web or desktop) as well as simple scripts. The flow of getting from something simple to a full blown application is pretty smooth and natural - better than just starting out in Java or C++ and taking at least an hour before you get anything that runs.
My opinion: Python may not be the best at everything it does, but it’s in the top 3-5 languages in the following areas:
It will always be a practical choice for those reasons. There are probably a lot more as well that I can’t think of at the moment.
As others have mentioned, this is a matter of threat model. To be realistic, a sufficiently determined government will always be able to access your communications, but companies like Facebook and Google can only access them if you give it to them willingly. On the other hand, if other people you communicate with do this by themselves, then you’ve gone through all that effort for nothing. It’s also worth pointing out that it cannot be proven that a regular phone does not have corporate spyware installed, so this may be another way your information could leak to companies.
That said, it is pretty insulting that tech companies have decided that they’re simply entitled to everyone’s private communication data. That for me is probably the biggest motivator in trying to avoid their services as much as possible.
Pathlib is very nice indeed, but I can understand why a lot of languages don’t do similar things. There are major challenges implementing something like that. Cross-platform functionality is a big one, for example. File permissions between Unix systems and Windows do not map perfectly from one system to another which can be a maintenance burden.
But I do agree. As a user, it feels great to have. And yes, also in general, the things Python does with its standard library are definitely the way things should be done, from a user’s point of view at least.
With regards to work arrangements, I’m open to considering all options at this point (both in terms of time and location). My original line of thought is to start with some contracting work on the side, and then slowly growing into a more full-time commitment if/when I find contracts that I like.
UK-based advice would be perfectly fine for me! I’ve worked in both the EU and North America, and I have one friend who lives in the USA while working for companies in the EU, so crossing that time difference doesn’t seem to create too much of an issue. The hard part for me at the moment is just finding a source of contracts. I have been reaching out to a lot of acquaintances in my network but so far haven’t really manage to find anyone that’s willing to provide a contract just yet, so that’s mostly what I’m interested in knowing at the moment.
Of course. It’s all about control. They see users as property, an object to be sold and traded.
Do not ever allow yourselves to be disrespected like this.
It’s a large and very complicated piece of software with a single implementation. It’s practically impossible to fork, so users are forced to adopt whatever changes the maintainers decide to implement. This could include things like forced dependencies (incompatible with mulb libc for example), or other poor design choices (like binary logging, which is very controversial). And it forces its adoption in places that do not want it (as in cases like the one we’re discussing here, where it’s becoming harder and harder for Gnome to be used without it).
I’m not going to argue about whether systemd is good software or not. But the biggest problem with it is that it’s basically a way for Red Hat to exert control over the entire Linux ecosystem.
Think of it like Chrome/Chromium. Everybody naïvely thought we were never be where we are today when it was announced, but look at where we are today. While it’s technically open source and an excellent browser, above all, it’s a tool for Google to exert its control over the WWW, such as disabling adblockers, implementing DRM, deciding which CSS/Javascript APIs should (or should not) be adopted, etc. systemd could very well be Red Hat’s vehicle for imposing similar requirements on desktop Linux.
can’t even provide basic answers to questions that help desk people know
University is not a job training program though. A degree demonstrates that you have the skills to figure things out, not that you already have everything figured out. Even with decades of experience, it takes me a bit of time to spin up on a new library, framework, programming language, etc.
Companies are supposed to provide this training, not just to new hires, but to all employees. It does take a little extra time to teach new hires, but their salaries are also lower so it should balance out. And if they want to keep those employees around, then they should give them generous pay increases so they don’t just jump for a salary increase.
I understand what you’re saying. I don’t have any love or respect for Falcons as an organisation and I felt the same way when PSG won Eurocup this year. But I can feel happy for the players, while feeling regretful about the organisation behind it that made it happen. Obviously, nobody likes Ammar - I don’t like him as a person either - but his talent is undeniable, and I really hope seeing things like offlane Huskar and Ursa shake the meta up a bit and influence other offlaners to play similar styles.
I’m pretty happy for Falcons. I don’t particularly like them, but they deserved to win it. XG actually looked very strong going into the finals. Their drafts in games 1 and 3 were really impressive. But Falcons did a great job of adapting to them. A lot has been said of the Falcons players, but we can’t forget Aui2000, winning his second time as a coach. He’s an absolute legend of the game.
Overall, I was a little disappointed by the results. Nigma and Heroic vastly outperformed expectations, but I was still hoping at least one of them would make it to the final day. I was also cheering hard for Noone and it was sad to see him come so close and miss again, just like all those years on VP. I hope they stick together, that team is the one I would most like to see win it all next year.
Yeah, their draft came together in a way I did not expect. I’m feeling a bit sheepish about saying that, but I think it’s forgivable considering how poorly the game started out for them. Amazing comeback though. Especially loved how impactful Sandking looked, especially when the casters were saying how much worse it was than earth shaker.
And just as I say that, Satanic starts popping off. He’s really carrying Parivision.
Still, he looks like he’s doing it all by himself. The rest of his team is looking a bit uncohesive, especially in teamfights. It is getting pretty interesting though…
Interesting, I had never heard of ccache before, though yes, all good build systems (CMake, Ninja, etc.) should cache intermediate object files.
But the projects I was working on were so large that even binary and unit test executables were so large that even they would take ~20 seconds to link. You can’t use caching to alleviate that buildtime cost unfortunately.