[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
I'm just learning about Python now and it sounds interesting. But I
just read (on the Wiki page) that mainstream Python was written in C.
That's what I was searching for: Python was written in what other
language?
See, my concern was something like: OK, if Python is so hot, then,
hopefully someone is writing it in assembly language for each MPU chip
out there. Otherwise, if, say, they've written it in C#, then it looks
like the REAL, generally useful language to learn is C# and Python is
akin to Visual Basic or something: a specialty language....whereas
REAL WORLD programmers who want to be generally useful go and learn
C#.
So I was suspecting the Python compiler or interpreter is written in a
REAL language like C#. So, Wiki says it's written in C! It's almost as
if it were an intentional trick...write your own, new language in an
OLD, real world language that is passe. Compile it into executable
modules of course, so it is a real, working compiler, alright. But the
SOURCE is some old, high level language which no one wants to use
anymore! So now you've got a hot new language package and no one can
say "well, it is written in, the SOURCE code is written in, a REAL
language." No, it's not! The source is some outdated language and
compiler and no one is going to prefer learning THAT to learning your
hot new language!
I'm not dissing Python, here. Just noting that, if it is written in C,
that throws a curve at me in trying to balance the value of learning
Python vs. some other major language.
SPSS (was and may still be) written in Fortran and the Fortran compiler was
written in C. But NOBODY would suggest that you try to solve the problems that
SPSS is used for in C.
You talk about "writing it in assembly language for each MPU chip". Actually it
is even better than that. We now have these modern inventions, called compilers
that do that type of work for us. They translate high level instructions, not
into assembler but into machine language.
-Larry
--
http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
