Tim Harig, 17.01.2011 20:41:
In comp.lang.python, I wrote:
Tim Harig, 17.01.2011 13:25:
If I didn't think Python was a good language, I wouldn't be here.
Nevertheless, it isn't a good fit for many pieces of software where a
systems language is better suited. Reasons include ease of distribution
without an interpeter, non-necessity of distributing source with the
product, ability to leverage multiple CPU and multicore systems, and
simple sequential performance.
Given that Python does't work well in many areas, we could just give up
and accept having to write C++ for our day jobs or we can look for a
language which bridges the gap between those tasks that require C++'s
level of control and those which work well for dynamic languages.
Java attempted to do that, and has the market share to show that the
concept works, but I think that it missed the mark for many needs. It is
still much lower level then Python for purposes of rapid developement
and too slow to be competative for non-long-lived tasks.
So seriously need to take a look at Cython.
http://cython.org
One of the arguments for Python has always made is that you can optimize
it by writing the most important parts in C. Perhaps that is a crutch
that has held the communty back from seeking higher performance solutions
in the language itself.
The good news with Cython is that you no longer need to "write the most
important parts in C". Instead, you type them statically and compile them.
You don't even need to sacrifice Python source compatibility for that. So
you get the best of Python at the speed of C (or 'c', as some would say ;).
I prefer a single language as opposed to a creolization of two.
With the possible exception of Lisp, I find it hard to think of a language
that's still alive and not the creolisation of (at least) two other
languages. They all inherited from each other, sometimes right from the
start ("lessons learned") and always during their subsequent life time.
I certainly don't need to require anybody who
wants to use a program I have compiled to install an interpreter.
You will be happy to hear that you can link Cython programs against
libpython (even statically) to build an executable that embeds the
interpreter for you. Besides, on most operating systems, installing a
dependency is done automatically, and Go code doesn't run natively on
Windows either, without first installing and running the compiler over it.
Stefan
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