Perl or Python?
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I'm thinking of learning a new programming language this year, and had almost settled on Python. When I was chatting with my boss the other day, he said it would be a good idea to learn Perl. We plan to use neither of these in our project, so work shouldn't be a factor here. What would you recommend - Python or Perl? Why? If you feel very strongly about some other* language, feel free** to recommend it. Again, why? * Leave out C/C++, Java, HTML and C# - I already know them. ** Anybody who recommends any derivative of BASIC will get kicked in the shins. :-D Cheers, Vikram.
"When I read in books about a "base class", I figured this was the class that was at the bottom of the inheritence tree. It's the "base", right? Like the base of a pyramid." - Marc Clifton. don`t try to be clever ass wid me while you can`t.. - Adnan Siddiqi.
Well, I don't know Python, so I'm gonna recommend Perl. Long story short, if you need to do text/input/data processing Perl is the way to go. Jeremy Falcon
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I'm thinking of learning a new programming language this year, and had almost settled on Python. When I was chatting with my boss the other day, he said it would be a good idea to learn Perl. We plan to use neither of these in our project, so work shouldn't be a factor here. What would you recommend - Python or Perl? Why? If you feel very strongly about some other* language, feel free** to recommend it. Again, why? * Leave out C/C++, Java, HTML and C# - I already know them. ** Anybody who recommends any derivative of BASIC will get kicked in the shins. :-D Cheers, Vikram.
"When I read in books about a "base class", I figured this was the class that was at the bottom of the inheritence tree. It's the "base", right? Like the base of a pyramid." - Marc Clifton. don`t try to be clever ass wid me while you can`t.. - Adnan Siddiqi.
Python. Because Python code is far easier to read and maintain IMHO. If you're writing UI apps, you'll have more options with Python. You can even get Python running under the .NET framework (with full access to Windows Forms): see IronPython[^].
Tech, life, family, faith: Give me a visit. I'm currently blogging about: Little House on the Flickr Judah Himango
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No, the assembler in that case was the guy with the screwdriver and the wrench, putting it together.
Software Zen:
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I'm thinking of learning a new programming language this year, and had almost settled on Python. When I was chatting with my boss the other day, he said it would be a good idea to learn Perl. We plan to use neither of these in our project, so work shouldn't be a factor here. What would you recommend - Python or Perl? Why? If you feel very strongly about some other* language, feel free** to recommend it. Again, why? * Leave out C/C++, Java, HTML and C# - I already know them. ** Anybody who recommends any derivative of BASIC will get kicked in the shins. :-D Cheers, Vikram.
"When I read in books about a "base class", I figured this was the class that was at the bottom of the inheritence tree. It's the "base", right? Like the base of a pyramid." - Marc Clifton. don`t try to be clever ass wid me while you can`t.. - Adnan Siddiqi.
How about Lua[^]? It's small, fast, and very portable since it's written in pure C. Unlike Perl and Python, Lua was designed to be easily integrated into your C/C++ apps. You can use it to extend your app with scripted functions and even add callbacks back to your C/C++ code. From what I hear, its used in the gaming market. Even on PS2 and XBox.
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I'm thinking of learning a new programming language this year, and had almost settled on Python. When I was chatting with my boss the other day, he said it would be a good idea to learn Perl. We plan to use neither of these in our project, so work shouldn't be a factor here. What would you recommend - Python or Perl? Why? If you feel very strongly about some other* language, feel free** to recommend it. Again, why? * Leave out C/C++, Java, HTML and C# - I already know them. ** Anybody who recommends any derivative of BASIC will get kicked in the shins. :-D Cheers, Vikram.
"When I read in books about a "base class", I figured this was the class that was at the bottom of the inheritence tree. It's the "base", right? Like the base of a pyramid." - Marc Clifton. don`t try to be clever ass wid me while you can`t.. - Adnan Siddiqi.
I'd go for Python first as it's very easy to learn but extremely powerful if you need it (and unlike C++ it only introduces this complexity when you need it :-D ). I've had a look at Python and as I said it's suprising how easy it is. If you want a book look at "Dive Into Python" by Mark Pilgrim, ISBN: 1-59059-356-1 I've found it a great book to get started, certainly not a reference book but a few hours saw me reading through about 5 chapters and understanding it all. Besides since it's so easy you can learn it in a month or two then try your hand at Perl :-D The only reason that I haven't "learnt it properly" is that I havn't had a suitable program to need to use it. But it looks promising all the same. As of Perl I have no clue but from what I've heard it's an arcane syntax and a b**** to understand.
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I'm thinking of learning a new programming language this year, and had almost settled on Python. When I was chatting with my boss the other day, he said it would be a good idea to learn Perl. We plan to use neither of these in our project, so work shouldn't be a factor here. What would you recommend - Python or Perl? Why? If you feel very strongly about some other* language, feel free** to recommend it. Again, why? * Leave out C/C++, Java, HTML and C# - I already know them. ** Anybody who recommends any derivative of BASIC will get kicked in the shins. :-D Cheers, Vikram.
"When I read in books about a "base class", I figured this was the class that was at the bottom of the inheritence tree. It's the "base", right? Like the base of a pyramid." - Marc Clifton. don`t try to be clever ass wid me while you can`t.. - Adnan Siddiqi.
Python is everything that a programming language should be, and more. Python is all about usability for the developer. When was the last time you honestly thought that the language developer had your interests _first_, instead of feature bloat, etc? It's extremely hard to articulate how easy it is to utilize this language. Best of all, with its OOP feature set, Python scales to fit even the largest of applications. Have you ever used an application that you sat down to and all of the features seemed to be just in the right place, and the corresponding labeling had just the right verbiage, and you hardly ever had to reference the manual because for every task you wanted to carry out, how you predicted to accomplish this task, was correct? That is what you will experience with Python. Python is all about Getting Things Done. It has a predictable syntax and a consistent styling that makes it easy to read. You'll finally enjoy programming again. Python and the Programmer[^] The Zen of Python[^] ** Pay attention to the section "Productivity over Performance" Jim QTExtender - The OFFICIAL addon for QuoteTracker.
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I'm thinking of learning a new programming language this year, and had almost settled on Python. When I was chatting with my boss the other day, he said it would be a good idea to learn Perl. We plan to use neither of these in our project, so work shouldn't be a factor here. What would you recommend - Python or Perl? Why? If you feel very strongly about some other* language, feel free** to recommend it. Again, why? * Leave out C/C++, Java, HTML and C# - I already know them. ** Anybody who recommends any derivative of BASIC will get kicked in the shins. :-D Cheers, Vikram.
"When I read in books about a "base class", I figured this was the class that was at the bottom of the inheritence tree. It's the "base", right? Like the base of a pyramid." - Marc Clifton. don`t try to be clever ass wid me while you can`t.. - Adnan Siddiqi.
Neither. Unless you have a very specific project for which Perl is the overhwelming answer, I completely fail to see the point. (I once worked with a strong Python advocate. Problem was I could do everything in C++ he could do with Python because I had a set of rich class libraries I had developed over the years. In the end, we dropped all the Python stuff because it was a pain setting up new build environments and getting them to run correctly.) Anyone who thinks he has a better idea of what's good for people than people do is a swine. - P.J. O'Rourke
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I'm thinking of learning a new programming language this year, and had almost settled on Python. When I was chatting with my boss the other day, he said it would be a good idea to learn Perl. We plan to use neither of these in our project, so work shouldn't be a factor here. What would you recommend - Python or Perl? Why? If you feel very strongly about some other* language, feel free** to recommend it. Again, why? * Leave out C/C++, Java, HTML and C# - I already know them. ** Anybody who recommends any derivative of BASIC will get kicked in the shins. :-D Cheers, Vikram.
"When I read in books about a "base class", I figured this was the class that was at the bottom of the inheritence tree. It's the "base", right? Like the base of a pyramid." - Marc Clifton. don`t try to be clever ass wid me while you can`t.. - Adnan Siddiqi.
Perl is excellent for small programs and scripts. For text processing it's the best, hands down. I very much recommend it for such purposes. I wouldn't use it for bigger programs though, since the features that make it so well-suited for scripts quickly become counter-productive in larger projects. But for small program I favour it over Python. But that's just me of course :-D Why not try OCaml? It's fast, beautiful and feature packed. :)
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Rage wrote:
Are you kidding ?
No. :| Don't get me wrong here, I'm not saying it's not well-used (after all, I'm looking forward to learn it, right?), I'm only saying people in my area don't seem to be aware of it. In the last 4 years that I've been looking at the Opportunities section in the paper, I've never seen an opening for a Python candidate. Cheers, Vikram.
"When I read in books about a "base class", I figured this was the class that was at the bottom of the inheritence tree. It's the "base", right? Like the base of a pyramid." - Marc Clifton. don`t try to be clever ass wid me while you can`t.. - Adnan Siddiqi.
Vikram Shannon wrote:
In the last 4 years that I've been looking at the Opportunities section in the paper, I've never seen an opening for a Python
Not even from the local zoo? ;P
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I'm thinking of learning a new programming language this year, and had almost settled on Python. When I was chatting with my boss the other day, he said it would be a good idea to learn Perl. We plan to use neither of these in our project, so work shouldn't be a factor here. What would you recommend - Python or Perl? Why? If you feel very strongly about some other* language, feel free** to recommend it. Again, why? * Leave out C/C++, Java, HTML and C# - I already know them. ** Anybody who recommends any derivative of BASIC will get kicked in the shins. :-D Cheers, Vikram.
"When I read in books about a "base class", I figured this was the class that was at the bottom of the inheritence tree. It's the "base", right? Like the base of a pyramid." - Marc Clifton. don`t try to be clever ass wid me while you can`t.. - Adnan Siddiqi.
As others have said:
Perl
Great for text-based parsing.
Python
Fun, addictive, great for things small and large.
However, if you'd like a change in your fundamental view of programming, make the leap from OO to functional programming[^] by choosing to learn Haskell[^], Lisp[^] or OCaml[^]. You may never use the languages in your professional life, but the thought processes behind writing good functional code can greatly improve your outlook on procedural- and OO-design and -implementation. "we must lose precision to make significant statements about complex systems." -deKorvin on uncertainty
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I'm thinking of learning a new programming language this year, and had almost settled on Python. When I was chatting with my boss the other day, he said it would be a good idea to learn Perl. We plan to use neither of these in our project, so work shouldn't be a factor here. What would you recommend - Python or Perl? Why? If you feel very strongly about some other* language, feel free** to recommend it. Again, why? * Leave out C/C++, Java, HTML and C# - I already know them. ** Anybody who recommends any derivative of BASIC will get kicked in the shins. :-D Cheers, Vikram.
"When I read in books about a "base class", I figured this was the class that was at the bottom of the inheritence tree. It's the "base", right? Like the base of a pyramid." - Marc Clifton. don`t try to be clever ass wid me while you can`t.. - Adnan Siddiqi.
If you are just intersted in thowing some ups on your resume, why not do them both. Neither of them are that hard to learn (at least enough for your resume). I think though, if you goal is to make yourself more marketable, I would not bother with either and spend more time on emerging technologies such as those in Windows Vista and .NET along with building on managerial and architectural design. These are sure to give much larger salaries over the coming few years. If it is just for fun, then you might check into the .NET Python. Rocky <>< Latest Post: SQL2005 Server Managemnet Studio timeouts! Blog: www.RockyMoore.com/TheCoder/[^]