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Being able to code fast one-offs to solve problems or automate tasks is one of the strongest reasons to get into programming in the first place. This is hugely
by attack 18y ago
Being able to code fast one-offs to solve problems or automate tasks is one of the strongest reasons to get into programming in the first place. This is hugely useful in engineering for example, not just in minimum wage grunt jobs. Scheme/Lisp facilitate this VERY poorly.
Python is maps far better to how problems are commonly presented, very rarely has gotchas that would make you drag out some advanced programming construct, and has batteries included at a level which scheme/lisp may NEVER catch up with:)
All of the world is not calculus! Spend all your time playing in that area and you won't become a very well rounded or capable programmer/engineer.
- johnm 18y agoIndeed. That's why I'm totally an advocate for a requirement for a concurrent track that's all about installing/configuring/administration of computers/networks with an automation (i.e., shell scripting, tool development, etc.) focus.
- attack 18y agoIt seems that you're still implying that python is only good enough for lowly sysadmin tasks?
- johnm 18y agoWhere did you get that ridiculous notion? There's a serious problem with how people learning languages... their exposure to their first language has a strong tendency to color their thinking (read: biases) towards/against other languages for the rest of their careers. Another serious problem is that students end up with very distorted views of what "programming" is by getting only one narrow view of the how things work. Some curricula are over-focused on the abstract, "math" side of the field while others are stuck on the basic engineering side. There's not only a need for both but also the very hands-on administration/operations side precisely so that people get a much more well-rounded experience of the entire picture.