Liked
That object methods are the default, not something tacked on:
a=['abc','def','ghijkl']
print "Before Append",a
a.append('hello')
print "After Append",a
...
Before Append ['abc', 'def', 'ghijkl']
After Append ['abc', 'def', 'ghijkl', 'hello']
There's a whole boatload of built-in methods: see http://www.python.org/doc/current/tut/node7.html.
I'm not going to say I like these better than the Perl functions that
do similar things, but I certainly have no problems with these and
can see good use for them.
That integer math is the default unless one or more of the operands
isn't an integer:
print 7 / 2
print 7.0 / 2
...
3
3.5
That semicolons at the end of lines are optional: any of these
are fine:
print 7/2;print 7/2.0
print 7/2;
print 7/2.0
print 7/2
print 7/2.0
Leaving off semicolons is a common Perl goof..
- Indentation syntax. Everything indented is part of what happens
when "mytest" is not 0 or null:
mytest=1
if mytest:
print "mytest ",
print "is set"
print "hello ",
Oddly, this is something most Perl types really hate, but I'd find
it easy to get used to. Since most of us tend to indent code within
blocks anyway, it seems reasonable to me to dispense with the braces
and just use the indentation.
- Default argument values for functions:
def foo(prompt="huh?", count=2):
print prompt,count
foo()
foo("go","seven")
foo(count=89)
...
huh? 2
go seven
huh? 89
I really like that.
- Exception handling. I like "try/except" logic (apparently Perl
6 has this too);
Disliked
- Variables. I don't like the C-ish variable names. I LIKE that
Perl requires a $, @ or whatever ahead of a variable name - it
makes it stand out. I also like that Perl's $a is different than
@a etc.
- Data types. Setting a one value tuple is absolutely ugly:
this='abc','def',0;
print this, len(this)
this='hello' # NOT a tuple
print this, len(this)
this='hello', # Now it is
print this, len(this)
...
('abc', 'def', 0) 3
hello 5
('hello',) 1
This is a consequence of not having data prefixes or formal declarations.
- No
"a++" or "a--". Sheesh
- No
"$_". There's _, which apparently isn't quite
the same - unless I misunderstand, which is certainly possible
at this point.
Overall, I think I'll stick with Perl. I can see Eric Raymond's argument
for larger projects, but I don't do large projects anymore and I just
find Perl's wild versatility and lack of insistence (More Than One
Way To Do It) more attractive than more structured languages. But
Python certain does have its appealing aspects, so I'll probably dabble
with it here and there.
I certainly cannot agree with some who insist that Python is easier
to read or understand than Perl. That's just ridiculous: neither of
them add anything to helping understand someone else's code. Perl
isn't any more "cryptic" than Python. Nor can I understand the attitude
that Perl is deficient because you can do things in multiple ways.
If you insist on such structure, enforce it upon yourself: nobody
is stopping you. I do understand that for larger projects, with multiple
people involved, structure is more necessary.
All in all, I wouldn't be terribly upset if I got "stuck" with something
that had to be done in Python. It's a very reasonable scripting tool
and does have some very nice features.
About the Author:
A.P. Lawrence provides SCO Unix and Linux consulting services http://www.pcunix.com
Read this newsletter at:
http://www.perlpronews.com/2004/0212.html |
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By
A.P. Lawrence