On Tue, 20 Aug 2002, at 9:54am, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Is Python also a "text-munging" type language aimed at sysadmin type > problems? Was it too, specifically designed to pick up where awk and sed > fell short?
I know nothing about the Python language, but I do know a tiny bit about the design goals behind it (which I got mainly from discussions with Python fans). I would say the single biggest design goal of Python is elegance, in the Jargon File sense [1]. Take the quote "A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.", apply it to a programming language, and you get Python. Other design goals include pervasive object-orientedness, a clean -- even sparse -- syntax, and interactive, dynamic operation. Python is not specialized for text munching the way Perl is. As I understand it, much of the functionality of Perl's text processing is available as standard library modules in Python, but the language itself is no more suited to that than it is to anything else. Myself, I would love to attend more LUG meetings about Python. [1] http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/jargon/html/entry/elegant.html -- Ben Scott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> | The opinions expressed in this message are those of the author and do not | | necessarily represent the views or policy of any other person, entity or | | organization. All information is provided without warranty of any kind. | _______________________________________________ gnhlug-discuss mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss
