Vicent Giner wrote:
Hello.
I am new to Python. It seems a very interesting language to me. Its
simplicity is very attractive.
However, it is usually said that Python is not a compiled but
interpreted programming language —I mean, it is not like C, in that
sense.
I am working on my PhD Thesis, which is about Operations Research,
heuristic algorithms, etc., and I am considering the possibility of
programming all my algorithms in Python.
The usual alternative is C, but I like Python more.
The main drawbacks I see to using Python are these:
* As far as I understand, the fact that Python is not a compiled
language makes it slower than C, when performing huge amounts of
computations within an algorithm or program.
The usual answer is that development
time is more important than running time.
Since you are likely to be using arrays,
you might look at numpy, where the
number crunching is using compiled C code.
* I don't know how likely it is to find libraries in Python related to
my research field.
* I know Python is a "serious" and mature programming language, of
course. But I do not know if it is seen as "just funny" in a research
context. Is Python considered as a good programming language for
implementing Operations Research algorithms, such as heuristics and
other soft-computing algorithms?
Try Google with Python and your area of
interest. You could well find
Python-based packages which meet your needs.
Maybe this is not the right forum, but maybe you can give me some
hints or tips...
Thank you in advance.
Good luck.
Colin W.
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