> ...on Java ... > quite like, much superior to C++, although it does lack the elegance of > Python and Ruby.
Superior is a relative term. Java has lots of huge restrictions compared to C++ - the lack of operator overloading being maybe the biggest, since it prevents true sub typing of builtins and primitives - thus resulting in extra(and horrible) code. And the lack of functionpointers (inner classes not withstanding) is a big hit, and what about multiple inheritance - interfaces suck! Its also much slower - JIT compilers, and even native compilers, notwithstanding. I could go on...but... It is however, a simpler language to learn, and I must admit that having got used to garbage collection in Python going back top C and C++ is a shock... And the large standard library (even if the design is awful in places) is an advantage. > RubyCocoa anyway, so that'd be equivalent to using Objective-C). Have you used Objective C itself? I like it a lot. It combines much of what I like about both C++ and Python. > Also, Java has something which Python lacks (yet should have): > private/protected/public class members. In Python, everything is > public, which I consider to be a Bad Thing(TM). Why do you think it should have it? Have you run into a lot of problems with inappropriate access in Python programs? This often comes up from ex Java/C++ programmers yet access control like this was not part of any of the earliest OOP languages and nobody ever discussed it much(SMalltalk took one extreme - all data private, and Lisp the other - all public) But I don't recall have any big issues with lack of control, and I don't find it an issue in Python. What exactly do you find to be such a problem with the lack in Python? > Does runtime in Java include startup? Every time you start a java > program, it has to load a BIG runtime in memory (roughly 30 megs of > classes -- that's both Java's curse and blessing). True of Python too of course, you have the initial interpretation/compile stage before execution starts. > And of course, it's free (and written in Java). http://www.eclipse.org So many editors, so many languages :-) Alan G. _______________________________________________ Tutor maillist - Tutor@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/tutor
