Hello
I've been using Python 27 on Windows for as long as I have used a computer for intelligent purposes, viz. since 2000 I think, well the earlier versions till the current version I'm using now. I used it primarily for mathematical precision on numerical computations. I make my own codes. I'm fluent in it and in VBA. I also use Mathematica (Home Edition) to compare. However as Mathematica is largely symbolic, I prefer Python. However I recently talked to a guy online and he told me the following, which actually intrigued and surprised me: "The vast majority of numerical codes in science, including positional astronomy, are written in Fortran and C/C++. If you wish to use these codes in minority and less efficient languages such as Python and VBA, learning to translate this code into those languages is a skill you will have to acquire." The "codes" in question are referring to a query I posed to him regarding the GUST86 theory on the computational position of Uranus' natural satellites authored by Laskar and Jacobson in 1987. The "code" is readily downloadable in Fortran at the IMCCE ftp site. But his statement is insinuating that Python is inferior to Fortran as a mathematical tool and that all of the scientific community prefers to use Fortran. My question is simple: Is he right or wrong? Thanks Vick _______________________________________________ Tutor maillist - Tutor@python.org To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/tutor
