
Thread beginning with comment 229949
To view parent comment, click here.
RE: My issues with this article
by japh on Thu 12th Apr 2007 11:25 UTC in reply to "My issues with this article"
Member since:

"Perl and python should not be taught because they are literally scripting languages!"

Define "scripting languages".
You have a language that can be compiled to an executable (or Java .class files and whatever the .Net version is called) and doesn't rely on calling external programs for every little thing.

So what is really the reason not to teach it? Because you categorized it as a "scripting language" and put it in a group with bash/awk?

Feel free to argue against Python/Ruby/Perl because of dynamic typig, performance, standard libraries or readbility. Just writing them off as "scripting languages" just makes it look like you haven't even tried them.

Reply Parent Score: 1

urbanRealist Member since:

If I write a complicated program in a scripting language, I spend most of my time trying to find the typo in the variable name. Compilers make learning how to program MUCH easier.

Reply Parent Score: 1

japh Member since:

"I spend most of my time trying to find the typo in the variable name."
You do?
Then you obviously didn't write Perl, where 'use strict;' will force you to declare variables before using them. I usually use an environment that'll help me with the variables, like eclipse/pydev. Sure, it's a little less helpful than for Java due to the dynamic nature of Python, but it'll find most things for me.

I too struggle with writing complicated things in what some people call "scripting languages", but the difficult ones are bash/awk and the likes, not the dynamically typed languages like Perl/Python/Ruby. Misspelled variable names are very rarely a problem in those.
But that might just be me.

Reply Parent Score: 1