No. Python is extremely useful and will remain so. However Python has fundamental design problems regarding unicode handling and 2/3 discrepancies that make it challenging to work with in a number of contexts.
Ask HN: Is Python dying?
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Re: Ask HN: Is Python dying?
#12Python occupies a niche that isn't going away any time soon: making it easy and natural to write readable, straightforward, more-or-less imperative, slightly boring code of the type you learned in CS 101.
This is still a very practical way to solve many problems and I'd wager for most programmers it's still the easiest way to do things. Maybe it will always be. It's hard to imagine there'll be a generation of programmers some day that finds it easier to compose dozens of tiny modules, chain callbacks with a variety of async abstractions, and implement as much as possible in tiny idempotent functions.
I feel like the worst case scenario for Python is that it will fade into the wallpaper of mature and unsexy languages like Java and C++ that nonetheless run the world and will probably be around for another 100 years at least. I'm guessing Guido would be cool with that.
Re: Ask HN: Is Python dying?
#13Python is fine. I just came off a job in it and interviewing around saw a couple other jobs in it. I see it competing with Ruby and server-side-js. Python is more mature than either, and has a different flavor that will appeal to some people. Choose your environment to taste.
OTOH, job[-2] was switching away from Python due to run speed concerns, towards Go. But while the application would be less Python, the 'devops' system glue would still be all Python.
Re: Ask HN: Is Python dying?
#14Python occupies a niche that isn't going away any time soon: making it easy and natural to write readable, straightforward, more-or-less imperative, slightly boring code of the type you learned in CS 101. This is still a very practical way to solve many problems and I'd wager for most programmers it's still the easiest way to do things. Maybe it will always be. It's hard to imagine there'll be a generation of program…
Why can't Julia fill that role?
Re: Ask HN: Is Python dying?
#15Reading HN, you'd think Java was dying (dead?) too. But it's not. It's an established language with a lot of very senior people still using it. It has it's issues for sure, but it also has a ton of libraries and support. Python I'd say is in a similar boat. Strong and established with tons of libraries, not popular amongst the kids. Edit: Apparently my use of "kids" as a sarcastic way of referring to those who won't…
Java has gotten significantly better in recent years across the board. Python it's a mixed bag due to the 2 to 3 incompatibility transition, one step forward, one step back and some step are changes but not improvements.
Re: Ask HN: Is Python dying?
#16Not only is Python not dying, but it's stronger than it's ever been. The majority of top colleges are now teaching CS using Python. It's completely dominant in academia, finance, and startups. It has the best libraries and documentation of any language. And Django has arguably the strongest community of any open source project period.
That's not to say there are zero problems, but Python is so much better than all the other alternatives that this just seems like a ridiculous question.
Re: Ask HN: Is Python dying?
#17Go doesn't have anywhere near the amount of libraries or support that we see with Python. Python isn't being assaulted on any front. We have always had multiple programming languages and some are better than others. My issue is that we seem to have these fad languages, like Ruby-on-rails. I still remember when it was rammed down our throats on HN around ~2008 and you were instantly down voted if you wanted to objecti…
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Re: Ask HN: Is Python dying?
#18No. Python is extremely useful and will remain so. However Python has fundamental design problems regarding unicode handling and 2/3 discrepancies that make it challenging to work with in a number of contexts.
I agree completely. Python could fix a LOT of that by using the (completely seriously named) https://simonsapin.github.io/wtf-8/ WTF-8 (Wobbly Transformation Format − 8-bit) encoding for it's native Unicode (like) strings.
Additionally Python should then allow the (explicit) casting of WTF8 datatype to bytes and from bytes to WTF8 datatype (edit: note, I mean invalid data would be read, stored within a WTF8 datatype as such, then converted /back/ to an invalid UTF-8 bytestream identical to the one read in).
The main reason that Python Unicode handling is broken is that it creates problems that aren't necessary to exist or solve. In the real world, you encounter unvalidated data; and many times you don't /care/ if it's valid. It's just some human name for a bytestream. Or some not-quite valid Unicode stored within a file, or maybe something else that you want to handle like a bytestream but pick matching Unicode bits out of.
Re: Ask HN: Is Python dying?
#19Interesting stats regarding version 2/3 usage from a moderator of /r/python today:
Here's the breakdown by which Pythons were used to download from PyPI in the last two weeks:
2.7 85.90%
2.6 6.66%
3.4 4.64%
3.5 2.09%
3.3 0.56%
3.2 0.12%
https://www.reddit.com/r/Python/comments/45sm94/what_are_the...
Re: Ask HN: Is Python dying?
#20Python occupies a niche that isn't going away any time soon: making it easy and natural to write readable, straightforward, more-or-less imperative, slightly boring code of the type you learned in CS 101. This is still a very practical way to solve many problems and I'd wager for most programmers it's still the easiest way to do things. Maybe it will always be. It's hard to imagine there'll be a generation of program…
Why can't Julia fill that role?
Which role? A general purpose programming language with an emphasis on readability?