pro: better compatibility with external libraries, syntax is nicer
con: GUI programming will suck unless .net adds "visual python"
I don't have statistics but I imagine people would prefer sticking to VB for ease of adding buttons, etc.
Excel team considering Python as scripting language: asking for feedback
201–210 of 280 posts
Re: Excel team considering Python as scripting language: asking for feedback
#202Earlier quoted context omitted.
> strong, static typing is an essential feature for large scale projects This is empirically false. There are (of course!) good reasons to consider static typing. But, in my experience, use of static typing has never been a first-order predictor of business or technology success. It's quite possible to build considerable value with, for example, a large Python 2.x code base. A fun, and tangentially related, talk: htt…
That reminds me of Kapital [1] - a valuation and risk analysis system written in Smalltalk at JPMorgan, begun in the early '90s and as far as i know still going; 14,000 classes, 400,000 methods, hojillions of dollars of profit, twenty years in service, zero types: http://www.esug.org/data/ESUG2004/ValueOfSmalltalk.pdf
> 14,000 classes..., zero types
In my view, classes are types. (Well, maybe I'm just spoiled by C++.)
Re: Excel team considering Python as scripting language: asking for feedback
#203Earlier quoted context omitted.
I disagree. Python is great for scripting and for small projects, but I believe strong, static typing is an essential feature for large scale projects. I wouldn't want to use Python for anything that's predicted to end up with more than a couple thousand lines of code.
Given that there are literally thousands of huge projects using Python at massive scale and hundreds of kLOC, it's clearly not essential .
Code written in a statically typed language requires less testing. How is that not essential?
Re: Excel team considering Python as scripting language: asking for feedback
#204Earlier quoted context omitted.
Unfortunately, there are several companies and hundreds of divisions of companies run entirely out of excel spreadsheets.
Next up, get rid of Access
No one is proposing that we get rid of spreadsheets.
I understand, though: you hate VBA. And by extension, Access. But Excel, with or without Python, doesn't mean it can suddenly be used as a relational database. But you knew that.
So, what should replace Access?
Re: Excel team considering Python as scripting language: asking for feedback
#205Earlier quoted context omitted.
I disagree. Python is great for scripting and for small projects, but I believe strong, static typing is an essential feature for large scale projects. I wouldn't want to use Python for anything that's predicted to end up with more than a couple thousand lines of code.
People will tell you that instagram uses python or yelp or other big name projects use python. Certainly, type checking is not Essential to a large project the same way utensils are not essential when you eat. You can just use your hands to shove all the food into your mouth.
Well, there are rules to using utensils, and eating some types of food using them would seem uncivilized if not plain ridiculous. (Eating without hands, though, is surely uncivilized in the eyes of most people.)
Re: Excel team considering Python as scripting language: asking for feedback
#206No love for C#? Imagine the power of LINQ in Excel.
This already exists.
https://www.querystorm.com/
Re: Excel team considering Python as scripting language: asking for feedback
#207I think python is a bad choice for Excel, Ruby would probably be easier to people who are not developers and javascript might work just because if its reach (while still being simple).
Re: Excel team considering Python as scripting language: asking for feedback
#208I think python is a bad choice for Excel, Ruby would probably be easier to people who are not developers and javascript might work just because if its reach (while still being simple).
I think basic Python is far easier for a newbie to learn than Ruby, and is commonly used as a scripting language for non-programmers.
Re: Excel team considering Python as scripting language: asking for feedback
#209Maybe they read it here: Keep Excel application as is. Excel is OK without Python and VB seems ok, it's BASIC after all.
Instead, concentrate on making Excel functions embeddable in server applications, this is area totally neglected so far. Think about server-side spreadsheet handling and calculations, that would allow Excel to drive business logic of systems. And maybe there Python would be useful, but i'd prefer just .Net runtime libraries instead.
Re: Excel team considering Python as scripting language: asking for feedback
#210It would be great for a scripting language, but for field functions I would have preferred something that's more akin to FRP-oriented language (e.g. Scheme).
Excel itself is functional and reactive already, wouldn't adding an FRP language on top of that be a bit superfluous? Check out Felienne Hermans' work if you haven't already: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yKf8TrLUOw http://www.felienne.com/publications
Excel is reactive already, but its field functions can't have variable bindings or procedural operation as far as I know (unless, of course, you write your own separate VBA function). I sometimes want to write in a complex one-liner and thought lisp/scheme would be a great choice.