Why I Switched from Python to Clojure (2016)

Post by dkersten » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 5:20 AM UTC

jhhh wrote: post #38

snrji wrote: post #4

I have considered multiple times switching from Python to other alternatives. However, I instantly discard any language with a Lisp-like syntax. I just cannot work with it. Being a Haskell hobbyist, I would like Python to be statically type and have better support for pure functional programming, but Python has the libraries that I need.

Every person that I've talked to that seemed to have a strong negative opinion about parens never used it. They just think they won't like it but wouldn't take the minimal amount of time to give it a try with something like paredit. I was also in this camp for a long time until I figured I would give it a serious try instead of disparaging something I had not used. You might consider that creating and editing code wi…

Post by iLemming » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 5:31 AM UTC

yingw787 wrote: post #109

My impression of Python is that it's a Fisher Price Little Tikes coupe with a few GE90 jet turbine hardpoints mounted on it. It's a very simple language. Literally when things get made to be complex Guido says do it the simple way, because when unbreakable things break it's just that much harder to fix. This makes it very easy to debug, very easy to fix/patch, very easy to onboard new/junior developers in, and very e…

Post by dkersten » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 5:34 AM UTC

andybak wrote: post #57

blunte wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You will shoot yourself in the foot less often with Lisp parens than you might with Python whitespace. Most modern editors handle the closing parens anyway. Plus, many editors without any plugins can jump between matching braces; so moving around the code is very quick compared to Python (unless you have a Python plugin that has block movement shortcuts).

> You will shoot yourself in the foot less often with Lisp parens than you might with Python whitespace. I'm not letting that stand ;-) In my experience Python's whitespace generally removes sources of scope/block errors compared to parenthesis and curly-based languages > unless you have a Python plugin that has block movement shortcuts Not sure what this means. The only support I need in an editor is the ability to…

Post by iLemming » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 6:05 AM UTC

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #108

hetman wrote: post #94

It's interesting that the very things that attracted the author to Clojure was what kept me from moving to it from Python. I enjoyed the syntax. Loved the immutability. However, I wasn't able to understand the structure of program data at a glance even when reading my own code. The reliance on lists and maps everywhere meant that the structure of data was encoded in the code of the functions that created it and somet…

The fundamental problem with S-expressions is that they are intended for (1950s) machine readability and human ergonomics takes a back seat.

    
      Scores
      
    ;
    

    [dashboard-unit {:data-index 2}
      [:h1 "Scores"]
      [scoreboard {:class-name "results"
                   :scores game-scores]]
                   

Post by glogla » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 6:15 AM UTC

o10449366 wrote: post #55

Townley wrote: post #43

I can, and do, appreciate opinions on languages themselves. But my decision to continue using Python over Clojure is much less about the language's syntax and more about the available libraries. How do Clojure web frameworks compare to Django/Flask? What would I use instead of Pandas for data analysis? Are there keras-like deep learning tools? Switching languages based on a comparison of idiosyncrasies between the tw…

I agree. Within the data science community I often see the question of "R versus Python" and it always makes me think of the Old El Paso commercial: ¿por qué no los dos? I know choosing the right tools for the task can have serious long-term implications on the project, team, or organization level, but individually I get the impression that people worry too much about which language is best when, in reality, many of…