Path: csiph.com!news.swapon.de!fu-berlin.de!uni-berlin.de!not-for-mail From: Chris Angelico Newsgroups: comp.lang.python Subject: Re: Considering migrating to Python from Visual Basic 6 for engineering applications Date: Thu, 18 Feb 2016 22:32:33 +1100 Lines: 35 Message-ID: References: <90cc50d2-1ce5-4588-9bfd-a49d439f00dd@googlegroups.com> <14c75a68-0d2e-45cc-8d73-0d71b6a6aea6@googlegroups.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Trace: news.uni-berlin.de mISVbH66SCA6heZL1n5coARoxyw5qHVaS8bAKL+uo2Vw== Return-Path: X-Original-To: python-list@python.org Delivered-To: python-list@mail.python.org X-Spam-Status: OK 0.002 X-Spam-Evidence: '*H*': 1.00; '*S*': 0.00; 'python,': 0.02; 'subject:Python': 0.05; 'interpreted': 0.07; 'cc:addr:python- list': 0.09; 'calculating': 0.09; 'modules.': 0.09; 'subject:Visual': 0.09; 'tends': 0.09; 'advance': 0.10; 'python': 0.10; 'python.': 0.11; 'itself.': 0.11; 'subject: \n ': 0.15; 'thu,': 0.15; '"extended': 0.16; '2016': 0.16; 'from:addr:rosuav': 0.16; 'from:name:chris angelico': 0.16; 'idle,': 0.16; 'library"': 0.16; 'received:io': 0.16; 'received:psf.io': 0.16; 'responded.': 0.16; 'wrote:': 0.16; 'first.': 0.18; 'gui': 0.18; 'language': 0.19; 'cc:2**0': 0.20; 'cc:addr:python.org': 0.20; 'fairly': 0.22; 'hours,': 0.22; 'file.': 0.22; 'bit': 0.23; 'feb': 0.23; 'third- party': 0.23; 'written': 0.24; 'header:In-Reply-To:1': 0.24; 'example': 0.26; 'command': 0.26; 'points': 0.27; 'bugs': 0.27; 'packaging': 0.27; 'message-id:@mail.gmail.com': 0.27; 'whitespace': 0.29; 'windows,': 0.29; 'creating': 0.30; 'programmers': 0.30; 'window': 0.30; 'language.': 0.32; 'problem': 0.33; 'choices': 0.33; 'that,': 0.34; 'received:google.com': 0.35; 'could': 0.35; 'text': 0.35; 'direction': 0.35; 'sometimes': 0.35; 'but': 0.36; 'should': 0.36; 'there': 0.36; 'received:209.85': 0.36; '(and': 0.36; 'limitation': 0.36; 'tools,': 0.36; 'pm,': 0.36; 'subject:: ': 0.37; 'two': 0.37; 'thanks': 0.37; 'received:209.85.213': 0.37; 'received:209': 0.38; 'stuff': 0.38; 'anything': 0.38; 'building': 0.38; 'skip:p 20': 0.38; 'files': 0.38; 'subject:from': 0.39; 'easily': 0.39; 'takes': 0.39; 'rather': 0.39; 'some': 0.40; 'your': 0.60; 'within': 0.64; 'biggest': 0.67; 'day': 0.67; 'price': 0.69; 'sum': 0.69; 'social': 0.71; 'life.': 0.81; '10:11': 0.84; 'chrisa': 0.84; 'dozens': 0.84; 'motto': 0.84; 'positively': 0.84; 'to:none': 0.91; 'that),': 0.91 DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20120113; h=mime-version:in-reply-to:references:date:message-id:subject:from:cc :content-type:content-transfer-encoding; bh=0tQ1SvIIWT2kBviqXUl6AVBavFgVIbLx9pSd2C5GFmI=; b=e7k51OEKdlsWJ5IaWoAuc3FQnE3ddMiRhK2wFU6FwLUJ7VsUGIKW64UQpgYMal422l 1SMp3S7VuwxheEJTSmfntisDeWJkYtg6owIMQ7mwTrtJb+g1UseE1x8cCSsWMFQHQmCP DlHxwb1tn6LLpCxKww21STSCB98/RC65ex3mANhc8/sElmekzSjbWhoLsMl2meQl24QQ dWSbHWLSEIaBg9+6Ip1DD4QGU4Mtky+yd0wA/EjT8JhdETuU/Aojzm3USvh9m8g1U8nj 0jFKipMP6VyD+zXtpRAXHh0pS5JQMGfWwVTKJZ9DoM++Y5551wsyZisue4WodOZ3U9TK CTYw== X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20130820; h=x-gm-message-state:mime-version:in-reply-to:references:date :message-id:subject:from:cc:content-type:content-transfer-encoding; bh=0tQ1SvIIWT2kBviqXUl6AVBavFgVIbLx9pSd2C5GFmI=; b=gAWfg6Tvc8YfKfnhyaez58qmW0KM3g68itdgxUh8Anfnh4iDulvouEHOQN6FI71+Wm TuuZGmGbWR1ty9uR15doLPbv3rfuHzeXyt6dJaEKUrTa32/zOrzRkUHwKsGpcXcOuR/n T86PhmTwBfwsuFW7mKt5gQb6uARztdT4dSetnCHl16Vu+KIH2jiYBK4FXmedw0D2XWMr PsGQJ5vuGjScEGtVLb4PJFHgDjUKlK2eUQTajPdX5hZx84u+MdLfGu1wKJ1RIzCwS0V3 56z4VY0+stnx7P8mdXP+6JZ5Nfqsp1U/bNRxzbY4fyvHbMMqsmyv0pqECPRuzOPT+oVS LeDg== X-Gm-Message-State: AG10YOTr/sFxudjbhTa827mS98MzIzS18yCXKk2wZayjEDs/DojmRYAQ/eYnMMZuPbWs7Uzut+kSjP7eAJecow== X-Received: by 10.50.176.195 with SMTP id ck3mr2908328igc.94.1455795153332; Thu, 18 Feb 2016 03:32:33 -0800 (PST) In-Reply-To: X-BeenThere: python-list@python.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.21rc2 Precedence: list List-Id: General discussion list for the Python programming language List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.python:103108 On Thu, Feb 18, 2016 at 10:11 PM, wrote: > Almost everything points positively for Python. Thanks to all of you who = have responded. But please also tell me the disadvantages of Python. If I s= tart using Python, I should be aware of the price I am paying. Speed is not= a big problem for me, so an interpreted language is fine. Is packaging/ins= talling very messy? Do I create dozens of files for a simple program calcul= ating the sum of two numbers and product of two numbers in text boxes with = one command to be clicked? Can I learn this much in the first couple of hou= rs? > There are a few warts, particularly on Windows, as regards packaging and third-party modules. Anything that's written in pure Python is fairly easy; stuff that's written in C is sometimes a bit hairy. But that's a limitation on the "extended library" of PyPI, not the stuff that comes with Python itself. Your simple example could easily be a single file. Python tends to eschew boilerplate; its motto comes from Baloo - look for the bare necessities of life. For a first couple of hours, I would recommend working at the console or in Idle, rather than creating a GUI; a window takes a bit of extra effort (plus you have choices in how to do that), so just learn the language first. But you could easily advance to building a GUI within your first day of learning Python, if that's the direction you want to go. The biggest disadvantage of Python is that, in a number of ways, it surprises people. Significant whitespace bugs a lot of experienced programmers (and some tools, too), and there are a few other ways that you may find a team of people revile against it. But if you can deal with the social aspects, it's a solid language. ChrisA