Path: csiph.com!x330-a1.tempe.blueboxinc.net!usenet.pasdenom.info!aioe.org!news.stack.nl!newsfeed.xs4all.nl!newsfeed5.news.xs4all.nl!xs4all!newsgate.cistron.nl!newsgate.news.xs4all.nl!post.news.xs4all.nl!not-for-mail Return-Path: X-Original-To: python-list@python.org Delivered-To: python-list@mail.python.org X-Spam-Status: OK 0.009 X-Spam-Evidence: '*H*': 0.98; '*S*': 0.00; 'python': 0.08; 'chose': 0.09; 'generators': 0.09; 'received:209.85.160.174': 0.09; 'received:mail-gy0-f174.google.com': 0.09; 'runtime': 0.09; 'subject:python': 0.10; 'c++': 0.12; 'developer': 0.12; 'algorithm': 0.13; 'folks': 0.15; 'from:addr:dave': 0.16; 'replaced.': 0.16; 'subject:question': 0.17; 'language': 0.17; 'wrote:': 0.18; 'header:In-Reply-To:1': 0.22; "python's": 0.24; 'meeting': 0.25; 'fact': 0.27; 'coding': 0.28; "wasn't": 0.28; 'sean': 0.29; 'pm,': 0.29; 'mentioning': 0.30; 'optimal': 0.30; "i've": 0.31; 'header:User-Agent:1': 0.33; 'received:209.85.160': 0.33; 'to:addr:python-list': 0.34; 'project': 0.35; 'subject:skip:p 10': 0.37; 'but': 0.37; 'received:google.com': 0.37; "there's": 0.37; 'using': 0.38; 'despite': 0.38; 'received:209.85': 0.38; "it's": 0.40; 'received:209': 0.40; 'to:addr:python.org': 0.40; 'more': 0.61; 'harder': 0.64; 'interest': 0.66; 'making': 0.67; 'favor': 0.70; '12:13': 0.84; 'deadline.': 0.84; 'expressive': 0.84 Date: Tue, 03 Jan 2012 13:03:37 -0600 From: David Harks User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:9.0) Gecko/20111222 Thunderbird/9.0.1 MIME-Version: 1.0 To: python-list@python.org Subject: Re: python philosophical question - strong vs duck typing References: In-Reply-To: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-BeenThere: python-list@python.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.12 Precedence: list List-Id: General discussion list for the Python programming language List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Newsgroups: comp.lang.python Message-ID: Lines: 15 NNTP-Posting-Host: 2001:888:2000:d::a6 X-Trace: 1325617422 news.xs4all.nl 6959 [2001:888:2000:d::a6]:49602 X-Complaints-To: abuse@xs4all.nl Xref: x330-a1.tempe.blueboxinc.net comp.lang.python:18433 On 1/3/2012 12:13 PM, Sean Wolfe wrote: > if we are coding in python but looking for > more performance, Are you in fact in this situation? Despite years of folks mentioning how Python is 'slower than C++', I've seen a project where a developer churned out a feature using Python's generators that performed much faster than the C++ implementation it replaced. It wasn't because the C++ was slower by nature; it's because it was harder to express the optimal algorithm in C++ so the C++ developer chose a sub-optimal approach in the interest of meeting a deadline. There's always a tradeoff. Making a language less expressive (constraining ourselves) in favor of runtime performance is not always the right tradeoff.