Groups | Search | Server Info | Keyboard shortcuts | Login | Register [http] [https] [nntp] [nntps]


Groups > comp.lang.python > #57091 > unrolled thread

Error Testing

Started byScott Novinger <scnovinger@gmail.com>
First post2013-10-19 05:23 -0700
Last post2013-10-21 15:29 -0500
Articles 20 on this page of 43 — 18 participants

Back to article view | Back to comp.lang.python


Contents

  Error Testing Scott Novinger <scnovinger@gmail.com> - 2013-10-19 05:23 -0700
    Re: Error Testing Mark Lawrence <breamoreboy@yahoo.co.uk> - 2013-10-19 13:37 +0100
      Re: Error Testing Scott Novinger <scnovinger@gmail.com> - 2013-10-19 06:34 -0700
        Re: Error Testing Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-10-20 00:42 +1100
        Re: Error Testing rusi <rustompmody@gmail.com> - 2013-10-19 09:22 -0700
          Re: Error Testing Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-10-20 09:28 +1100
            Re: Error Testing albert@spenarnc.xs4all.nl (Albert van der Horst) - 2013-10-30 21:43 +0000
              Re: Error Testing Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-10-31 10:50 +1100
              Re: Error Testing Neil Cerutti <neilc@norwich.edu> - 2013-10-31 15:20 +0000
                Re: Error Testing Skip Montanaro <skip@pobox.com> - 2013-10-31 10:51 -0500
                Re: Error Testing rusi <rustompmody@gmail.com> - 2013-10-31 09:05 -0700
                  Re: Error Testing Neil Cerutti <neilc@norwich.edu> - 2013-10-31 17:17 +0000
                    Re: Error Testing William Ray Wing <wrw@mac.com> - 2013-10-31 22:27 -0400
                      Re: Error Testing Grant Edwards <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2013-11-01 08:32 +0000
                    Re: Error Testing Mark Lawrence <breamoreboy@yahoo.co.uk> - 2013-11-01 03:25 +0000
                      Re: Error Testing rusi <rustompmody@gmail.com> - 2013-10-31 20:42 -0700
                    Re: Error Testing Dennis Lee Bieber <wlfraed@ix.netcom.com> - 2013-11-01 10:51 -0400
                    Re: Error Testing Mark Lawrence <breamoreboy@yahoo.co.uk> - 2013-11-01 15:07 +0000
                  Re: Error Testing Denis McMahon <denismfmcmahon@gmail.com> - 2013-10-31 17:50 +0000
                    Re: Error Testing rusi <rustompmody@gmail.com> - 2013-10-31 10:56 -0700
                      Re: Error Testing Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-11-01 08:00 +1100
                      Re: Error Testing Denis McMahon <denismfmcmahon@gmail.com> - 2013-10-31 22:59 +0000
                        Re: Error Testing rusi <rustompmody@gmail.com> - 2013-10-31 20:50 -0700
                          Re: Error Testing Mark Lawrence <breamoreboy@yahoo.co.uk> - 2013-11-01 09:39 +0000
              Re: Error Testing Mark Lawrence <breamoreboy@yahoo.co.uk> - 2013-11-01 02:00 +0000
          Re: Error Testing Ned Deily <nad@acm.org> - 2013-10-19 15:46 -0700
          Re: Error Testing Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-10-20 10:02 +1100
          Re: Error Testing Dennis Lee Bieber <wlfraed@ix.netcom.com> - 2013-10-20 12:18 -0400
    Re: Error Testing Ned Batchelder <ned@nedbatchelder.com> - 2013-10-19 08:44 -0400
      Re: Error Testing Roy Smith <roy@panix.com> - 2013-10-19 08:57 -0400
        Re: Error Testing Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-10-20 00:04 +1100
        Re: Error Testing Ned Batchelder <ned@nedbatchelder.com> - 2013-10-19 09:07 -0400
          Re: Error Testing Roy Smith <roy@panix.com> - 2013-10-19 09:09 -0400
        Re: Error Testing Mark Lawrence <breamoreboy@yahoo.co.uk> - 2013-10-19 14:19 +0100
    Re: Error Testing Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-10-20 00:01 +1100
    Re: Error Testing David Robinow <drobinow@gmail.com> - 2013-10-19 14:08 -0400
    Re: Error Testing Tim Chase <tim@thechases.com> - 2013-10-19 13:31 -0500
    Re: Error Testing Terry Reedy <tjreedy@udel.edu> - 2013-10-19 15:50 -0400
    What's wrong with Windows Command Prompt (was Re: Error Testing) Terry Reedy <tjreedy@udel.edu> - 2013-10-19 16:35 -0400
    Re: What's wrong with Windows Command Prompt (was Re: Error Testing) Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-10-20 09:15 +1100
    Re: Error Testing Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-10-20 09:20 +1100
    Re: What's wrong with Windows Command Prompt (was Re: Error Testing) David Robinow <drobinow@gmail.com> - 2013-10-21 15:55 -0400
    Re: What's wrong with Windows Command Prompt (was Re: Error Testing) Tim Chase <python.list@tim.thechases.com> - 2013-10-21 15:29 -0500

Page 1 of 3  [1] 2 3  Next page →


#57091 — Error Testing

FromScott Novinger <scnovinger@gmail.com>
Date2013-10-19 05:23 -0700
SubjectError Testing
Message-ID<33549834-2f27-47f3-abea-eb3486909dec@googlegroups.com>
Hello.

I've written a program for my kids to calculate arc length.  I want to include some error testing for value types entered that are something other than integer values.

My goal is to make sure that the value entered for the radius is an integer value.

How could I rewrite this code to make sure I accomplish my goal of getting an integer value entered?  I know the construct is not correct.  I'm just learning how to program.

    # Create the variable for radius, "radius".
    print('Please enter the circle radius and press ENTER:')
    radius = input()

    # Check to make sure the entered value is an integer.
    if type(radius) != type(int):
        print('You must enter an integer value.')
        print('Please enter the circle radius and press ENTER:')
        radius = input()
    else:
        print('The radius you entered is: ' + radius)
    
    radius = int(radius)

Thanks for your help. I'm using Python v3.2 for windows.

Scott

[toc] | [next] | [standalone]


#57093

FromMark Lawrence <breamoreboy@yahoo.co.uk>
Date2013-10-19 13:37 +0100
Message-ID<mailman.1253.1382186251.18130.python-list@python.org>
In reply to#57091
On 19/10/2013 13:23, Scott Novinger wrote:
> Hello.
>
> I've written a program for my kids to calculate arc length.  I want to include some error testing for value types entered that are something other than integer values.
>
> My goal is to make sure that the value entered for the radius is an integer value.
>
> How could I rewrite this code to make sure I accomplish my goal of getting an integer value entered?  I know the construct is not correct.  I'm just learning how to program.
>
>      # Create the variable for radius, "radius".
>      print('Please enter the circle radius and press ENTER:')
>      radius = input()
>
>      # Check to make sure the entered value is an integer.
>      if type(radius) != type(int):
>          print('You must enter an integer value.')
>          print('Please enter the circle radius and press ENTER:')
>          radius = input()
>      else:
>          print('The radius you entered is: ' + radius)
>
>      radius = int(radius)
>
> Thanks for your help. I'm using Python v3.2 for windows.
>
> Scott
>

Please see the example here 
http://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/errors.html#handling-exceptions.  If 
you want further data feel free to ask, we don't bite :)

-- 
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Most poems rhyme,
But this one doesn't.

Mark Lawrence

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]


#57102

FromScott Novinger <scnovinger@gmail.com>
Date2013-10-19 06:34 -0700
Message-ID<ea2d79c5-e116-458f-a77c-700e748323e2@googlegroups.com>
In reply to#57093
On Saturday, October 19, 2013 8:37:01 AM UTC-4, Mark Lawrence wrote:
> On 19/10/2013 13:23, Scott Novinger wrote:
> 
> > Hello.
> 
> >
> 
> > I've written a program for my kids to calculate arc length.  I want to include some error testing for value types entered that are something other than integer values.
> 
> >
> 
> > My goal is to make sure that the value entered for the radius is an integer value.
> 
> >
> 
> > How could I rewrite this code to make sure I accomplish my goal of getting an integer value entered?  I know the construct is not correct.  I'm just learning how to program.
> 
> >
> 
> >      # Create the variable for radius, "radius".
> 
> >      print('Please enter the circle radius and press ENTER:')
> 
> >      radius = input()
> 
> >
> 
> >      # Check to make sure the entered value is an integer.
> 
> >      if type(radius) != type(int):
> 
> >          print('You must enter an integer value.')
> 
> >          print('Please enter the circle radius and press ENTER:')
> 
> >          radius = input()
> 
> >      else:
> 
> >          print('The radius you entered is: ' + radius)
> 
> >
> 
> >      radius = int(radius)
> 
> >
> 
> > Thanks for your help. I'm using Python v3.2 for windows.
> 
> >
> 
> > Scott
> 
> >
> 
> 
> 
> Please see the example here 
> 
> http://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/errors.html#handling-exceptions.  If 
> 
> you want further data feel free to ask, we don't bite :)
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> 
> Roses are red,
> 
> Violets are blue,
> 
> Most poems rhyme,
> 
> But this one doesn't.
> 
> 
> 
> Mark Lawrence

Mark/ All,

I read the link on Handling Exceptions.  The first bit of code worked for my purposes. I was able to reduce my number of lines of code significantly and my program works! Thank you all for your help solving this problem!

My plan is to create several different programs that perform specific Algebraic operations.  My boys are learning Algebra 2 and I thought it might be a fun way to help us all learn Algebra and programming together.  Python seems to be a good language for learning how to program.

Thanks again!

Scott

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]


#57103

FromChris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com>
Date2013-10-20 00:42 +1100
Message-ID<mailman.1259.1382190142.18130.python-list@python.org>
In reply to#57102
On Sun, Oct 20, 2013 at 12:34 AM, Scott Novinger <scnovinger@gmail.com> wrote:
> I read the link on Handling Exceptions.  The first bit of code worked for my purposes. I was able to reduce my number of lines of code significantly and my program works! Thank you all for your help solving this problem!

As you get accustomed to exception handling, you'll find that it's a
really clean and easy way to... well, handle exceptional situations :)
Tip: In quick throw-away scripts that are run from the command line,
don't even bother catching most exceptions. Just let 'em happen if
they want to happen... your script will terminate with an error
message, and you can deal with it as a human. That saves you even more
code!

> My plan is to create several different programs that perform specific Algebraic operations.  My boys are learning Algebra 2 and I thought it might be a fun way to help us all learn Algebra and programming together.  Python seems to be a good language for learning how to program.

It is an excellent language for that. It's also a great language for
applications. It may not be the fastest in the world, but all
computers wait at the same speed anyway...

Just one thing: When you post here, please either don't use Google
Groups, or follow the advice here:

https://wiki.python.org/moin/GoogleGroupsPython

Preferably, just avoid GG, as a number of people just filter those
posts out. It's not an indictment of you as a person, but the majority
of GG posts are, quite frankly, very annoying for the reasons set out
in the wiki article.

Hope to see you around more!

ChrisA

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]


#57110

Fromrusi <rustompmody@gmail.com>
Date2013-10-19 09:22 -0700
Message-ID<9e734f2b-9bcd-47d8-adb9-de6501fa6e7d@googlegroups.com>
In reply to#57102
On Saturday, October 19, 2013 7:04:30 PM UTC+5:30, Scott Novinger wrote:
> 
> My plan is to create several different programs that perform specific Algebraic 
> operations.  My boys are learning Algebra 2 and I thought it might be a fun way 
> to help us all learn Algebra and programming together.  Python seems to be a 
> good language for learning how to program.

If you are a programmer and want to start doing some 'real' math stuff, your approach is fine.

Conversely if you are a mathematician (or at least someone whose math fundamentals are well established) then too to start by getting your hands dirty with coding up some paper-pen/chalk-blackboard math into a system is a good goal and python is as good a language for this as any.

The system sage http://www.sagemath.org/ does some serious math with python as glue.

However if your boys are new to both math and programming, you are doing them a disservice by mixing the two using python.

The problem is that python is an imperative language and uses the '=' sign for assignment.  In math of course '=' stands for equality.

Now these two usages of '=' are both center-stage and completely different:
- the math = is by definition symmetric -- we can replace x=y by y=x. Whereas in programming we can never replace x=1 by 1=x
- More significantly and dangerously the programming var=rhs has a timing element and in fact introduces a basic notion of a 'unit of computation', --the statement -- a notion completely absent from the math something=somethingElse

Now one word or signifier meaning different things -- a pun -- is not necessarily bad. To the extent that we humans have more entities to deal with than ready words its even inevitable.  Just yesterday there was a discussion about whether 'python' is a TV comic character or a snake, pike a fish or a poker.  I think these are relatively harmless.

However with '=' in math and programming, the two are too different to be equated(!!) and too close to be separated.
Because after the programming statement var = lhs
the math predicate var = lhs is typically true.

But then what happens with something like this?  x = x+1
For a programmer this is common daily fare.
For a mathematician its an impossibility.

So I suggest you try it (x=x+1) on your boys.
If they think its ok, youve damaged their mathematical acumen
If not, they've yet to begin programming.
If they can answer to the effect that in some contexts its natural and in some not then of course they are very mature and/or geniuses.

I should mention that John Backus, the creator of the first hi-level language and a Turing award winner, more or less said that the assignment is the single biggest problem why programming languages are in such a mess:
http://www.thocp.net/biographies/papers/backus_turingaward_lecture.pdf

Having said that, I also need to say that most programmers dont agree with that.
The minority that do, would earlier be called 'declarative-devotees'; nowadays the fashionable term is functional programming.
My own rather fringe minority position is that Backus et al are right in denouncing the assignment. However so far the attempts at practically  realizing this smack of throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

So for the time being, languages like python remain eminently practical.
Its just that they are not so good for building kids' theoretical foundations -- especially of a mathematical sort.

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]


#57124

FromChris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com>
Date2013-10-20 09:28 +1100
Message-ID<mailman.1272.1382221693.18130.python-list@python.org>
In reply to#57110
On Sun, Oct 20, 2013 at 3:22 AM, rusi <rustompmody@gmail.com> wrote:
> The problem is that python is an imperative language and uses the '=' sign for assignment.  In math of course '=' stands for equality.

Pascal tried to create a new operator, := to be read "becomes", to
deal with the whole equality-vs-assignment issue. Did it really help
anything? I don't think so. Just syntactic salt. Even the comparison
isn't really mathematical - in maths, "x = y" is a statement of truth,
whereas in programming, it's a question ("is x equal to y").

Teaching maths and programming at once is like teaching any other two
arts at once - there'll be differences to grok as well as similarities
to jump on. I would say that the expression evaluator in (almost) any
modern language is a fairly close parallel to standard mathematical
expressions; yes, abutting tokens is multiplication in algebra, but on
the flip side, we don't use (or need) subscript to make multi-letter
identifiers in code. Programming uses more words and less blackboard
notations (compare abs(x) to |x| for example), but it's expressing
things in fairly similar ways most of the time.

ChrisA

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]


#58131

Fromalbert@spenarnc.xs4all.nl (Albert van der Horst)
Date2013-10-30 21:43 +0000
Message-ID<52717d82$0$1677$e4fe514c@dreader35.news.xs4all.nl>
In reply to#57124
In article <mailman.1272.1382221693.18130.python-list@python.org>,
Chris Angelico  <rosuav@gmail.com> wrote:
>On Sun, Oct 20, 2013 at 3:22 AM, rusi <rustompmody@gmail.com> wrote:
>> The problem is that python is an imperative language and uses the '=' sign for assignment.  In math of course
>'=' stands for equality.
>
>Pascal tried to create a new operator, := to be read "becomes", to
>deal with the whole equality-vs-assignment issue. Did it really help
>anything? I don't think so. Just syntactic salt. Even the comparison
>isn't really mathematical - in maths, "x = y" is a statement of truth,
>whereas in programming, it's a question ("is x equal to y").

This suggests that Pascal went against established practice.
This is false. FORTRAN used = and that was a mistake caused by the
language being hacked together haphazardly. Langages that where
designed (ALGOL60 SIMULA ALGOL68 Pascal ADA) all use :=.
C C++ Java C# use = for assignment because of the inertia caused
by FORTRAN. Pascal was created in a culture where it using = would
be unexpected.

Knuth uses k<-n exactly because k=n would cause confusion.

The equivalent of the dreaded
if ( x=getch())
{
}

is possible in ALGOL68 too. It is not likely to be misunderstood
because of the use of :=.

By the way, it is about the only thing that I think is wrong in
Python.

>
>
>ChrisA

Groetjes Albert
-- 
Albert van der Horst, UTRECHT,THE NETHERLANDS
Economic growth -- being exponential -- ultimately falters.
albert@spe&ar&c.xs4all.nl &=n http://home.hccnet.nl/a.w.m.van.der.horst

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]


#58143

FromChris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com>
Date2013-10-31 10:50 +1100
Message-ID<mailman.1863.1383177038.18130.python-list@python.org>
In reply to#58131
On Thu, Oct 31, 2013 at 8:43 AM, Albert van der Horst
<albert@spenarnc.xs4all.nl> wrote:
> In article <mailman.1272.1382221693.18130.python-list@python.org>,
> Chris Angelico  <rosuav@gmail.com> wrote:
>>Pascal tried to create a new operator, := to be read "becomes"...
>
> This suggests that Pascal went against established practice.
> This is false.

As acknowledged earlier in the thread, my "create" was a poor choice
of word. I didn't mean that Pascal was the first language to do it,
just that it's a language that did that and is likely to be reasonably
knowable. I'd rather pick examples people have a chance of recognizing
than ones they won't, if the former are available :)

ChrisA

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]


#58184

FromNeil Cerutti <neilc@norwich.edu>
Date2013-10-31 15:20 +0000
Message-ID<bdfaprFimg1U1@mid.individual.net>
In reply to#58131
On 2013-10-30, Albert van der Horst <albert@spenarnc.xs4all.nl>
wrote:
> This suggests that Pascal went against established practice.
> This is false. FORTRAN used = and that was a mistake caused by
> the language being hacked together haphazardly.

Respectfully, the designers of FORTRAN deserve more respect than
that characterization accords.

-- 
Neil Cerutti

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]


#58187

FromSkip Montanaro <skip@pobox.com>
Date2013-10-31 10:51 -0500
Message-ID<mailman.1883.1383234689.18130.python-list@python.org>
In reply to#58184
On Thu, Oct 31, 2013 at 10:20 AM, Neil Cerutti <neilc@norwich.edu> wrote:
> On 2013-10-30, Albert van der Horst <albert@spenarnc.xs4all.nl>
> wrote:
>> This suggests that Pascal went against established practice.
>> This is false. FORTRAN used = and that was a mistake caused by
>> the language being hacked together haphazardly.
>
> Respectfully, the designers of FORTRAN deserve more respect than
> that characterization accords.

Especially considering the environment in which they worked. The core
foundations of FORTRAN predate most language design research by a
decade or more.

From: http://math.scu.edu/~dsmolars/ma169/notesfortran.html#history

FORTRAN "0" report - 1954
FORTRAN I compiler - 1957
FORTRAN II - 1958
---> added subroutine definition and invocation
FORTRAN IV - developed 1960-62, definitive report in 1966
---> added logical IF, type declaration

In contrast, Algol wasn't first formalized until 1958. From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALGOL#History

ALGOL was developed jointly by a committee of European and American
computer scientists in a meeting in 1958 at ETH Zurich (cf. ALGOL 58).

Lisp also got its start in 1958
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisp_%28programming_language%29#History)

In contrast, Python wasn't started until the late 1980s (1989, I
believe). While it owes a fair debt to ABC, that language wasn't
developed at CWI until the early 1980s.

I'd like to see the reference for "hacked together haphazardly" in
reference to FORTRAN's origins.

Skip

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]


#58189

Fromrusi <rustompmody@gmail.com>
Date2013-10-31 09:05 -0700
Message-ID<586c9c5d-d0d4-44c7-8454-94dcfc128318@googlegroups.com>
In reply to#58184
On Thursday, October 31, 2013 8:50:27 PM UTC+5:30, Neil Cerutti wrote:
> wrote:
> > This suggests that Pascal went against established practice.
> > This is false. FORTRAN used = and that was a mistake caused by
> > the language being hacked together haphazardly.
> Respectfully, the designers of FORTRAN deserve more respect than
> that characterization accords.

???

If I say: "My uncle -- a pilot -- knows more about flying planes than
the Wright brothers" am I disrespecting the Wright brothers??

The state of art shifts with time. Fortran was more pioneering than
most languages that followed -- does not mean it got everything right.

From Backus Turing award speech:

---------------------
Although I refer to conventional languages as "von Neumann languages"
to take note of their origin and style, I do not, of course, blame the
great mathematician for their complexity. In fact, some might say that
I bear some responsibility for that problem.

http://www.thocp.net/biographies/papers/backus_turingaward_lecture.pdf

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]


#58194

FromNeil Cerutti <neilc@norwich.edu>
Date2013-10-31 17:17 +0000
Message-ID<bdfhkjFkd7qU1@mid.individual.net>
In reply to#58189
On 2013-10-31, rusi <rustompmody@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Thursday, October 31, 2013 8:50:27 PM UTC+5:30, Neil Cerutti wrote:
>> wrote:
>> > This suggests that Pascal went against established practice.
>> > This is false. FORTRAN used = and that was a mistake caused by
>> > the language being hacked together haphazardly.
>> Respectfully, the designers of FORTRAN deserve more respect than
>> that characterization accords.
>
> ???
>
> If I say: "My uncle -- a pilot -- knows more about flying
> planes than the Wright brothers" am I disrespecting the Wright
> brothers??

No, of course not.

> The state of art shifts with time. Fortran was more pioneering
> than most languages that followed -- does not mean it got
> everything right.

They obviously couldn't have gotten everything right; they had to
work largely in a vaccuum. but in no sense were they haphazardly
throwing syntax together. They designed it as well as anyone at
the time knew how. It's stood the test of time, too. There's
probably a lot more FORTRAN in use and maintained today than
Wright Brothers airplane parts. ;)

> From Backus Turing award speech:
>
> Although I refer to conventional languages as "von Neumann
> languages" to take note of their origin and style, I do not, of
> course, blame the great mathematician for their complexity. In
> fact, some might say that I bear some responsibility for that
> problem.
>
> http://www.thocp.net/biographies/papers/backus_turingaward_lecture.pdf

Thanks for that reference.

-- 
Neil Cerutti

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]


#58232

FromWilliam Ray Wing <wrw@mac.com>
Date2013-10-31 22:27 -0400
Message-ID<mailman.1905.1383275411.18130.python-list@python.org>
In reply to#58194
On Oct 31, 2013, at 1:17 PM, Neil Cerutti <neilc@norwich.edu> wrote:

> On 2013-10-31, rusi <rustompmody@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Thursday, October 31, 2013 8:50:27 PM UTC+5:30, Neil Cerutti wrote:
>>> wrote:
>>>> This suggests that Pascal went against established practice.
>>>> This is false. FORTRAN used = and that was a mistake caused by
>>>> the language being hacked together haphazardly.
>>> Respectfully, the designers of FORTRAN deserve more respect than
>>> that characterization accords.
>> 
>> ???
>> 
>> If I say: "My uncle -- a pilot -- knows more about flying
>> planes than the Wright brothers" am I disrespecting the Wright
>> brothers??
> 
> No, of course not.
> 
>> The state of art shifts with time. Fortran was more pioneering
>> than most languages that followed -- does not mean it got
>> everything right.
> 
> They obviously couldn't have gotten everything right; they had to
> work largely in a vaccuum. but in no sense were they haphazardly
> throwing syntax together. They designed it as well as anyone at
> the time knew how. It's stood the test of time, too. There's
> probably a lot more FORTRAN in use and maintained today than
> Wright Brothers airplane parts. ;)
> 

Actually, FORTRAN is probably responsible for more CPU cycles being executed even today than most other languages.  If you think about the fact that most large scientific simulation codes (weather forecasting, combustion modeling, finite-element modeling and so on), are still FORTRAN based, and that those are the codes that occupy multi-hundred-thousand-core petaflop class supper computers for weeks on end, you have to respect its longevity.

-Bill



>> From Backus Turing award speech:
>> 
>> Although I refer to conventional languages as "von Neumann
>> languages" to take note of their origin and style, I do not, of
>> course, blame the great mathematician for their complexity. In
>> fact, some might say that I bear some responsibility for that
>> problem.
>> 
>> http://www.thocp.net/biographies/papers/backus_turingaward_lecture.pdf
> 
> Thanks for that reference.
> 
> -- 
> Neil Cerutti
> -- 
> https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]


#58246

FromGrant Edwards <invalid@invalid.invalid>
Date2013-11-01 08:32 +0000
Message-ID<l4vouo$st4$1@reader1.panix.com>
In reply to#58232
On 2013-11-01, William Ray Wing <wrw@mac.com> wrote:

> Actually, FORTRAN is probably responsible for more CPU cycles being
> executed even today than most other languages.  If you think about
> the fact that most large scientific simulation codes (weather
> forecasting, combustion modeling, finite-element modeling and so on),
> are still FORTRAN based, and that those are the codes that occupy
> multi-hundred-thousand-core petaflop class supper computers for weeks
> on end, you have to respect its longevity.

IIRC, some of the scientific computing libraries I used to use daily
in Python data-crunching programs are still written in FORTRAN. 

-- 
Grant

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]


#58233

FromMark Lawrence <breamoreboy@yahoo.co.uk>
Date2013-11-01 03:25 +0000
Message-ID<mailman.1906.1383276325.18130.python-list@python.org>
In reply to#58194
On 01/11/2013 02:27, William Ray Wing wrote:
>
> supper computers
>

Somebody must have tough teeth, though thinking about it I recall people 
eating bicycles :)

-- 
Python is the second best programming language in the world.
But the best has yet to be invented.  Christian Tismer

Mark Lawrence

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]


#58235

Fromrusi <rustompmody@gmail.com>
Date2013-10-31 20:42 -0700
Message-ID<93e6423c-af6c-4719-b663-42e588454a5d@googlegroups.com>
In reply to#58233
On Friday, November 1, 2013 8:55:03 AM UTC+5:30, Mark Lawrence wrote:
> On 01/11/2013 02:27, William Ray Wing wrote:
> > supper computers

> Somebody must have tough teeth, though thinking about it I recall people 
> eating bicycles :)


You just have to be sufficiently non-vegetarian
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_computing

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]


#58272

FromDennis Lee Bieber <wlfraed@ix.netcom.com>
Date2013-11-01 10:51 -0400
Message-ID<mailman.1931.1383317475.18130.python-list@python.org>
In reply to#58194
On Fri, 01 Nov 2013 03:25:03 +0000, Mark Lawrence <breamoreboy@yahoo.co.uk>
declaimed the following:

>On 01/11/2013 02:27, William Ray Wing wrote:
>>
>> supper computers
>>
>
>Somebody must have tough teeth, though thinking about it I recall people 
>eating bicycles :)

	Was visualizing them used as plate warmers...
-- 
	Wulfraed                 Dennis Lee Bieber         AF6VN
    wlfraed@ix.netcom.com    HTTP://wlfraed.home.netcom.com/

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]


#58274

FromMark Lawrence <breamoreboy@yahoo.co.uk>
Date2013-11-01 15:07 +0000
Message-ID<mailman.1932.1383318468.18130.python-list@python.org>
In reply to#58194
On 01/11/2013 14:51, Dennis Lee Bieber wrote:
> On Fri, 01 Nov 2013 03:25:03 +0000, Mark Lawrence <breamoreboy@yahoo.co.uk>
> declaimed the following:
>
>> On 01/11/2013 02:27, William Ray Wing wrote:
>>>
>>> supper computers
>>>
>>
>> Somebody must have tough teeth, though thinking about it I recall people
>> eating bicycles :)
>
> 	Was visualizing them used as plate warmers...
>

Hum, water cooled mainframes, tell that to the kids...

-- 
Python is the second best programming language in the world.
But the best has yet to be invented.  Christian Tismer

Mark Lawrence

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]


#58196

FromDenis McMahon <denismfmcmahon@gmail.com>
Date2013-10-31 17:50 +0000
Message-ID<l4u59s$eoj$1@dont-email.me>
In reply to#58189
On Thu, 31 Oct 2013 09:05:04 -0700, rusi wrote:

> On Thursday, October 31, 2013 8:50:27 PM UTC+5:30, Neil Cerutti wrote:
>> wrote:

>> > This suggests that Pascal went against established practice. This is
>> > false. FORTRAN used = and that was a mistake caused by the language
>> > being hacked together haphazardly.

>> Respectfully, the designers of FORTRAN deserve more respect than that
>> characterization accords.

> If I say: "My uncle knows more about flying planes than
> the Wright brothers" am I disrespecting the Wright brothers??

No, but that's not what you said.

What you said was that "the [FORTRAN] language [was] hacked together 
haphazardly."

That's like me saying that when your uncle flies, he just pulls and 
pushes levers and knobs randomly hoping he doesn't crash - and that would 
be disrespecting your uncle.

-- 
Denis McMahon, denismfmcmahon@gmail.com

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]


#58197

Fromrusi <rustompmody@gmail.com>
Date2013-10-31 10:56 -0700
Message-ID<968a68b3-a1d7-4d7a-935c-6eb027c5f0a9@googlegroups.com>
In reply to#58196
On Thursday, October 31, 2013 11:20:52 PM UTC+5:30, Denis McMahon wrote:
> On Thu, 31 Oct 2013 09:05:04 -0700, rusi wrote:
> > If I say: "My uncle knows more about flying planes than
> > the Wright brothers" am I disrespecting the Wright brothers??

> No, but that's not what you said.

> What you said was that "the [FORTRAN] language [was] hacked together 
> haphazardly."


I did?!

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]


Page 1 of 3  [1] 2 3  Next page →

Back to top | Article view | comp.lang.python


csiph-web