Re: broken sha-1 in python?

Sveet · May 07, 2009, 12:42 PM

a little off topic, but whats good about python?

Yegg · May 07, 2009, 01:13 PM

Typically, it definitely allows for shorter development time for most applications due to how easy the language is to use and features such as dynamic typing and garbage collection (yes, C# and other compiled languages also have this). There are drag-and-drop RAD IDE's for Python that run cross-platform so that you can create cross-platform software without changing any lines of code. One of the setbacks is that the language is not a compiled language, and even if converted to a byte code format, it can still be relatively easy to obtain the original source code. Python of course is not near as far as languages like C/++ since it is an interpreted language, but for most cases, the difference in speed would not be noticeable by a human. There's many other things I could mention, but I'm off to work right now so I tried to make this brief. If you have specific questions, ask them here and I'll get them answered.

Sveet · May 08, 2009, 04:24 PM

i was just curious as to its place in future of programming. is it a fad language or should i look into learning it?

bulletproof tiger · May 08, 2009, 05:20 PM

Quote from: Sveet on May 08, 2009, 04:24 PM
i was just curious as to its place in future of programming. is it a fad language or should i look into learning it?

What - Python? Python is by no means a 'fad' language. It's a great language.

Yegg · May 08, 2009, 05:21 PM

It was developed in the earlier 90s and appears to be growing pretty popular, I wouldn't call it a fad language. It has been used on projects by NASA as well as others. Another language growing in popularity that is also an interpreted language is Ruby (http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/). Someone recently decided to make a Python Battle.net bot with it.

aton · May 09, 2009, 08:23 AM

python is definitely worth looking into it.

Sveet · May 09, 2009, 02:56 PM

what language is it most similar to? i was reading some and the syntax didnt make sense to me.

and what does it have over .net or c++?

Yegg · May 09, 2009, 04:15 PM

Quote from: Sveet on May 09, 2009, 02:56 PM
what language is it most similar to? i was reading some and the syntax didnt make sense to me.

and what does it have over .net or c++?

The syntax didn't make sense...? I don't see how much easier syntax can get. A main advantage (room for debate here) is that the language is dynamically typed. I'm on my phone now so can't spend time explaining, but you should be able to learn a lot from Google.

bulletproof tiger · May 09, 2009, 06:03 PM

Quote from: Sveet on May 09, 2009, 02:56 PM
what language is it most similar to? i was reading some and the syntax didnt make sense to me.

and what does it have over .net or c++?

Python was influenced by various other languages - C, Haskell, Lisp, Perl, Java, etc. The syntax is one of the great features of the language, imo.

Python's interpreter runs on all modern operating systems, I believe - similar to Java's. .NET's does not. This is also an advantage over C++. A downside to Python, though, in my opinion is that the Python interpreter is just less known by the average user, compared to Java's. People may not be comfortable downloading it. Python does come with most linux installations and mac os, I think. Python does not come with Windows, though.

There is Jython, IronPython and PyPy, though. They're not up to speed with CPython but they do offer alternative options.

Yegg · May 09, 2009, 06:42 PM

If someone were unsure about installing Python on Windows, I'd imagine a quick explanation should cure that. Everyone knows Apple is a huge company and since Mac uses Python, why would it be unsafe to use it? You could also throw a Wikipedia page at them and they should realize that Python is perfectly safe. I'd say a downside to Python is trying to keep it closed source and processing code slower than other languages in the industry like C/++. Though the speed difference won't be noticeable by a human in an application such as a Battle.net (depending on what the program is trying to do), certain mission critical software by large company couldn't sacrifice the raw speed that C/++ (and some other major languages) can provide.

bulletproof tiger · May 09, 2009, 08:29 PM

Hiding your Python code can be a problem.

Yegg · May 09, 2009, 08:40 PM

Quote from: bulletproof tiger on May 09, 2009, 08:29 PM
Hiding your Python code can be a problem.

In what way? In that it is "morally wrong" or because it is difficult to do?

Ishbar · May 09, 2009, 09:01 PM

No way!

You cracked the matrix!

bulletproof tiger · May 10, 2009, 12:25 AM

Quote from: Yegg on May 09, 2009, 08:40 PM
Quote from: bulletproof tiger on May 09, 2009, 08:29 PM
Hiding your Python code can be a problem.

In what way? In that it is "morally wrong" or because it is difficult to do?

In whichever way causes you to go off on some tangent that I won't read but make some response to in an attempt to get a hilarious nerd rage reaction out of you.

Yegg · May 10, 2009, 12:41 AM

Quote from: bulletproof tiger on May 10, 2009, 12:25 AM
Quote from: Yegg on May 09, 2009, 08:40 PM
Quote from: bulletproof tiger on May 09, 2009, 08:29 PM
Hiding your Python code can be a problem.

In what way? In that it is "morally wrong" or because it is difficult to do?

In whichever way causes you to go off on some tangent that I won't read but make some response to in an attempt to get a hilarious nerd rage reaction out of you.

It wasn't a "rage reaction". Suck a big black dick.