Your beloved python features

[Julian]

Hello,

I've asked this question at stackoverflow a few weeks ago, and to make
it clear: this should NOT be a copy of the stackoverflow-thread
"hidden features of Python".

I want to design a poster for an open source conference, the local
usergroup will have a table there, and in the past years there were
some people that came to the python-table just to ask "why should I
use python?".

For those guys would be a poster quite cool which describes the most
popular and beloved python features.

So, may you help me please? If there's a similar thread/blogpost/
whatever, please give it to me, google couldn't.

Regards
Julian

 

[R Fritz]

My favorite feature is its readability. It's as near to pseudo-code
as any language we have, and that's valuable in open source projects
or when I return to code to modify it.

 

[Paul Rubin]

I want to design a poster for an open source conference, the local
usergroup will have a table there, and in the past years there were
some people that came to the python-table just to ask "why should I
use python?".

It's terrible, but all the alternatives are even worse. ;-)

 

[Terry Reedy]

Iterators, and in particular, generators.
A killer feature.

Terry Jan Reedy

 

[Bruce C. Baker]

Iterators, and in particular, generators.
A killer feature.

Terry Jan Reedy

Neither unique to Python.

And then're the other killer "features" superfluous ":"s and rigid
formatting!

 

[Sean DiZazzo]

Hello,

I've asked this question at stackoverflow a few weeks ago, and to make
it clear: this should NOT be a copy of the stackoverflow-thread
"hidden features of Python".

I want to design a poster for an open source conference, the local
usergroup will have a table there, and in the past years there were
some people that came to the python-table just to ask "why should I
use python?".

For those guys would be a poster quite cool which describes the most
popular and beloved python features.

So, may you help me please? If there's a similar thread/blogpost/
whatever, please give it to me, google couldn't.

Regards
Julian

I love list comprehensions, but am currently falling for 'with'.

~Sean

 

[Arnaud Delobelle]

Hello,

I've asked this question at stackoverflow a few weeks ago, and to make
it clear: this should NOT be a copy of the stackoverflow-thread
"hidden features of Python".

I want to design a poster for an open source conference, the local
usergroup will have a table there, and in the past years there were
some people that came to the python-table just to ask "why should I
use python?".

For those guys would be a poster quite cool which describes the most
popular and beloved python features.

So, may you help me please? If there's a similar thread/blogpost/
whatever, please give it to me, google couldn't.

Regards
Julian

* simplicity
* documentation - some criticise it, I love it.
* duck typing
* batteries included

And lots more!

 

[Paul Rubin]

I want to design a poster for an open source conference, the local
usergroup will have a table there, and in the past years there were
some people that came to the python-table just to ask "why should I
use python?".

- Very easy to learn, at least for the not-too-hairy fragment
- some features like generators are advanced compared with some
other languages, yet still easy to use
- pleasant-to-use syntax (yes, the indentation stuff that everyone
is freaked out by at first) and well-evolved library makes coding
very productive and enjoyable
- reasonably good documentation
- large and friendly user/developer community

 

[George Sakkis]

+1, iterators/generators is among Python's best features for me too.

Neither unique to Python.

Can you name a single feature that is unique to a language, Python or
other ? Every idea that's any good has been copied over, usually more
than once.

And then're the other killer "features" superfluous ":"s and rigid
formatting!

I'll give the benefit of doubt and assume you're joking rather than
trolling.

George

 

[Martin P. Hellwig]

On 02/04/10 23:03, Julian wrote:

For those guys would be a poster quite cool which describes the most
popular and beloved python features.

That it is ego-orientated programming ;-)
http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-announce-list/2009-April/007419.html

 

[Jean-Michel Pichavant]

http://www1.american.edu/academic.depts/cas/econ/faculty/isaac/choose_python.pdf

"Choose metaclasses if you don’t value your sanity."

That remembers me the time when it took me 4 hours to write a ten lines
metaclass )

JM

 

[apeach]

I love intuitive type recognition.

no need to 'DIM everything AS Integer' etc.!

 

[bartc]

My favorite feature is its readability. It's as near to pseudo-code
as any language we have, and that's valuable in open source projects
or when I return to code to modify it.

That might be true when used to code actual algorithms using basic features.

But a lot of Pythonisms would appear mysterious to someone who doesn't know
the language (for example, what does :: mean in an array index).

Or perhaps pseudo-code is much more advanced these days...

 

[Bruno Desthuilliers]

apeach a écrit :

I love intuitive type recognition.

no need to 'DIM everything AS Integer' etc.!

not to mention the ever hilarious (that is, when you don't have to
maintain it) typical Java idiom:

EveryThing theEveryThing = new EveryThing();

 

[Bruno Desthuilliers]

Julian a écrit :

Hello,

I've asked this question at stackoverflow a few weeks ago, and to make
it clear: this should NOT be a copy of the stackoverflow-thread
"hidden features of Python".

I want to design a poster for an open source conference, the local
usergroup will have a table there, and in the past years there were
some people that came to the python-table just to ask "why should I
use python?".

For those guys would be a poster quite cool which describes the most
popular and beloved python features.

My all-time favorite Python feature : it fits my brain.

 

[Jean-Michel Pichavant]

Julian a écrit :

My all-time favorite Python feature : it fits my brain.

Python is simple ... no offense Bruno

JM

(sorry couldn't help)

 

[Grant Edwards]

I've asked this question at stackoverflow a few weeks ago, and
to make it clear: this should NOT be a copy of the
stackoverflow-thread "hidden features of Python".

I want to design a poster for an open source conference, the
local usergroup will have a table there, and in the past years
there were some people that came to the python-table just to
ask "why should I use python?".

For those guys would be a poster quite cool which describes
the most popular and beloved python features.

In the fine old tradition:



Python: It sucks less.


A lot less.

 

[Bruno Desthuilliers]

Jean-Michel Pichavant a écrit :

Python is simple ... no offense Bruno

!-)

But FWIW, that's exactly the point : even a stoopid like me can manage
to learn and use Python, and proceed to write working apps without
spending more time reading the doc than actually solving the problem.

 

[mk]

For those guys would be a poster quite cool which describes the most
popular and beloved python features.

Dictionaries.

A workhorse of Python, by far the most useful data structure.

 

[Bruce C. Baker]

I'll give the benefit of doubt and assume you're joking rather than
trolling.

George

*************************************************************

Not trolling, my friend!

GvR got it right when he discarded the superfluous semicolons from the ends
of statements--and then he ADDS superfluous colons to the ends of control
statements? It will probably be as much of a shock to you as it was to me
when I learned after studying parsing that colons, semicolons, "then"'s and
"do"'s, etc., are simply noise tokens that serve no purpose except to
clutter up the source.

As for enforced indentation, back in the late 60's when I was a programming
newbie I remember thinking how cool it would be to just indent the
statements controlled by for loops (we didn't have none of them fancy while
loops in FORTRAN back then! ) Not too long after that I saw the havoc
that a buggy editor could wreak on nicely-formatted source. :-( Formatting
held hostage to a significant, invisible whitespace char? An inevitable
accident waiting to happen! Not good, Guido; not good at all.

That'll do for starters.