Hacker News Reader

Commenting bc I had the same question.

My impression of historical Python is that is an old, partially arcane language that due to D.S/AI is now popular; I would initially think it would be no better than those other interpreted. Python does these things well... mainly due to pandas/dataframes/polars.

<btw, Perl? ;) >

View on HN

Language wise, Python is basically just Perl with its arms cut off and bunch of makeup added. It's just very popular in the scientific community, so they have to add it.

Python does not have a lot in common with Perl language-wise, so this seems an odd statement.

Python was based off Perl, so yes it does have a lot in common with Perl.

Nope. That's not at all accurate.

How did you get that idea?

I don’t know how you can possibly come away with this conclusion after studying both languages. Maybe if your point of reference is an ancient version of Python?

Yes it is and current Python is basically just an object oriented system hacked on top of ancient Python. The underlying elements beneath the syntax is basically all the same.

Python replaced Matlab too.

I think the familiarity when moving from Matlab to Python helps a lot with adoption.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com