Python & Pascal Used for what?

[iota]

Hi masters,


May I want to know the Python and Pascal are used for what?
Are they still used ? What're the differences between them and today's popular programming languages?

Thank you so much for your explanation. :)

[Antares]

Taken from www.python.org ...

Python is an interpreted, interactive, object-oriented programming language. It is often compared to Tcl, Perl, Scheme or Java.

Python combines remarkable power with very clear syntax. It has modules, classes, exceptions, very high level dynamic data types, and dynamic typing. There are interfaces to many system calls and libraries, as well as to various windowing systems (X11, Motif, Tk, Mac, MFC). New built-in modules are easily written in C or C++. Python is also usable as an extension language for applications that need a programmable interface.

The Python implementation is portable: it runs on many brands of UNIX, on Windows, OS/2, Mac, Amiga, and many other platforms. If your favorite system isn't listed here, it may still be supported, if there's a C compiler for it. Ask around on news:comp.lang.python -- or just try compiling Python yourself.

The Python implementation is copyrighted but freely usable and distributable, even for commercial use.

About Pascal, isn't that a bit old-school thesedays? like Cobol?

[JamieR]

I don't know really, I think C++ and vB are the two most widest used languages nowadays..but not sure, more clarification on this would be nice;)

[dannyhayes]

Hi,

I agree with weazel i believe c++ and vB are more widely used now.
But i dont know either as i dont know any programming languages.

[Antares]

c++ & VB are just more mainstream than Python.

If you have a look at the Python homepage you'll see that it is quite popular, just that not many people are aware of it's existence.

Heck i only heard about it from a previous issue of Linux Developer magazine! so i had to do a bit of looking into it.

Edit:

Have a look at this table from last year clicky clicky (http://www.developer.com/lang/article.php/3390001), nice to see PHP making a nice rise up the table! yay!

[JamieR]

I'm aware of heck of a lot of languages, some old some new etc..and it's all since I joined CF.

I'm interested in C++, Fortran and Assembler (Assembly), but C++ is the most widely used and I heard Assembler was dam hard to learn, but I don't know about fortran as I havent researched it much.

[Brandoe85]

I don't know much about Python, but this thread has gotten me quite interested :D If we wait for cfc to come along, i'm sure he will clear alot up for us, as I believe he is very knowledgeable with Python.

I don't know which language is most widely used, all of my bosses never really cared what language I used, all they cared about was that they needed it by Tuesday :eek:

[JamieR]

lol..Google's always just around the corner:D - I found http://www.zoteca.com/information/wp/pythonEAI.htm from a google search on "Python advantages":p - however it doesn't tell me much apart from the stuff I already know:


Python is an object-oriented, high-level interpreted language. Python was originally developed in the early '90s by Guido van Rossum.
Yeh Goddamnit:D

Anyhow, Python is still quite widely used, for one, apart from the companies listed on that page who use it, Jasc Paint Shop Pro is written in Python, and Photoshop CS has Python bindings, although I'm pretty sure Photoshop is mainly written in C++.

Visual basic (vB) is being used a lot now as well, especially by younger people I found (I know a few people who are at college:)) because they find it easier to learn and program - well ASP, VBS and VB all have *similar* syntax. < I think (and yeh, this thread has got me interested, but I'm fairly sure someone will come along and disprove everything I've just said;))

~Jamie.

[Lozza]

I use python as an alternative to MatLab, but it can be used for anything. I honestly feel that python is the language that all IT students should be learning rather than java (which is what I was taught). Python interfaces easily with C and C++ (and Java). It can be used to power webpages with Perl/CGI or PHP and sql.

The language is easy to learn. Though I must admit, being used to C and Java syntax made some of the concepts of python a little mind bending. But I've adjusted now and if it wasn't for a slight speed lag in large calculations, I wouldn't even bother with C anymore.