I like that I can type
curve(sin(x))
and a graph appears with sensible defaults.

I like the support for reproducible research.
http://www.bepress.com/jhubiostat/paper142/

I like that when I when i put “R vs Python” I found a polite discussion.

I don’t think that I have a lot to add to this argument other than the one reason I prefer python to any other language (including applesoft basic) that I have ever used, which is that by it’s enforced structure, I can come back to code I wrote 3 years ago and still know what I wrote. I am, by nature, not the most orderly of people, and as such, the ‘crutch’ (if you can call it that) of python for me is enforced structure and neatness.

that, and that unless you try really hard to be obscure, python reads like pseudo-code. which means that I can generally understand what ‘you’ have written 3 years ago as well.

on the other hand, this argument is really about beauty, not ability. so hotly contested opinions are to be expected. be honest, you sort of knew that this was going to be flamebait didn’t you? for the record, I use emacs… vim is for people who need to go to the other room to use the sink… 😉

Dr McCoy, I hope your coding in “real” languages is a bit better than in HTML

Oh, my HTML is fine. It’s your blog that’s at fault by adding paragraph tags on its own, in wrong places. Kinda like you, adding an extra space into my nick.

But seriously, WTF, Greg? Blatant ad-homs? I expected more from you.

The comment system breaks my tags too. It breaks them differently in preview and in post as well, to make things interesting.

In my previous comment, the italic was supposed to cover two paragraphs, not one. The code did, but the result didn’t – I bet that was because I used an edit box instead of a text editor.

“C++ is C.”

And there, folks, we have the entire summary of Greg’s argument, and a sparkling example of the depth of his understanding.

Yes, that one is up there together with “if we came from monkeys, why are there still monkeys?” in displaying complete and utter ignorance of the subject matter.

Said after referring to VB.NET which is in widespread use today as a part of BASIC. Your ignorance on this subject is only matched by your dumbness on it, it appears.

and this, not it’s fundamentals, is why it lacks so many of the features taken for granted in today’s languages

And here is the heart of your ignorance. It’s not a matter of “features”. If you had taken a single class in Computer Science you might have known this.

But no, any hack can be a Computer Science expert. All it takes is that one writes one code in a TEXT EDITOR and one has a better understanding of Computer Science than people who have spent years learning its concepts and struggled long and hard hours to understand just why OO and functional paradigms are different than imperative paradigms.

Your “expectations” in a previous post confirm this. In your little world everyone programs imperatively, just with different “features”, and some of them, like OO, are just “crutches”.

You’re a dumb, ignorant ass, and you’re arrogant about it as well. How was it, “bugger off”, yeah, sounds about right. Having gone through the work of gaining skill in one academical area apparently doesn’t lead to the comprehension that other academical areas also requires some work to understand.

And I just wasted give more minutes I could have used for something more useful, like stabbing a fork in my leg, and you’re just going to dismiss this comment with a handwave anyway, since you write your code in a text editor. Ah well, my loss.