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tyre | on: Python 3.15: features that didn't make the headlines
I felt the opposite, because Python isn’t a great language. It won because of Google, fast prototyping, and its ML interop (e.g. pandas, numpy), but as a language it’s always been subpar.

Indentation is a horrible decision (there’s a reason no other language went this way), which led to simple concepts like blocks/lambdas having pretty wild constraints (only one line??)

Type decoration has been a welcome addition, but too slowly iterated on and the native implementations (mypy) are horribly slow at any meaningful size.

Concurrency was never good and its GIL+FFI story has boxed it into a long-term pit of sadness.

I’ve used it for years, but I’m happy to see it go. It didn’t win because it was the best language.

zabzonk | parent | next
> there’s a reason no other language went this way)

Except of course for those that did, Haskell, Fortran for example.

bonesss | root | parent
F# as well, and that tends to exist in parallel with some degree of C# written by the same devs… the indentation enables cleaner, smaller, simpler code function by function.

It’s pretty ok in Python, but meaningful indentation is amazing with a proper type system and compiler. Clean, consistent, efficient, and ensures working code is easily read and standardized.

I’m unaware of anyone accepting improperly formatted C# as ‘done’, and would reject any such PR out of hand because of the potential for legibility issues to hide bugs. So: if it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well it were done by the compiler to save line noise.

loading story #48225605
groundzeros2015 | parent | next
I’m always baffled when language complaints come down to syntax
Ringz | root | parent
That’s exactly how I think, too. But at the same time, I like indentation in Python, because I would logically indent in every other language as well. In fact, I find all those semicolons and similar things at the end of each line completely redundant (why should I repeat myself for something the compiler should do) and I hate them. And that’s despite having experience with Modula and 10 years of C++. But when I look at Rust, I find the syntax simply awful. From an ADHD perspective…
smallerize | parent
Lambdas are intentionally kneecapped in python because Guido van Robson doesn't want to make a functional language. (As in "functional programming", not that it doesn't work.)
ciupicri | root | parent
Guido van Rossum didn't oppose functional programming, but he wanted to keep the language (and the interpreter) simple.
smallerize | root | parent
"I didn't envision Python as a functional language" https://python-history.blogspot.com/2009/04/origins-of-pytho...

"I don't think it makes much sense to try to add "functional" primitives to Python, because the reason those primitives work well in functional languages don't apply to Python, and they make the code pretty unreadable for people who aren't used to functional languages (which means most programmers). I also don't think that the current crop of functional languages is ready for mainstream." https://developers.slashdot.org/story/13/08/25/2115204/inter...