[Freeciv-Dev] Re: Python?

["Brandon J. Van Every" <vanevery@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

From: Raimar Falke [mailto:i-freeciv-lists@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
> Brandon J. Van Every wrote:
>
> > Python of course sounds much better to the latter than the
> > former.  I
> > agree that C++ sucks, make no mistake.  The problem is, for a lot of
> > problem domains C also sucks.  It is merely a portable assembler.
>
> C isn't perfect. Show me the better alternative.

Of course I am showing you Python.  Whether Python meets your actual
needs and your perceived needs is a different issue.

> An alternative is to make yourself comfortable in C. Adding code which
> handles lists easy. Adding code allows you to easy use a set of bits
> and so on.

Really, if you believe that, there's no point trying to sell you on
Python.  Also, C is not an interpreted language, nor a dynamically typed
language, so cannot ever impart those benefits.

> Writing ASM? Where do you need that these days? Access to the special
> instructions (MMX, SSE) which the compiler doesn't support?

Yes, actually, in 3d graphics you will always do some ASM.  Machines are
never fast enough, the graphics problems just keep getting bigger and
bigger.  And compilers are always stupid, because the CPUs change
drastically every 3 years.

> The GUI output is too slow. Every layer adds cost. The xaw client is
> fast compared to the gtk1 one. The gtk1 client is fast compared to the
> gtk2 one. It looks like the win32 client is even slower than the gtk2
> one.

I believe it!

> > Most people in 2003 do not like C for application development.
>
> Is this really a problem of the language?

Yes, it is.  The Industry Hath Spoken.  Just as 10 years ago, the
industry decided that C was better than ASM for application development.


Cheers,                         www.indiegamedesign.com
Brandon Van Every               Seattle, WA

"We live in a world of very bright people building
crappy software with total shit for tools and process."
                                - Ed Mckenzie