Ask HN: Should I learn Python?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11264585

by ApplaudPumice • 10 years ago

6 11 10 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

And what about Rust?

analognoise• 10 years ago

It depends on what you're trying to do.

smt88• 10 years ago

If you want to make money, neither is your best bet, but Python is far better of a bet than Rust. If you want to learn about programming, Rust is a better bet. If you want to develop apps for your own use, Python will have more pre-written libraries and components for you to use.

jardaroh• 10 years ago

My answer: Yes

dllthomas• 10 years ago

Where are you coming from, and where do you want to go?

mjp94• 10 years ago

It's hard to answer this question without knowing what languages you already know and how experienced you are. I'd recommend Python regardless. It's very useful for writing small scripts sometimes and is used pretty widely I'd say. Can't say too much about Rust, but it looks interesting.

orionblastar2• 10 years ago

https://www.codecademy.com/learn/python

https://www.khanacademy.org/computer-programming/python-prog...

Python is good because it works across different platforms. It has a lot of example code and libraries to use.

Rust is still a new language not as many people using it as Python does. I remember a startup tried to write a haunted house video game in Rust but ran out of money because Rust developers are rare and want a lot of money to work. If it was Java or C++ based they could have hired cheaper programmers and then sold it to raise money for a Rust remake.

Here is some Rust learning resources: http://hackr.io/tutorials/rust

steveklabnik• 10 years ago

Do you happen to remember what that startup's name was? I've never heard this story.

orionblastar2• 10 years ago

The startup name was never given. They posted on HN asking why they couldn't get their game finished in Rust and why Rust developers wanted more money than other developers. I don't have the link and HN is hard to search to find it. But I remembered it.

prostoalex• 10 years ago

Your productivity is not really tied to the language syntax as much as it's dependent on libraries. Python Standard Library as well as libraries outside of it are in many cases mature, stable and well-tested. Things like scikit, pandas, NLTK, Django have mature ecosystems of their own, so overall it's a very good general-purpose language to know.

esaym• 10 years ago

Hard to say without context. I can speak for myself, after spending many years doing Perl based web dev work, I'm finding less and less of them and the ones I do get are not what I want. Got tired of seeing high paying python jobs going across my inbox...So yea I'm learning Python because I think it will double my job reach.

Oh and I don't know where you are, but pycon is coming up. If you are serious about learning, you should go: https://us.pycon.org/

allenleein• 10 years ago

If you are a beginner,then YES.

Ask HN: Should I learn Python?

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