What is the best programming languaging for EEs and BMEs

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Well, there are pros and cons to several of those features (auto memory management? dynamic typing?), and some of them are sort of questionable (Python offers the speed of C?). I agree it is in the same ballpark as C - it is a fully-featured programming language and interfaces well with C. Still, I think it’s a stretch to say that it’s better than C (let alone C++) in every respect.

Um, Do you even know what Python is? I suggest you take a deep and hard look at what python is made up of. If you still need to ask the questions, above let me know.</p>

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• I agree that Python is good for the day-to-day tasks of sys admins and web server admins, and also (though to a lesser extent) for writing general applications, but I am skeptical that it would be well-suited to writing a full-featured OS. I’m not saying it can’t be done, but I don’t like the sound of it.

What makes you say that? possibly if you understood what python actually is you would have not made that claim. A OS does not need to be written in C, contrary to what most CS students are taught in their incredibly basic OS class.</p>

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• I’m not a fan of the loose syntax. I prefer tighter syntax. I feel that there’s a balance between flexibility and structure that Python is missing. For instance, semantic whitespace leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

you can write python as tight as C and as loose as ruby, its your choice. Another feature which makes it great.</p>

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• I assume you mean “discipline”. I don’t think that’s a fair assessment of what my opinion shows. It just means I prefer other languages to Python… not so unreasonable. You choose the right tool for the job, but if the tool is a matter of taste, then it’s not “wrong” to choose one which you like more.

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<p>Simply your statements in earlier posts, show you simply don’t believe that the right tool for the job should be used. You instead choose based on opinion which is not a good quality of a programmer. I mainly work as a SE and see programmers all the time who are stuck in their opinion based ways. It doesn’t make you look good and always costs your company money. </p>

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• Thanks for the advice, but I already “know how to be eclectic” (you have a very strange way of saying things) and I don’t think that liking Python is a prerequisite. I can write Python scripts, if I need to, and that’s good enough for me. There are legitimate reasons why I don’t think it’s a suitable language for learning and why I am hesitant to use it for general-purpose programming.

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<p>Its not a prerequisite, but any good programmer would love to use and would have respect for python. Any good programmer is eclectic and simply uses the best tool for the job. Python would be a amazing language to learn with, as would ruby. It allows very clear code to be written, where the programmer spend much more time on the code vs the logic and syntax. The programmer in the end writes a program which is about a 3rd the size of a C based syntax language(which including java). Id love to hear those reasons.</p>

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I’m curious… what do you think of my other point, that the first programming language one should learn is… well… the language of algorithmic thought, or pseudocode. Advantages?

Somebody should already have pretty advanced skills in algorithmic thought if they have taken a HS level class in mathematics. You can write all the psudocode you want, but you will never become a better programmer by it. You need to program to become a better programmer. No way around it. The same is true with math and math based science. Many CS students come out of school thinking they are amazing programmers, truth be told they are usually the worst of the worst and the only reason they get hired is because they have potential. It takes a lot of work to become a good programmer, a lot of work. A lot more than a 4 year cs degree can provide. </p>

<p>You may not like python, you may not think its a good general language and the way you talk about it you seem to not understand its fundamentals, but is is the 6th most popular language in the world now and to say its not important and to ignore its benefits is foolish. </p>

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<p>But if you like we can agree to disagree.</p>