> This feels like a cheap shot. What flexibility, general appeal, or philosophy?
Right, somewhat a cheap shot, that was partly a rant, as I don't have the motivation to explain it fully in a comment.
> Flexibility: Python is very flexible (I'll say dynamic), but not at the expense of clarity. This is a (IMO, correct) decision made by the Python community.
I would argue that it is not as flexible as Ruby or Clojure for building DSLs. I believe this is not only a decision, but the result of constraints of the language, like significant whitespace or lack of macros.
> General appeal: What does this even mean? The only reason JS has a general appeal is that it ships with every modern browser.
Exactly, but also due to significance of web, it is drawing lots of talent and there is a cambrian explosion in JS. There is so much energy and experimentation going on right now in JS world.
> Philosophy: What philosophy? Purity? Simplicity? Python is a pragmatic language ("get stuff done") while keeping simplicity in mind (although I definitely wouldn't argue that Python is as "simple" as some languages, it's simple enough)
Exactly, purity and simplicity. Lack of functional programming ideas in Python, broken lambdas, mutable state etc. Clojure tackles one of the major source of complexity, state, head on, while maintaining pragmatism.
Python is pragmatic too, I concur, but it is not a language that transforms the way one thinks about programming, it gets the job done, without giving you that much leverage.
Right, somewhat a cheap shot, that was partly a rant, as I don't have the motivation to explain it fully in a comment.
> Flexibility: Python is very flexible (I'll say dynamic), but not at the expense of clarity. This is a (IMO, correct) decision made by the Python community.
I would argue that it is not as flexible as Ruby or Clojure for building DSLs. I believe this is not only a decision, but the result of constraints of the language, like significant whitespace or lack of macros.
> General appeal: What does this even mean? The only reason JS has a general appeal is that it ships with every modern browser.
Exactly, but also due to significance of web, it is drawing lots of talent and there is a cambrian explosion in JS. There is so much energy and experimentation going on right now in JS world.
> Philosophy: What philosophy? Purity? Simplicity? Python is a pragmatic language ("get stuff done") while keeping simplicity in mind (although I definitely wouldn't argue that Python is as "simple" as some languages, it's simple enough)
Exactly, purity and simplicity. Lack of functional programming ideas in Python, broken lambdas, mutable state etc. Clojure tackles one of the major source of complexity, state, head on, while maintaining pragmatism.
Python is pragmatic too, I concur, but it is not a language that transforms the way one thinks about programming, it gets the job done, without giving you that much leverage.