Comments on: Why C has no place in Computer Science research

By: Davy

Davy — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 22:02:51 +0000

well.. just like “josh”’s comment, different prob call for different language.

“Higher level languages are great for higher level problems.
Lower level languages are great for lower level problems.”

e.g. Java was natually build for web, try implement a web application in C.

By: Habib

Habib — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 13:24:31 +0000

Remember the day when we were having pizza and you insulted Python? Why this sudden change?

By: Shuaib

Shuaib — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 12:48:54 +0000

First off, I must comment, “LOL”.

I agree with most parts of this article. And btw, am I not the one who had been pushing you into giving Python a try, for the last few months? You finally agree now that Python is the best computing tool known to man (well a bit of exageration never hurts).

The point you got wrong is when you say that Python can’t be used for professional software development, products that are delivered to end users. If you can code it good in Python, why not just do it? Most of the custom software written is actually never released to general public and only the customer for whom the software was coded gets the source. So why not go for Python. As for generic software tools, well, don’t you think “closed source is evil” after all?

Oh, and btw, I never knew you were already working on the Python implementation of the resource broker. Is it done?

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 14:46:41 +0000

Check out py2exe. Only good for windows I think, but will bundle all you need into a single exe, so user does not need to install the Python interpreter or anything.

By: irfanhab

irfanhab — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 13:05:02 +0000

Now: I have clearly stated in the post that C will never be replaced, like kernels and Os drivers!
The computer science I’m talking about is “Computer Science Research”, I’m not talking about Computing in general or IT.
Computer Science Research certainly can be accelerated with dynamic languages. It gives us a “medium of expression” where people can convey their ideas and prepare prototype implementations very quickly

By: josh

josh — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 12:59:34 +0000

“C has no place in computer science”

Jesus… Are you a zealot, or just plain retarded?

C is the bedrock that all of our OSes/drivers/system-libraries are built upon. It is the *fast* against-the-hardware code that makes all of this possible. It is *VITAL* element of system design.

Yes python is user-friendly. I like (and use) it a lot.

But, there simply is no comparison.

Higher level languages are great for higher level problems.
Lower level languages are great for lower level problems.

Writing a driver in Python is a bad idea.
Writing a web application in C is equally bad.

Your assertion that C has no place in computer science is just flat wrong. Look at OS research if you need an example…

By: irfanhab

irfanhab — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 12:56:09 +0000

But would the users require to install the python interpreter? If not then that rocks!

By: Julio Nobrega

Julio Nobrega — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 12:54:31 +0000

You can distribute Python coded software without requiring end-users to have Python installed and you can “compile” it to hide its source code.