this post was submitted on 12 Sep 2026
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Programming
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Of course, Python. Just look at the TIOBE language popularity index. The top languages all have some rational for use. Not so popular have less reasons to use or just narrower application range. See https://www.tiobe.com/tiobe-index/ .
Python is easy to learn. C and C++ when Python is too slow. I often find Python slow.
Probably rust for the later these days
There are many easy-to-learn languages, and others actually have useful software development ideas (immutable by default, for example). I understand if expectations are lower, though, from the language talk, and if any language with the required libraries is fine.
Python is slow often 1% of the speed of a fully parallelized and vectorized C app compiled specifically for your architecture. There are ways to improve speed like libraries, PyPy, numba, etc of course but often theٌse are application specific and do not always give the performance you might think. I love Python, but for speed it is not the best.
Interesting. What is useful in Python other than the effort put into the bindings to fast libraries? I thought alternatives like Go, Julia and Ruby are appreciated over Python for programming utility.
You generally do no write Python for speed though generally the apeed is good enough. You write it for minimal effort of coding plus libraries. Why do people use Matlab ҄and R, same.
Maybe you are replying to the other comments, but what I am getting is Python is good glue and doesn't get in the way. That is fine, but not getting in the way is little help with any of the programming.
Python as glue is absolutely a use. The big advantage of Python is that it also has a broad range of use and expands what a single developer can do in cases where time and cost of development is more important then code efficiencey and long term support. Basically quick often throwaway apps to get something done.
Edit: Python is a good alternative to say tcl, perl, R, matlab, VB, etc.
Of course. Its in the same category as Ruby and Lua. Hence the question on "getting out of the way", which Lua is much better at and which Ruby surpasses by also making programming easier. But Python was first at surpassing even Perl at growing library bindings.
Yes. History and adoption matter.
Inane features a language happens to have, like object-orientation, are marketed that are not backed up by any argument or example beyond homework-level code.
What language features do users say helped them? Existence of libraries didn't make C a good language, and providing a binding to those libraries does not make Python a good language. Hard work must go into bindings, whether for Python or for Ruby or for Lua, but Ruby and Lua make convincing cases for themselves.
Hm, except in the way that being able to call into library functions "relatively easily" from the base language was a good way for others to create a bajillion handy libraries.
And once you've got those available to extend your language in any direction you want, you're well on your way to ubiquitousness.
I used Lua as a scripting language directly tied to C. It is useful for allowing scripts to interact directly with compiled code. The compiled code is still the focus, but the scripts allow changes without a recompile.
I used to like C#, but dotnet didn't become as portable as I hoped it would.
I use C (embedded), C++ (everything), Python (data manipulation), PowerShell (pipelines) and bash (pipelines).
I hope you can find a non-homework job to use whatever skillset you are developing.