On 2005-05-10, Daniel Carrera
This might be a strange question to ask on a Haskell list, but I do want to hear your opinions. What do you think of Python?
I switched from Python to Haskell recently, almost completely. To me, there are two main advantages of Python over Haskell: breadth of available libraries and quality of documentation for beginners. I believe that the Haskell language is better, and I use it even for small scripting tasks -- for which it seems just as well-suited as Python to me. There are, IMHO, two schools of thought regarding how to teach people programming. Some people hold that the best way is to start with a low-level language such as C, and show them how to use pointers, implement linked lists, etc. Others hold that it's better to start with a higher-level language. Python and Haskell are both inappropriate for the former, but could both work for the latter. -- John