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| SQL and Perl - 2003/08/06 | Viewed 91 times this month, last update: 2003/08/13
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| When I was doing a lot of programming in Perl for Verio, I really got a handle on Perl's ability to do very complex operations on data structures. Perl's flexability, allowed my brain to mesh with the machine in ways that I hadn't been able to do before, or since.
While I was working for TechFuel, I used a lot of Java, and got to be very comfortable with, and happy with, try-catch blocks, and exception objects. try-catch blocks really allow you to concentrate more on doing a job, and less on capturing each and every little nit-picky problem that could happen. Using Objects for exception data is also terribly useful, allowing you to classify problems, and effectively route exception handling.
And at CodeIt I've become very familiar with SQL. SQL lets you operate on sets of data, rather than one data element at a time, in ways that are hard to fully comprehend, but so powerful it's amazing. With a single statement, you can get just exactly the answer you wanted from gigabytes of data, in milliseconds.
Why can't we have the best of all of this? Why can't we have a perl-type language with both weak and strong typing of variables, with try-catch block type error handling, and powerful set operators?
Add full compilation ability, JIT compilation, good GUI, I/O, Thread, CORBA and .NET libraries, OS and hardware-level interfaces, and you could easily build terribly powerful interoperative systems, like we've never seen.
I just want the best of all languages. Is that too much to ask?! |
Comments:
Steve Kehlet (2003-08-06): Recent (>= 2.2) versions of Python have apparently added better strong-typing support (optional, and it's enforced at run-time, not compile-time), which was my biggest gripe about it. Otherwise it has all of those other things you mentioned (well, no JIT). Otherwise have you looked at Jython? Last time I talked to Toli he was very excited about it as far as supposedly combining the best of Java and Python. Cheers.
Erik (2003-08-07): Python certainly has it's pros. It does meet my requirements of threading, libraries, typing (if a little more clumsily). It does not, however, have the powerful data set capability I want (which I didn't really explain all that well above), and....
I hate the forced indentation. I just do, I'm sorry, but I do. I could get used to it, but I would never like it. It would always bother me.
My stance on technology is very UNIX-like. Do one thing, and do it right. Following this, I myself would argue for a database for data processing, something cross-platform for networking, and a generic networking protocol to tie them all together. Which, of course, is what I do now...
But can't we do everything, and everything right?! (rhetorical) I guess I'm just ranting.
Erik (2003-08-07): You know though... PostgreSQL does have imbedded Python capability.
Steve Kehlet (2003-08-10): It's funny you mention the indention thing. It's one of biggest things I thought I'd dislike about python in the beginning, and just about everyone to whom I've introduced python has had real negative feelings towards it. But over time it really grew on me to where now I think it's absolutely fantastic and increases readability immensely. Most people tend to use the same indention, curly brace style anyway--except there's always that one person on a project who indents funny, or puts the opening curly brace on a line by itself, and just has to be a rebel :-). Python forces everyone's code to look consistent.
Erik (2003-08-11): You're probably right. I did do quite a bit of Python coding at Codeit, (actually in the product) and I remember it wasn't too terribly bad, but the indentation thing did bug me.
On the other hand, embedded SQL does have some even more infuriating syntax (like complete lack of block identification), which I've grown acustomed to. Maybe Python does deserve a second look.
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