Guido van Rossum explains Python programming

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GUEST BIO:
Guido van Rossum is the creator of Python programming language.

PODCAST INFO:

SOCIAL:

[LexClips]

Guest bio: Guido van Rossum is the creator of Python programming language.

[ghosthunter]

I have to say I had an amazing experience learning programming at first through python and then learning C for a more in depth understanding. it genuinely didn't feel that difficult to learn this way. he created something pretty amazing and really hit the mark in that aspect.

[johnnytoobad]

After "retiring" from being a software engineer since 1980, I was pleasantly surprised on how Python picked the best features from other languages that I used in the past. I just picked up a copy of "Learning Python" and after plowing through the first half of the book I started using Python with Matplotlib. (..and then later on with numpy and tkinter, threads and multiprocessing...)

[larsnystrom]

This was very amusing to listen to for a retired software engineer.

These two are bright people!

[PerfectSense]

I don’t know anyone else doing interviews like this, of such depth and insight with such important figures while still being entertaining. Love your work Lex.

[auroraRealms]

Another reason that indentation is good (besides better readability, and less physical typing) is that; if there are 3 or more levels of indentation, it is time to consider breaking the code block into a function of its own. This makes the code more readable, and easier to maintain.

[dooza]

I don't think I've ever listened to a podcast with more interesting guests and topics as Lex is able to present. This video might just be about Python, but if you are even just a little bit interested in science, engineering, philosophy, intelligence, technology, or history--please take a deep dive into his channel. I promise you will find something that is highly intriguing.

[marcosdiez]

I'm a programmer with 35 years of experiece, I've got so far as to having to maintain RPG code (which is THE nightmare of indentation having semantic value). I've used all the languages mentioned in the video, and several others like AWK, COBOL, Logo, Lisp, Prolog, Smalltalk, Icon/Unicon and some others I've forgotten. As a software enginner my main insterest was to compare analysis, design and programming paradigms from the stand point of how well they suit to express different kind of ideas, and the outcome as a communication tool between peers.

In the '90s I coordinated a Logo public worshop with 30k attendants over 4 years, and driven by Seymour Pappert's notion of sintonicity and his idea of the computer screen as a reflection of the way we see and think of our world as a genetic epistemplugy tool, nowadays I have a inference engine with its own proprietary programming language devised to be used and understood by companie's managers to implement businesses policies without the mediation of programmers and as a communication tool on how they understand their bussiness and their own way to think about them, so I totally feel and agree 100% with Mr. Van Rossum goals and criteria... however, providing semantic value to indentation doesn't seem to me the best way to achieve the goal (moreover when you may implement indentation policies at an IDE level, without affecting the program outcome), and on some cases it may even become the source of problems.

It reminds me of COBOL idea of using periods to finish blocks just because we finish sentences with a period, then you erased a period by accident, the program behavior changed for bad and you had to spend hours finding the problem. The sole idea of the same happening because of an untintended extra or missing space gives me the creeps.

But then, I've used indentation in many other ways: to align complex logical expressions with subexpressions (and escaping the end of the line brings a new problem as the price for solving another), to be able to tell appart different aspects addresed in the same block of code (e.g critical mission code from coding servicing non functional requirements), ot single use of auxiliary functions from main or repeatedly used ones, and so forth. For as long that the "creative" use of indentation gets docummented, it is a valuable communication tool thay may (and should) be allowed as such, even more when people already got used to having this tool. This isn't the same than imposing the use of a colon, or strict typing, for it's not about effort, but about the chances to improve communication for humans within the code, in ways not not foreseen when the language was devised.

For me, it's an over required artificial limitation that really annoys me, for which there's no way to toggle it off (even if just for a code section in which a different indentation criteria would come handy).

[maiwindows]

This man right here invented the most beginner friendly and advanced programming languages, it's an insane opportunity to hear him talk

[wildindave]

Having a background in computer engineering, I always wondered about who built said programming languages. Thanks for showing another brilliant mind on the podcast, big fan!

[FarazMazhar]

As a Python dev, this is really amazing to listen to.

[aaron]

I love the way lex thinks and delivers his message and his way of understanding and making his talks understandable. Very informative and interesting.

[sheldonregular]

I'm on a boat right now... but I'm actually programming in Python.

[arashjoorabchi]

Ambiguity is the feature which allows compressed data transmission over a low-bandwidth serial link, i.e. human speech

[robbieparis]

I love these conversations from Lex. More Guido, less Ben Shapiro.

[KpxUrz]

I'm glad they dwelled on the issue of indentation in Python, because in all my past programming I enjoyed arriving at my own style, crystal clear to me. Now, I am having to reprogram my brain to deal with all sorts of (to me) bizarre requirements of Python, indentation being one. I'm used to just concentrating on my IDEAS, and coding until the problem is solved mathematically. Now, I'm assaulted by a huge host of other requirements and understandings in order to get even the simplest program to work.

[fahvm]

I love the open source concept. Where people can benefit and improve the coding.

[TheNoSuchThingPodcast]

“I’m going to please the guy who knows how to fish”. That’s people like me

[kdiggity]

this clip talks about more than just computer science and python! Bravo!

[mahanirvaantantra]

there is interchangeability between L and R in Indian Languages as well