undefined | Better HN

0 pointspclmulqdq3y ago0 comments

Python is extremely easy to write, but hell to read. Rust code tends to be very easy to read.

On a big project, you are going to be reading a lot more code than you are going to be writing.

0 comments

I've read and written a huge amount of python and rust, also a fan of rust and don't find it particular difficult to read.

As long as there is proper linting, both should be readable.

That being said, python is about the simplest language there is to read.

Of course if you have many times nested and improperly indented list comprehensions- sure that gets confusing. But that should be fixed with proper linting (black on its own should do it)

Curious about the examples you've seen that were difficult to parse!

Casperin3y ago

I don't necessarily agree that Python overall is difficult to read, but one thing that seems to get my every time is the

    foo = x if y else z

jasonjmcghee3y ago

I see where you're coming from.

Many languages support the ternary operator, where it would be:

  foo = y ? x : z

Which "feels better" but I think that's because I learned ternaries first.

Some languages like Rust and Kotlin do support assignment of an if statement like

  foo = if (y) { x } else { z }

And I think that's a good step, as it doesn't need to introduce new syntax, just allows assignment of "blocks"

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

jasonjmcghee3y ago

I've read and written a huge amount of python and rust, also a fan of rust and don't find it particular difficult to read.

As long as there is proper linting, both should be readable.

That being said, python is about the simplest language there is to read.

Of course if you have many times nested and improperly indented list comprehensions- sure that gets confusing. But that should be fixed with proper linting (black on its own should do it)

Curious about the examples you've seen that were difficult to parse!

Casperin3y ago

I don't necessarily agree that Python overall is difficult to read, but one thing that seems to get my every time is the

    foo = x if y else z

jasonjmcghee3y ago

I see where you're coming from.

Many languages support the ternary operator, where it would be:

  foo = y ? x : z

Which "feels better" but I think that's because I learned ternaries first.

Some languages like Rust and Kotlin do support assignment of an if statement like

  foo = if (y) { x } else { z }

And I think that's a good step, as it doesn't need to introduce new syntax, just allows assignment of "blocks"

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse