[simias]

> There's something more constricting about there being one function to bootstrap everything than there is about one file.

As someone who basically started coding with C I feel the other way around, unsurprisingly. Even in scripting languages when I write something non trivial I tend to encapsulate everything in functions and then have a `main()` call at the bottom of the file. I think it's one of the things python got right with the `if __name__ == "__main__":` idiom that lets you import any script in a REPL to test individual methods for instance.

(Although the actual syntax of `if __name__ == "__main__":` is IMO utter trash and it amuses me that a language so obsessed with getting rid of symbols and looking like pseudocode decided that such cumbersome, obtuse and ugly looking boilerplate was just fine.)

[Uehreka]

> (Although the actual syntax of `if __name__ == "__main__":` is IMO utter trash and it amuses me that a language so obsessed with getting rid of symbols and looking like pseudocode decided that such cumbersome, obtuse and ugly looking boilerplate was just fine.)

This reminds me of when I tried learning Ruby. The tutorial I read started by talking about how elegant and beautiful Ruby could be, and how easy it is to read and understand Ruby at first glance, even if you’re new to it. Then they explained that the toString method in Ruby is called `.to_s()` and that lambda arguments were surrounded by pipe characters and I was like “wat”.

[cpfohl]

> it amuses me that a language so obsessed with getting rid of symbols and looking like pseudocode decided that such cumbersome, obtuse and ugly looking boilerplate was just fine.

100 times this! I have always wondered about that.

[adifgoi0nio]

Python is quick and dirty and always has been. The language designers have regularly papered over design flaws using hacks and magic syntax.

Which is acceptable. Python is a valuable tool I use on a daily basis. But I find it annoying when Python programmers are snooty about "Pythonic" code.

[iaw]

The thesis I've heard (and agree with) is that Python is a good everything language. For specialization there is always a better tool (although maybe more complex to get started).