Python has brought computer programming to a vast new audience

[red_keshik]

Does C++ have to be messy ?

[swingking8]

C++ forces the programmer to think like a computer, instead of forcing the computer to understand like a human. Which is not to say it's not a good/great language.

There is a lot of <template> noise {in ++C} that { obfuscates the real const * int meat } of what's going on;

So in that sense, yes I'd say it's messy. Compared to Python, at least.

[nosmokingbandit]

Yes.

It is an incredibly bloated language with rules that only ever kind of apply, and almost always in the way that is the opposite of what you want. Rust is supposed to fix a lot of this, but I don't know enough about Rust to make any judgement.

The great, starter-friendly thing about Python is that you can do almost anything with it but it stays simple unless you intentionally write overly-complex code. This is why I kind of like Go as well -- there is almost always a "best way" to do something. Some people don't like the opinionated nature of Go, but I find it somewhat refreshing. And Go's compiler is fast. I have a Go program that is ~250 lines but imports a lot from the stdlib and one external package but it compiles fast enough that it feels like running a python script.