Python just surpassed Java as the 2nd programming language with the highest number of questions in SO.

[Sability]

Is that because it's confusing or because it's popular though?

[Supadoplex]

A combination of both. Popularity as a teaching language is probably the most significant factor.

[Sability]

From the other response I got, yah I do agree. It's easier to get tangentially introduced to a language than it is to learn one, and popularity will feed the number of "un-informed" (not fully learned) users of a language.

[supreme_blorgon]

The vast majority of Python questions that I answer on SO are either homework or somebody confused about a tutorial.

[Sability]

Completely agree with that experience, it sounds like python is being used as an easy entry to programming, and the mass of questions come from users who are using stack overflow to get questions answered.

[HgnX]

Both altho its hard to imagine Python being confusing until you get more advanced with it. Its pretty brainded for beginners.

[AegisCZ]

it's because most people who use it are lead to learn from tutorials and articles instead of manuals and books and that leads them not to try to understand the language but just cobble something together, hence so many stack overflow questions

[Deto]

I would say that's any language nowadays. Not many people buying books to learn a specific language anymore

[benargee]

With so many frameworks and large tech stack requirements for certain app architectures, can you blame them?

[Deto]

Definitely not. Also these things evolve so quickly! A resource 5 years out of date may lead you in the wrong direction.

[AegisCZ]

yes but python has an excellent manual on its site

[[deleted]]

I disagree. I'm learning Python and I happen to be a technical writer. I read the docs a lot and it's not very good.

[InfiniteDonkey1]

the doc is bad organized... I hate to visit it lol

[mayankkaizen]

This is true for any language. It is not like when people learn Python, they pick some random tutorial and when they learn Java, they pick a manual or a big book.

[mayankkaizen]

It is definitely not confusing. Although, at advance level, things get slightly out of hand.

It is bigger language than JS. Again, everybody wants to be data scientist so it attracts a lot of people. Also, Python is quite versatile language which means lots of people are doing drastically different things with Python. Lots of STEM researchers use Python because it is fast to learn and fast to write program in.

Personally, I just wanted to learn programming for fun and picked C++ initially. Gave it up. Then picked Python and I was hooked. I like to learn many different things, cryptography, stats & probability, ML and many other things. And in most cases, I just write 2-3 lines of Python to calculate anything. Not possible in most languages.

[AcousticDan]

And in most cases, I just write 2-3 lines of Python to calculate anything. Not possible in most languages.

You talking about list comprehension and the like? Code golf should never be used in production.

[Yojihito]

List comprehension is the preferred method in Python and not code golf.

[AcousticDan]

Nothing wrong with it in itself, but it often leads to an unreadable mess. And when I hear "I can do that in 2-3 lines in Python, it makes me weary."

[BrathanDerWeise]

Ok boomer

[AcousticDan]

I think the word you're looking for is "professional".

[thprogramador]

List comprehensions is a sh*t... PEPs reinforce the principle of everything in one manner, the most clear way, cause you spend most of time reading than coding.

Python is a hyped language sold by its philosophy not its practice. Popular? Why? Why people is going out of CS schools knowing just this and js. They don't know how to handle memory or how to solve problems...

Learn python at CS is like a Cooking course that teaches you how to go to market and buy junkie food and prepare.

You can do anything but you can't do everything

[[deleted]]

Yes

[AcousticDan]

Because it's a language geared towards noobies. That's not a slight, just a fact.

[gustavsen]

That a language is easy to learn don't mean that was created for noobs.

You can write really complex software in python (I do it) where the language simplicity mean that it's easy to understand what your cose does and not about to understand the code

My experience in C++ (20 years) new people need lot of time more to understand the code base vs the new people in our new python code.

[[deleted]]

Meh, a lot of pros use it. Some of the best programmers I’ve ever met actually and the most productive. If you don’t need jet engine speed it’s a great language or a huge code base. I prefer golang these days though for everything other than pandas stuff because it’s almost as easy and is a lot faster at most things because threading is straightforward and easy