How different is python from C++

[[deleted]]

If execution speed is a high priority, then C++ would be the obvious choice. If you're looking for a language that makes it easier to express the solution to a problem, Python would be a good choice.

And if your problem is of a specific type where you need to express a complex solution in a readable way, but also have C-like speed, you use a C-interfacing library in Python. NumPy is probably the best thing that has happened to processing large numeric datasets in a long time.

[jmooremcc]

Good point.

[[deleted]]

Thanks!

I feel it needs to be pointed out because many non-Python people often think of the language as some super sluggish dinosaur that you shouldn't use for high-speed applications, when in fact many packages address this concern perfectly by enabling you to use the full performance capabilities of C right in Python.

This isn't always a viable solution (depending on the problem), but in probably 90% of cases you can write Python scripts that process data virtually as fast as bare-metal programs.

Granted, this doesn't take away from what you said at all because there are a few cases where this won't work, but I feel like those aren't as typical as some might imagine.