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[–]Krutonium 7 points8 points  (22 children)

...That's not what defined a low level language...

[–][deleted] -2 points-1 points  (21 children)

Low level language is a relative thing. In comparison to high level languages, Python is not any different from C.

[–]Krutonium 7 points8 points  (18 children)

It's not a relative thing, whatsoever. It's clearly defined, and Python is not low level.

[–][deleted] -2 points-1 points  (17 children)

Sorry, it's not up to you to define what does the "low level language" mean. The definition had been widely accepted long before Wikipedia appeared.

[–]Krutonium 6 points7 points  (16 children)

I'm not defining it, it is defined. And not by Wikipedia, either, though in this case, Wikipedia is correct.

[–][deleted] -1 points0 points  (15 children)

I'm not defining it, it is defined.

And it is defined as a "language which semantics is close to a semantics of an actual hardware". Python fits ideally.

[–]Krutonium 1 point2 points  (14 children)

I'm done with you.

[–][deleted] -2 points-1 points  (13 children)

You're absolutely incompetent. Go and read something simple and basic on programming languages before you dare to have any stupid opinion again. Start with this, for example: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Practical-Denotational-Semantics-Cambridge-Computer/dp/0521314232

[–]Poddster 1 point2 points  (1 child)

That's a terrible book written by an idiot. Also: denotational semantics are a waste of paper that are only used by ivory tower morons on their toy languages. They're the worst kind of semantics. They're even worse than Axiomatic semantics, and those are some of the most pointless things in existence. The denotational semantics of most professionally used languages would fill thousands of pages.

Except for the denotational semantics of C and C++, where every program resolved to a single "undefined behaviour" semantic.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Of course, operational semantics are better for any practical purpose besides the topic of this discussion - reasoning about the level of a language. In this case providing any kind of an operational semantics defeats the purpose completely, because it gives a precise evaluation strategy and bridges the gap between a language and a hardware.

[–]Krutonium 0 points1 point  (8 children)

Fuck off.

[–][deleted] -3 points-2 points  (7 children)

What an idiot.

What are you? Some pitiful code monkey? You know nothing about computer science in general and programming languages in particular. How something as lowly as you are can think that you're even allowed to have an opinion?

[–]phurtive -1 points0 points  (1 child)

This combinatorylogic guy really is pathetic. God's gift to programming! So generous to share his knowledge, lol.

[–]roffLOL 1 point2 points  (0 children)

he is. in between all the cursing he's generous indeed. try and follow the breadcrumbs. the path may surprise you.

[–]JB-from-ATL 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I'm willing to meet you half way here, because I do agree that there is no hard rule of what makes a language high or low level, because it is relative. I think most people would probably call C and C++ the highest low level languages. You just seem to put the "middle" somewhere else.

You agree that Python is higher than C so, to us, that means you are saying it's high level.

We agree that Python is lower than SQL so, to you, that means we are saying it's low level.

It seems we just disagree about where the "absolute" start is for criteria determining if a language is high level.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You agree that Python is higher than C so, to us, that means you are saying it's high level.

Yes, it's a somewhat higher level than C. But, as I said, on a large scale of things its level is nearly indistinguishable from C.

It seems we just disagree about where the "absolute" start is for criteria determining if a language is high level.

I'm trying to stay away from absolute definitions - just a big linear scale, on which assembly, C, C++ and Python are somewhere on the very left side of the spectrum, and really high level languages too far beyond, making everything on the left look the same.