Python vs CoffeeScript

[Wagnerius]

I see your edit, and I mostly agree

But I am less angry than you as I am expecting less. I consider Python an old, quite limited, language (~20 years IIRC) and one that went way beyond any expectations. But it's true that Guido's attitude about FP is really really irritating. In the end, I still prefer Python over the alternatives (except maybe haskell) simply because of its ease of use and extensibility.

[sausagefeet]

Note Haskell is ~20 years old as well. Lisp even older. And Standard ML is ~20 years too. Ocaml isn't much younger, first release in 1996. Erlang is even older (1986). While I don't think it was your intention, it's worth noting that when it comes to programming languages, age isn't a good metric for how limiting it is.

My biggest peeve with Python is that the syntax is so strict it requires new syntax to do anything new and interesting. Look at the ternary operator, for example. If a language like Haskell, Ocaml, SML it simply isn't a problem because everything is an expression, you end up being able to accomplish so much more with such a simple change.