[gambit-list] Why MIT switched from Scheme to Python

Oisín Mac Fhearaí denpashogai at gmail.com
Thu Mar 26 07:30:31 EDT 2009


2009/3/26 Adrien Piérard <pierarda at iro.umontreal.ca>:
> On the other hand, more and more people are learning Haskell at the university.
> Though it aims at different things than Scheme, I do not consider this
> sad at all.
>
> I consider the teaching of any proper functional language (Lisp-based
> (without CLOS, eh), ML-based or Miranda-based) a good thing.
>
> But, python, bweh!
> (Yet, I had Scheme *and* VBA as a freshman. Both were cool, but I
> still preferred ASM at this time.)
>
> P!

I'm glad to see this as well, and would go further and say that I'd
much prefer to see students working with Python than spending almost
the whole duration of their degree focusing on Java (like I did :/).
They started teaching Haskell in 3rd year at least, but a year too
late for me.
I know one guy who is doing postgrad research who's using Python for
the most part and praises its virtues in allowing him to throw
together very interesting code quickly.
If programming in it is faster than Java and it shares some good
features with Lisp (e.g. a REPL!) then that's a good thing :)

Oisín



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