Python worth it?

[BigCake]

Hi people. Is it worth it to learn Python? (Actually all coding languages are great but talking 'relative to'). Is it a good combination like C++ and Python for some entry level jobs or free lancing?

 

I have studied its features, advantages and disadvantages from various sources, now I would like to read opinions from LTT`s dearest programmers! :3

[Cryosec]

Python is easy and fun. Definetly worth learning.

 

I've seen people programming whole games with it, even an AI that auto-drives cars in GTA V

[BigCake]

1 minute ago, Cryosec said:

Python is easy and fun. Definetly worth learning.

 

I've seen people programming whole games with it, even an AI that auto-drives cars in GTA V

Cool. Another question, is MySQL with C++ a good idea as well? What exactly kind of entry level jobs I might find with this combination?

[Cryosec]

2 minutes ago, Atalia Chez said:

Cool. Another question, is MySQL with C++ a good idea as well? What exactly kind of entry level jobs I might find with this combination?

Never tried communicating with a MySQL database from C++, but knowing both languages I'd say you could try and see if you can cope with it. I won't say it's a bad idea, but can even say it's good as I never tried.

 

About jobs, can't answer exacly. Could be something about managing databases for small companies as a sort of contractor? don't quote me on that tho

[riklaunim]

On 15.08.2017 at 7:47 PM, Atalia Chez said:

Hi people. Is it worth it to learn Python? (Actually all coding languages are great but talking 'relative to'). Is it a good combination like C++ and Python for some entry level jobs or free lancing?

C or C++ is way "harder" than scripted languages like Python. In C++ you can like for example make a GUI application with Qt ( https://www.qt.io/developers/ ), which is more complex than web applications made with Python (which already are more than "websites").

 

If you want a job and want to move forward with you knowledge and career you have to choose and then pick a reputable company that invests some time in teaching junior developers. Shuffling multiple programming languages in one job is very very rare (and usually at senior developer levels if at all). I work as a Python developer since many years and I don't do other programming languages (aside of web frontend).

 

As of tools - that may be a wider range than you might expect. MySQL is one of relational database, and some may prefer "better" PostgreSQL or have commercial Oracle or also some noSQL databases and so on.

 

[Cruorzy]

Getting general knowledge about programming Object oriented etc. is way more worth then learning a ton of languages.

Get structured code and good practices done in general and stay with 1 or 2 languages.

 

Then later on it is way easier to step into an other language, what i suggest is to look for open jobs that specify the tools you need to know.

When it comes to web development i know that most people require PHP, MySQL, Redis, Javascript, Linux.

So those are my first goals before i step into another language.

 

Getting knowledge of alternative tools like NoSQL, PostgreSQL will be worth it but not to soon.

[Dat Guy]

On 15.8.2017 at 7:47 PM, Atalia Chez said:

Hi people. Is it worth it to learn Python?

No. Better use a sane language.

[Mira Yurizaki]

It depends on what you want to use it for.

 

In my case, Python has been a godsend because I write most of my test tools with it. It allows me to get something out quickly and absolute performance isn't really a problem (most of it is to automate what a human would've done)

[Donny_Chen]

With all languages,  each have their own strengths and weaknesses.

 

for example,  C# is great for Desktop Applications (IMO).  Python (for what I used it for) was my go to for scripts.

 

A lawnmower can cut grass, but so can a pair of scissors.  Just gotta figure out the best tool for the job you're doing -- or the job you want to be doing.

[Akolyte]

The real truth is it doesn't even matter.  I'm a student right now, and one of my childhood friends was really into Python, he's developing VR software for a company in C++ which they were fine with him not even knowing when he first started working there.  And another mate has his education sponsored by Cisco and they don't care what language he uses.  The only reasons I would consider learning Python is: 

1. You want to automate tasks using scripts on many machines and platforms. 
2. You write open source software and want to learn Python to contribute to the community
3. You are a web developer, or want to be a web developer and want to learn Django to write some cool web apps. 

It doesn't matter what language you learn, what matters is how you use it to achieve customer needs.  The only time language matters is when it is dependent on a platform, which is actually a lot of the time.  In which case C#, Java or Javascript would be best in my opinion (if you are new to programming, please don't learn Javascript).  

 

If you are starting out into programming as a career, my advice would be to choose an area you want to go into (web development, IOT, Application programming, DevOps, Databases, etc).  And then choose a language that suits that.  So for Web Development, HTML CSS, Javascript are great choices.  For IOT, Java, C++, Python are great options.  Application Programming, C#, C++, Java, are solid choices.  DevOps, not really language dependent but Jenkins, Docker, Chef and other tools and platforms used for automation and deployment.  And for Databases, SQL, Javascript, and knowledge of MySQL, SQL, and PostGres DBMS are good to have. 

 

I'm not a pro in any of these fields.  But I genuinely want to give you my best advice, and that's stop focusing on language and focus on area. In the next 10 years you might be using a different language anyway.  Language doesn't matter as much as programming skills, and the ability to dive into one area and focus on it fully.