August 18, 2004
Python People Are Very, Very, Nice
This recent thread on comp.lang.python is another example of Python programmers just being nice. On many other newsgroups the original poster would have been ridiculed and vilified, never to return.
Someone new to the language wants to understand how to work with databases. He has skimmed the documentation but, (and this is my opinion, so don't shoot me) not taken the time to actually read the documents or even try any of the example code.
But the Python approach is to empathise and explain, usually until the solution to your problem has been explained in so many different ways that you have forgotten the original question. In this case a number of people chip in, all adding little nuggets of knowledge building on the original (quite comprehensive) reply to the original post.
This is another reason, if one were needed, why I like programming in and hanging around with people who program in Python.
If you are interested, the thread I have linked to is an interesting explanation of how to get rich objects back from a database cursor execute.
Posted by Andy Todd at August 18, 2004 10:38 PM
Your comment and some recent adoration of Ruby by some in the community came at the same time and caused me to churn out this...
http://mikewatkins.net/categories/technical/noswitchferme.html
I don't follow the comp.lang.python thread but perhaps the newbie might want to check out the example given and take SQLObject out for a spin too.
Posted by: Mike Watkins on August 19, 2004 01:58 AMI think what is behind Pythoneers' nice attitude are two things:
First, if you work with, say, C++ or Java, you're probably in a competitive market, which creates tension, and you're not so keen on giving away what you've hard-learned.
Second, with those languages, you often have to struggle against the language while struggling against the problem, which also creates tension, so you're not willing to give away the results of your struggle for free.
Now, Python makes life a lot easier, so you're more relaxed and in consequence more friendly towards others. Plus, nice atmosphere in the Python community seems to be pretty contagious. I'd say, when you're facing other peoples attitudes, you begin to assume the same kind of attitude - be it welcoming or aggressive.
Posted by: Artur de Sousa Rocha on August 21, 2004 02:14 PM