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Programming at Python Speed
A Conversation with Guido van Rossum, Part III
by Bill Venners
January 27, 2003

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Python creator Guido van Rossum talks with Bill Venners about the source of Python's famed programmer productivity and the joys of exploring new territory with code.

Guido van Rossum is the author of Python, an interpreted, interactive object-oriented programming language. In the late 1980s, Van Rossum began work on Python at the National Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science in the Netherlands, or Centrum voor Wiskunde en Informatica (CWI) as it is known in Dutch. Since then, Python has become very popular among developers, who are attracted to its clean syntax and reputation for productivity.

In this interview, which is being published in six weekly installments, Van Rossum gives insights into Python's design goals, the source of Python programmer productivity, the implications of weak typing, and more:

Productivity and Finger Typing

Bill Venners: I've met many people who like Python because they feel more productive using it. When I went from C++ to Java, I found myself way more productive in Java. People who know both Java and Python usually tell me they are way more productive in Python. Where does the productivity come from when programming in Python?

Guido van Rossum: There are many different sources. One is that Python requires a lot less typing.

Bill Venners: Finger typing?

Guido van Rossum: Finger typing. It wouldn't surprise me if the amount of typing Python requires is five times less than Java for a typical piece of code. That would be the ratio. When you have that much less code, it's so much easier to maintain, and also to change.



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