Edward Tate wrote:
> My question is, what are the advantages/disadvantages to programming
> games in Python and C++(I am already quite proficient in C++), versus
> programming them all in Common Lisp.
To start with: C++ can (can!) be faster, but that is not likely to be an
issue for you. Python is interpreted, and slow. There, now that's out of
the way.
Advantages to using C++/Python instead of Lisp, then, are mostly tighter
integration with the sorrounding OS, the advantage of which decreases fast
as your program size increases. The advantage of Lisp is that everything
else is easier.
Obviously I'm oversimplifying dramatically here, so take this with a grain
of salt.
> Optimally I'd like to be able to
> settle on a language now so that by the time I finish my degree I am
> most proficient in that.
I'm not sure you *want* to be "most proficient" in any one language. A
better goal may be to understand programming in general well enough that
you can pick up any reasonable language in a short time.
There are two main things you'll want to do for that: Use many languages,
and understand their limitations. The first is obvious; for the second, it
might be a good idea to look at a language that seems to be a superset of
most other languages, that being Common Lisp. (1)
To switch gears, are you sure your teachers will allow you to program in any
language you want? Lisp is still unfortunately rare, and they may want to
be able to read your code.
- Svein Ove Aas
1: Exceptions are mostly such exotica as Prolog and (dis)similar things,
since it's sufficiently different that it can't be integrated in Common
Lisp proper, although interpreters written in CL are said to be very small.
Frank Buss wrote:
> Svein Ove Aas <·········@aas.no> wrote:
>
>> To start with: C++ can (can!) be faster, but that is not likely to be
>> an issue for you. Python is interpreted, and slow. There, now that's
>> out of the way.
>
> there is a compiler for Python:
>
> http://psyco.sourceforge.net/introduction.html
>
> No language is slow per se, only implemenations.
>
Ah, but Python has a Canonical Implementation (tm). More to the point,
Python is sufficiently more dynamic that it probably can't be as fast as
Lisp, at least on x86 hardware.
IIRC, Psyco isn't entirely complete either.