I’ve been hard at work revitalizing an old project (IAI) from university. Using the platform my team and I once used to explore basic artificial intelligence; I am now experimenting with the underbelly of Python, toying with the Data Model and probing the amalgam that lies beneath. I’ve been discovering that Python truly is a slippery beast which often seems to be coiling back upon itself, becoming ensnared in its own coils in its quest for clarity.
Python is an interesting language. The high-level focus on readability, and the numerous modules available for simplifying complex tasks have made it a standard tool for professional and academic applications. However a discerning look at the language reveals an arcane labyrinth of data, convenient yet costly; creating code where the readability is shrouded by a mercurial mist of mysterious methods. By abstracting away the defining features of lower level languages it exists in-between conventions. Scripted, compiled, functional, object-oriented: Python blurs the lines commonly used to describe languages, implementing a relatively unique interpretation of scope and making a muddled mix of parameter passing; causing me to question the efficacy with which it preforms as a teaching tool.
On the other hand: Python is a LOT of fun. The language offers list-comprehension, splicing, callable-classes, class-operators, and more; all of which can be manipulated and overwritten. Used well these features can result in some of the most interesting and certainly the most readable code I’ve seen in any language, however that requires practice without which one’s code can become overwhelmingly esoteric.
I’m going to continue to explore Python as I develop the IAI project. I think the language displays a lot of potential especially for quickly generating scripts and I am strangely satisfied by the quirky classes I’m concocting as I explore the Object-Oriented features of the language.
The Life Programmable 