To Script or Not to Script

gr33ndata · 01-29-2005, 07:45 PM

Hello
I usually do my coding in C and rarely C++
I also know some Jave and made a program or two in Perl but I still prefer C to any of them
The question is Shall I learn a scripting language some day, or C is enough.
And if yes that what is the best to learn.
I know that there is no specific answers for "What is the best" questions.
But at least I want to get your opinions and recommendations if any.
Thanks pals.

Hko · 01-29-2005, 08:01 PM

Same here. I like C, and also know some C++, Java and PHP.
I'm getting into python little by little. I think it's worth learning python as well.
Or perl, but I decided to do python.
And, if you don't know it already, some shell scripting (bash comes to mind) can be very useful.

Matir · 01-29-2005, 08:12 PM

I'm going to be learning Python soon. I've worked with PERL before, though it is very rusty. I'd suggest you at least learn the basics of BASH scripting, or whatever your shell of choice is.

gr33ndata · 01-30-2005, 02:39 AM

What I hate about Perl is that it is you know spaghetty programming. Not clean as C or even Java.

chrism01 · 01-30-2005, 07:03 PM

FYI: Perl is not spaghetti programming; that's down to the programmer. You can write unreadable stuff in any lang... you should see some of the 'C' code I've had to deal with

gr33ndata · 01-31-2005, 07:34 AM

Ummm,
So what do you recommend to learn. I dun care if it is easy or hard to learn. But i want a clean and powerful scripting language to use.
BTW, what's the pros for scripts to copiled programs (C for example).
I can say portability, but what else ??

theYinYeti · 01-31-2005, 08:25 AM

Although bash scripting has its limitations (few, IMO), I find it is VERY handy to know it.

Yves.

nixcraft · 01-31-2005, 09:25 AM

Yes scripting plays very important role in coding. You can use them to directly call from code do job that need 1000 line code in C/C++ and it works. I find python and Bash very useful and use them extensively them in C++, some time in QT.

chrism01 · 01-31-2005, 09:25 PM

In terms of programming speed, languages such as Perl take care of the fiddly bits like not writing off the end of an array/string in C.
Basically, it's at a slightly higher level, although you can do bit-twiddling if you want.
You usually get to the runnable stage quicker.
Perl is actually "compiled" in memory, then run so it's pretty quick.
(Technically it's an excutable env, rather than a standalone exe. Standalones can be generated, but most people don't bother.)

gr33ndata · 02-25-2005, 05:42 PM

Sounds like endless war between different scripting languages fans. No way to decide which is the best one.

farmerjoe · 02-27-2005, 06:59 PM

Bash with a mixture of perl is IMO by far the ultimate combination when it comes to scripting. I am not the best programmer myself (hardly as you can see from some of my previous posts), but i try and learn a lot. My friends, however, are very proficient in these and i have seen some amazing stuff come out of a fairly complicated bash script.

-farmerjoe

gr33ndata · 02-28-2005, 02:33 AM

Good, I did some perl scripts before but couldn't get used to it. Any ways I think I'll try to learn some bash scripting.