author comes across like a crank, “the stdlib raises exceptions but who can tell which!?” you can. read the docs, then catch the exceptions you care about
really the thing to be wary of with python is the crowd it attracts who wish it was java. enterprise engineers endlessly circling the static/dynamic whirlpool and spinning off the next Ruby/Go
i suppose something about it resonated because i’ve been made cranky by the lack of a good type system while maintaining platform code written in dynamic languages in the past. but i would also probably be fine with a workflow which involved accounting for each new and exotic exception type as it is reported
personally i attempt to write ruby in every language and so have a natural antipathy for people who try to write java in every language
i’ve enjoyed working with functional core / imperative shell designs in the past and python is a fine language for the abstracted, surface-level parts of the system in those
I do generally agree that circa 2020, Python had become a lot less fun than it used to be due to a weird combination of type hinting envy and a lot of community libraries struggling to move to async-first (which was also a form of typescript envy) so you’d spend all of your time trying to figure out how to replace blocking dependencies and writing increasingly verbose and ugly code as a consequence. it’s thankfully gotten a little better again since, due in significant part to Pydantic but I pretty much switched to writing Go for equivalently small programs in the meantime. I will apparently never have as much js syntax memorized as I do Python but I would absolutely recommend that new developers just learn Go/js instead of Python these days
i would actually kinda be curious abt everyone’s experience in this “small program that automates something” space cos like, as much as i don’t love how floppy python is, i’ve really appreciated being able to Just Write The Damn Code and execute it without worrying about compiling or aggressive boilerplate.
i assume, based on very little knowledge, that go and ruby are in similar spaces but i don’t know how they all differ.
they are wildly different
that’s Go
ruby’s specialty is succinct code that looks pretty on the screen but it is notorious for giving you ample rope to hang yourself with (monkeypatching, method_missing handlers, etc) go is a more plodding, workmanlike language that was designed in large part to help google engineers be more fungible
almost everyone who likes and still uses Ruby does so because it was better than anything else for a) web development or b) OSX tooling in 2008. it has relatively weird syntax and obfuscates a lot of what it’s doing to make stuff (sort of) Just Work. I dislike it less than PHP or Java and there are still many high profile Ruby shops but it’s not really popular anymore
Go is like the least expressive language of the last 20 years but considering how much less fun a lot of others are now it’s not a bad choice considering, the ecosystem is good
Someone mentioned a dungeon exploration hackn slashy looking game for PSP recently and I meant to write it down but didnt.
Anyone know what that might be?
Dungeon Maker?
brandish?
Brandish is it yes! Thanks
oh yeah are those brandish games any good?
They’re just OK. The Super Famicom Brandish games are hard to look at. PSP Brandish is too repetitive and lacks the bite to become a truly great dungeon crawler. Fun for a short while
a few years ago i worked on a ruby backend / typescript frontend project for a financial services company whose cto was a retired consultant and it was the most perfect codebase i had seen in my life, for the first time in my career programming was boring because the entire project was utterly immaculate from the beginning. that probably had to do with the original developer’s level of skill more than any particular technology choice, but if javascript has anything as pleasant as pry for breakpoint debugging i would really love to see it
(i posted that while i was drunk)
when i mentioned rope to hang yourself i meant rope that library authors use to hang you
incredibly, in the year 2025, only the main story section of the sonic manual has been translated. could some kindly multilinguist please tell me what these sections say?
Google Translate…
Spring Yard Zone: A twilight town lined with exotic buildings. When Sonic uses bobbins or jump-platforms, he shoots off like a pinball. If he accelerates, he can rush up to quite precipitous spots!
Star Light Zone: Sonic runs against the backdrop of a night skyline and twinkling stars. He takes elevators, gets blown backwards by fans, deftly uses see-saws to jump… it’s hectic!
thanks to both of you 
is there by chance a non malware filled website or android app that lets me dl entire youtube playlists as seperate audio files. preferably mp3 (optional) and free (not optional, i am broke lol). i find many that let me download audio but only one by one (newpipe for example), which is a slow process.