interpretable.txt

Question:
Is there a reason you switched from "interpretable" when there were 4 groups to
mean "there is only one way to do things and thus interpretable to humans", but
when there were 8 groups you mean "interpretable by the machine"?

Answer:
I apologize for any confusion caused. The term "interpretable" can be used in
different contexts and with different meanings. In the first categorization with
four groups, I used "interpretable" to refer to languages that are human
-readable and allow for clear understanding of the code's behavior. In the
second categorization with eight groups, I used "interpretable" to refer to
languages that can be executed by a virtual machine or an interpreter rather
than being compiled into machine code. The distinction between the two usages of
"interpretable" is important and may have led to the confusion.

To clarify, in the second categorization, the languages in the "Interpretable
and expressive" and "Interpretable and static" categories are considered
interpretable because they can be executed by an interpreter or a virtual
machine, allowing for easier portability of the code across different platforms.
The languages in the "Highly interpretable" category are low-level languages
that can be directly executed by a computer without the need for an interpreter
or a virtual machine, but may be more difficult for humans to read and
understand due to their lower-level syntax.


Question:
Isn't Perl known for "there is more than one way to do it"?

Answer:
Yes, Perl is often associated with the slogan "there's more than one way to do
it" (TMTOWTDI), which reflects its emphasis on expressiveness. Perl offers a
wide range of features and syntactical constructs that allow programmers to
solve problems in multiple ways. This flexibility and power are what make Perl a
highly expressive language. The TMTOWTDI philosophy is often cited as one of the
strengths of Perl, as it allows programmers to choose the most suitable approach
to a problem, and encourages experimentation and creativity in programming.
Therefore, Perl should be included in the "Emphasis on expressiveness" category
along with other languages like Prolog, Lua, Ruby, JavaScript, and PHP.


Question:
Isn't Python known for "there is only one way to do it"?

Answer:
Python is often associated with the "There should be one-- and preferably only
one --obvious way to do it" (TOOWTDI) philosophy, which suggests that there
should be a preferred way to solve a particular problem that is clear, concise,
and consistent. This philosophy aims to make the code more readable,
maintainable, and reliable.

However, this doesn't mean that Python has only one way to do things. In fact,
Python is a highly expressive language that provides a wide range of tools and
features that allow programmers to solve problems in multiple ways. Python's
standard library, for instance, includes a diverse set of modules that provide
different ways to accomplish common tasks. Moreover, Python's flexibility and
dynamic nature enable programmers to express their ideas in various ways.

Therefore, while Python may emphasize a preferred way of doing things, it is
still a highly expressive language that provides multiple options to solve
problems. Hence, Python should be included in the "Expressive and dynamic"
category along with other languages like JavaScript and Lua.


Question:
In this case it means Python is more opinionated on how we should do something?

Answer:
Yes, that's a good way to put it. Python, with its "There should be one-- and
preferably only one --obvious way to do it" philosophy, is more opinionated on
how things should be done than some other languages. Python's design favors
simplicity, readability, and consistency, and encourages programmers to write
code that is easy to understand and maintain.

While Python provides multiple ways to solve a problem, it emphasizes a
preferred way of doing things, which can be seen as more opinionated than
languages that do not have a strong emphasis on a particular approach. This
opinionated nature can be seen as a strength or weakness, depending on the
situation, and can influence the programming style and decision-making process
of Python programmers.


Question:
For Rust, which is both expressive and interpretable, there are many ways to do
something but at the same time, there should be only one obvious way to do it?

Answer:
Rust is a programming language that aims to provide a balance between
expressiveness and performance, while also prioritizing safety and correctness.
Rust's syntax and features are designed to be expressive and flexible, allowing
programmers to solve problems in various ways. At the same time, Rust also
emphasizes a "one obvious way" philosophy, where there is a preferred way to
solve a particular problem that is clear, concise, and consistent. This
philosophy is reflected in Rust's documentation and community norms, which
encourage best practices and discourage overly clever or complex solutions.

The emphasis on a preferred way of doing things in Rust is not as strong as in
some other languages like Python, but it is still an important aspect of the
language. The "one obvious way" philosophy in Rust is not meant to restrict
creativity or experimentation but rather to promote code that is easy to
understand and maintain. Therefore, Rust can be included in the "Both
expressiveness and interpretability" category, along with other languages like
Haskell, OCaml, Erlang, Scala, F#, Elixir, and Swift.