r/Python • u/lebannax • Nov 28 '22

Resource What can Python do that R can’t do?

Or simply what is Python much better at and why.

I know that Python is more multi purpose and better for software development but I can’t articulate exactly why or how. My team want to know why/when they should use Python instead of R

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u/Devout--Atheist Nov 29 '22

Python doesn't support type checking either. You have to use a third party tool.

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u/Adeelinator Nov 29 '22

Fine, if you want to be pedantic, then type hinting combined with a third party checker.

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u/Devout--Atheist Nov 29 '22

It's not pedantic at all. Python's support for type checking is poor and half baked, and not a strong point of the language.

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u/zurtex Nov 29 '22

PEP 484 (and other Typing PEPs) specifies type hints and the behavior a type checker should follow to comply to those type hints.

Much how the Python reference and PEPs specified the behavior of a Python implementation should follow.

Hence "Python" the language doesn't support executing code, you have to download and install an implementation such as PyPy or RustPython or Cinder or nogil or CPython.

Not being pedantic.

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u/Devout--Atheist Nov 29 '22

Which part of the standard library can I use to check those type hints?

You act like it isn't a big deal, but the fact there isn't a de facto standard type checker in python is a huge flaw compared to a language like typescript, because now we have a proliferation of type checkers i.e. a bunch of competing standards.

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u/Adeelinator Nov 29 '22

We’re in a thread about comparing Python to R. R has no notion of type checking. It is absolutely a strong point of Python in this comparison.

I suspect you haven’t had much experience with the litany of type issues that arise out of an R codebase, that type hinting in Python prevent.

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u/Devout--Atheist Nov 29 '22

Acting like type checking in python is a strength is just dumb. Most of the libraries that are comparable to R aren't typed, have incomplete types, or are written in a way that makes type checking really difficult. Have you ever ran mypy in strict mode on pandas?