From: tnp@invalid.invalid   
      
   On 02/02/2026 14:50, Rich wrote:   
   > Steve Hayes  wrote:   
   >> On Tue, 20 Jan 2026 08:42:08 +0000, Richard Kettlewell   
   >>  wrote:   
   >>   
   >>> Steve Hayes  writes:   
   >>>> The Natural Philosopher  wrote:   
   >>>>> On 19/01/2026 04:10, c186282 wrote:   
   >>>>>> I know some here HATE Python ... but it really IS   
   >>>>>> almost infinitely useful these days. The look and   
   >>>>>> feel is sort of BASIC, sort of FORTRAN, sort of Pascal++.   
   >>>>>> It Just Works.   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>> I've not used any of those languages in decades, either.   
   >>>>   
   >>>> I've played with Python, BASIC and Pascal.   
   >>>>   
   >>>> The thing I don't understand about Python is why it is so popular when   
   >>>> it is an interpreted rather than a compiled language, so it can't   
   >>>> produce stand-alone programs.   
   >>>   
   >>> That’s debatable, but either way, most people don’t care about that   
   >>> enough to impact language choice.   
   >>   
   >> So do all versions of Linux come with a built-in Python interpreter?   
   >   
   > No version of Linux includes any built-in languages (unless you   
   > consider the fancy bpf code a "language").  "Linux" is just the kernel,   
   > nothing more.   
   >   
   > Most Linux **distributions** include Python (and a whole host of other   
   > languages) in their repositories that one can install on one's system.   
   >   
   It does however tend to be the case that nearly all come with bash, and   
   python because many default programs depend on them   
      
   gcc used to be part of 'build-essentials' nut I am not sure it isn't a   
   default part of most distros these days   
      
      
   --   
   For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and   
   wrong.   
      
   H.L.Mencken   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)