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How to hack genius was originally published in hackgenius on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

UPDATE Mar 2024: Added lambda to the unique keyword list in Python.
UDDATE Apr 2025: tl;dr tabular comparison at https://bit.ly/keywordsTable

Comparing Python and C through Keywords

As reported elsewhere (http://j.mp/reservedWords), here are some popular languages and the count of keywords in each of them.

For quite some time, with only 31 keywords, Python (Version 2) had held the distinction of being the “language with the least number of keywords”. Of course, we need to ignore Smalltalk (6) and the not-yet-mainstream Go (25) and Elm (25).

But with the transition to Python 3, that distinction has been ceded back to the good old C language (total keywords is 32). In any case, I was quite curious as to what were the additional keywords that were added to the language. Here’s what I came up with:

• In the transition from Python_2 to Python_3, there have been six changes to the keyword list — four were added and two were removed, resulting in a net addition of two.
• UPDATE (May 2023): Python 3.9.5 now has 36. Launch this!

Net Change is +6–4 = +2

Keywords added to Python_3: {'None', 'nonlocal',  'True', 'False'}
Keywords removed from: {'print', 'exec'}
Total changes: 6

Note: Both print and exec have been removed as keywords but retained as built-in functions. For an in-depth and insightful answer on behaviour of exec in Python 3 vis-à-vis Python 2, read this.

“Core” Python versus “Core” C

If you really think about it, it is not an apples-to-apples comparison when you compare the count of keywords in a strictly typed language (C, Java, etc.) versus a dynamic language (Python). Also, C does not have syntax that supports object-oriented programming or exception handling, whereas Python does.

Nevertheless, for the benefit of a developer/student who is familiar with core Python and is keen on familiarizing with the core part of the C language, the journey can start with a critical inspection of the keywords in both the languages. While “type-less” C has 21 keywords, “essential” Python (sans keywords related to objected orientation and exception handling) has 16 keywords.

-----------------------
Comparing keywords in Python and type-less C
-----------------------
Python: ['break', 'class', 'continue', 'def', 'del', 
'else', 'for', 'global', 'if', 'in', 'is', 
'nonlocal', 'pass', 'return', 'while'] 
# Total - 15 

"type-less" C Language: ['auto', 'break', 'const', 
'continue', 'do', 'else', 'enum', 'extern', 'for', 
'goto', 'if', 'lambda', 'register', 'return', 'sizeof', 
'static', 'struct', 'typedef', 'union', 'void', 
'volatile', 'while'] 
# Total - 21

If you remove the keywords that are common to both the above lists, here’s what remains:

------ DIFFERENCE -------
extra in python: ['class', 'def', 'del', 
'global', 'in', 'is', 'lambda', 'nonlocal', 'pass'] 9

extra in clang: ['auto', 'const', 'do', 'enum', 
'extern', 'goto', 'register', 'sizeof', 'static', 
'struct', 'typedef', 'union', 'volatile'] 14

My 5-part analysis below will attempt to compare and contrast the two languages by referring to the above 22 keywords (8 that exists only in Python verus 14 that exists only in C language).

Part 0 (programming constructs)

• The do-while loop construct exists in C, but not in Python.

• enum exist in C to give variable-like labels to numeric values. You can also define constant values (and macros) using preprocessor directives (#define). There is no support for something like this in Python.
• C has the keywordsswitch-case-default that help implement the multi-conditional constructs which can be quite elegant when used with enum. The equivalent of this can be codified with a series of non-elegant if-elif statements or using the more elegant dict datatype in Python.
• goto allows you to jump to an arbitrary location in the Ccode, and allowing for obscure source code to be written. And for that reason, it is recommended that this keyword be used sparingly. But then, see below for a code snippet from the Linux kernel code that uses goto. Go figure. There is no support for this kind of conditional jumps in Python.

• A function or class definition in Python requires def which is not required in C. lambdais a keyword used to create anonymous functions in Python.
• pass - a Python statement which has no effect; the equivalent of this is best achieved in C by using the ; delimiter.

Part 1 (scope)

• Scope options are accomplished by using global and nonlocal in Python, whereas in C the keywords auto, static and extern are used.
• C continues to be one of the few languages that allows you to get close to the metal, and that is why it has keywords like register and volatile.
• For example, keyword volatile is used to declare volatile variables, which are variables that can be changed by external factors, such as hardware devices.
• The keyword register is used to declare register variables, which are variables that are stored in CPU registers instead of memory. “A CPU register can be accessed in less than a CPU cycle on modern super-scalar CPUs (as opposed to going to memory which can take 100–300 CPU cycles.”

Part 2 (objects and immutability)

• Python supports object-oriented programming with the class keyword whereas the closest equivalents in C would be struct and typedef. The memory-efficient construct union, is unique to C and is not found in other strictly typed languages.
• In Python, where everything is an object, there is an explicit del keyword.
• At compile time, the C programmer can signal the need for immutability by using const as a prefix along with the data type. In Python, the mutability or immutability of an object is determined by its type.

Part 3 (object inspection)

• Member introspection in a sequence or collection is possible in Python using the inkeyword - there is no equivalent of that in C.
• Object equivalence is supported in Python and the keyword is is used to accomplish this. It returns False even if the objects are 100% equal.

Part 4 (related to memory)

• sizeof- is it a macro or a keyword? Or is it an operator? That’s a source for intense debate. The keyword is typically used when invoking dynamic memory allocation. In contrast, explicit memory management is non-existent in Python.
• A comparison of the operators supported in the languages highlights a significant difference: C language heavily utilizes pointers. Using the unary & and * (address and de-referencing) operators, pointer variables in C allows the programmer to “write to the metal”, i.e. have direct access to and modification of memory.

Misc

Remember, the above analysis has been about comparing “type-less” C and “non-OOP and exception handling free” Python. Again, an important capability of the C language is its support for preprocessor directives (using #define and #undef) for defining macros.

Pop Quiz

What does Python dynamically provide for that the C language doesn’t? What does the C language dynamically provide for that Python doesn’t?

Program listing

The above lists of keywords were generated using a Python (Version 3) program which is listed below.

import keyword
python3 = keyword.kwlist

# this can be obtained from a Python2 interpreter
# by using the above two statements 
#
python2 = [
	'and', 'as', 'assert', 'break', 'class', 'continue',
	'def', 'del', 'elif', 'else', 'except', 'exec', 
	'finally', 'for', 'from', 'global', 'if', 'import', 
	'in', 'is', 'lambda', 'not', 'or', 'pass', 'print',
	'raise', 'return', 'try', 'while', 'with', 'yield'
]

# new keywords in Python 3 
additional = set(python3) - set(python2)
print("Keywords added to Python3:", additional)

removed = set(python2) - set(python3)
print("Keywords removed from:", removed)

print("Total changes:", len(additional) + len(removed))

print("-----------------------")
print("Comparing keywords in Python and C")
print("-----------------------")

'''
# get keywords for C from webpages 
# write a scrap program by processing links in   
  https://www.programiz.com/c-programming/list-all-keywords-c-language
  
  http://tigcc.ticalc.org/doc/keywords.html#switch
'''

clang = []
with open("programiz.txt", "r") as fp:
  links = fp.readlines()
  for link in links: 
    try:
      link.index("list-all-keywords-c-language#") 
      hashsymbol = link.find("#")
      keyword = link[hashsymbol+1:-1]
      #print("found keyword", keyword)
              list = keyword.split("_")

      clang.extend(klist)
    except:
      pass

clang.extend(["size_t", "NULL"])

clangRemove = [
    'NULL',
    'char', 'int', 'float', 'double', 'long', 'size_t', 'void',
    'short', 'unsigned', 'signed',
    'switch', 'case', 'default',
    # 'auto', 'volatile', 'register', 
    # 'enum', 'typedef',
]

clang = [
    keyword for keyword in clang 
    if keyword not in clangRemove
]

pythonRemove = [
    'None', 'False', 'True',
    'assert', 'with', 'yield', 'lambda',
    'try', 'except', 'finally', 'raise',
    'import', 'from', 'as', 
    'and', 'or', 'not',
    'elif'
]

python3 = [
    keyword for keyword in python3
        if keyword not in pythonRemove
]

print("Python:", sorted(python3), len(python3))
print()
print("'typefree' C Language:", sorted(clang), len(clang))

print("\n------ DIFFERENCE -------")
pextra = set(python3) - set(clang)
cextra = set(clang) - set(python3)
print("extra in python:", sorted(pextra), len(pextra))
print("extra in clang:", sorted(cextra), len(cextra))

Program Output

Keywords added to Python3: {'None', 'nonlocal', 
'True', 'False'}
Keywords removed from: {'print', 'exec'}
Total changes: 6
-----------------------
Comparing keywords in Python and C
-----------------------
Python: ['break', 'class', 'continue', 'def', 'del', 
'else', 'for', 'global', 'if', 'in', 'is', 
'nonlocal', 'pass', 'return', 'while'] 15

'typefree' C Language: ['auto', 'break', 'const', 
'continue', 'do', 'else', 'enum', 'extern', 'for', 
'goto', 'if', 'register', 'return', 'sizeof', 
'static', 'struct', 'typedef', 'union', 'void', 
'volatile', 'while'] 21

------ DIFFERENCE -------
extra in python: ['class', 'def', 'del', 'global', 
'in', 'is', 'nonlocal', 'pass'] 8
extra in clang: ['auto', 'const', 'do', 'enum', 
'extern', 'goto', 'register', 'sizeof', 'static', 
'struct', 'typedef', 'union', 'volatile'] 14

Useful links

• Google’s AI search output — https://bit.ly/3v1Jecn
• Also see the typical (and rather boring!) analysis of these two languages at https://medium.com/edureka/python-vs-c-b83446bc2c23 .
• Python and C — Comparisons and Contrast shttps://www.rose-hulman.edu/class/cs/csse120/Resources/C/Python_vs_C.html
• Learn XinY minutes https://learnxinyminutes.com/docs/c/
• C for Python Programmers https://web.archive.org/web/20190315070958/http://www.toves.org/books/cpy/
• Short tutorial http://techbeamers.com/python-keywords-identifiers-variables/
• Tutorial for each of the Python keywords: http://j.mp/python3Keywords
• See another comparison https://kov.ai/cppJS or http://bit.ly/keywordsJSVsCpp (between C++ and JavaScript) written by a former KiTE student

Keywords in Python and C was originally published in hackgenius on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

As reported elsewhere (http://j.mp/reservedWords), here are some popular languages and the count of keywords in each of them.

For quite some time, with only 31 keywords, Python (Version 2) had held the distinction of being the “language with the least number of keywords”. Of course, we need to ignore Smalltalk (6) and the not-yet-mainstream Go (25) and Elm (25).

But with the transition to Python 3, that distinction has been ceded to the C language (total keywords is 32). Therefore, I was quite curious as to what were the additional keywords that were added to the language. Here’s what I came up with:

• In the transition from Python_2 to Python_3, actually there have been six changes to the keyword list; four were added and two were removed, resulting in a net addition of 2.

Keywords added to Python_3: {'None', 'nonlocal', 'True', 'False'}
Keywords removed from: {'print', 'exec'}
Total changes: 6

Note: Both print and exec have been removed keywords but retained as built-in functions. For an in-depth and insightful answer on behaviour of exec in Python 3 vis-à-vis Python 2, read this.

If you really think about it, it is not an apples-to-apples comparison when you comparing the count of keywords in a strictly typed language (C, Java, etc) versus a dynamic language (Python). Also, C does not have syntax that supports object-oriented programming or exception handling, whereas Python does.

Nevertheless, for the benefit of a developer/student who is familiar with core Python and is keen on familiarizing with the core part of the C language, the journey can start with an critical inspection of the keywords in both the languages. In comparison to “type-free” C, Python (sans keywords related to objected orientation and exception handling) has 15 keywords and C has 21 keywords.

-----------------------
Comparing keywords in Python and type-free C
-----------------------
Python: ['break', 'class', 'continue', 'def', 'del', 
'else', 'for', 'global', 'if', 'in', 'is', 
'nonlocal', 'pass', 'return', 'while'] Total - 15

`typefree` C Language: ['auto', 'break', 'const', 
'continue', 'do', 'else', 'enum', 'extern', 'for', 
'goto', 'if', 'register', 'return', 'sizeof', 
'static', 'struct', 'typedef', 'union', 'void', 
'volatile', 'while'] Total - 21

If you remove the keywords that are common to both the above lists, here’s what remains:

------ DIFFERENCE -------
extra in python: ['class', 'def', 'del', 
'global', 'in', 'is', 'nonlocal', 'pass'] 8

extra in clang: ['auto', 'const', 'do', 'enum', 
'extern', 'goto', 'register', 'sizeof', 'static', 
'struct', 'typedef', 'union', 'volatile'] 14

My analysis below will attempt to compare and contrast the two languages by referring to the above 22 keywords (8 that exists only in Python verus 14 that exists only in C).

• The do-while loop construct exists in C, but not in Python
• enum exist in C to give variable-like labels to numeric values, but this is not supported in Python
• C also has the switch-case-default keywords allowing for multi-conditional constructs which can be quite elegant when used with enums. The equivalent of this can be codified with a series non-elegant if-elif statements in Python
• goto allows you to jump to an arbitrary location in the Ccode, and allowing for obscure source code to be written. And for that reason, it is recommended that this keyword be used sparingly; totally unsupported in Python
• A function or class definition in Python requires def which is not required in C
• pass - a Python statement which has no effect; the equivalent of this is best achieved in C by using the ; delimiter
• Scope options are accomplished by using global and nonlocal in Python, whereas in C the keywords auto, static and extern are used.
• C continues to be one of the few languages that allows you to get closer to the metal, and that is why it has keywords like register and volatile .
• sizeof- is it a macro or a keyword? that’s a source for intense debate. The keyword is normally used in calculation of dynamic memory allocation. In contrast, explicit memory management is non-existent in Python.
• Python supports object-oriented programming with the class keyword for which the closest equivalents would be struct and typedef in C. union, the memory-efficient construct is rather unique to C, which is not found even in other strictly typed languages.
• Everything is an object in Python, and therefore an explicit del exists.
• C has the ability to define that variable of any data type to be const at compile time, whereas in Python, the type of the object pre-determines whether it is mutable or immutable.
• Member introspection in a sequence or collection is possible in Python through inkeyword - there is no equivalent of that in C.
• Type reflection (meaning you can ask an object what type it is) and object equivalence is supported in Python and is is used to accomplish this.

The above lists of keywords were generated using a Python (Version 3) program which is listed below.

Program Listing and Output

import keyword
python3 = keyword.kwlist

# this can be obtained from a Python2 interpreter
# by using the above two statements 
#
python2 = [
	'and', 'as', 'assert', 'break', 'class', 'continue',
	'def', 'del', 'elif', 'else', 'except', 'exec', 
	'finally', 'for', 'from', 'global', 'if', 'import', 
	'in', 'is', 'lambda', 'not', 'or', 'pass', 'print',
	'raise', 'return', 'try', 'while', 'with', 'yield'
]

# new keywords in Python 3 
additional = set(python3) - set(python2)
print("Keywords added to Python3:", additional)

removed = set(python2) - set(python3)
print("Keywords removed from:", removed)

print("Total changes:", len(additional) + len(removed))

print("-----------------------")
print("Comparing keywords in Python and C")
print("-----------------------")

'''
# get keywords for C from webpages 
# write a scrap program by processing links in 
 https://www.programiz.com/c-programming/list-all-keywords-c-language
 
 http://tigcc.ticalc.org/doc/keywords.html#switch
'''
# Also read http://www.toves.org/books/cpy/

clang = []
with open("programiz.txt", "r") as fp:
 links = fp.readlines()
 for link in links: 
 try:
 link.index("list-all-keywords-c-language#") 
 hashsymbol = link.find("#")
 keyword = link[hashsymbol+1:-1]
 #print("found keyword", keyword)
 list = keyword.split("_")

clang.extend(klist)
 except:
 pass

clang.extend(["size_t", "NULL"])

clangRemove = [
 'NULL',
 'char', 'int', 'float', 'double', 'long', 'size_t', 'void',
 'short', 'unsigned', 'signed',
 'switch', 'case', 'default',
 # 'auto', 'volatile', 'register', 
 # 'enum', 'typedef',
]

clang = [
 keyword for keyword in clang 
 if keyword not in clangRemove
]

pythonRemove = [
 'None', 'False', 'True',
 'assert', 'with', 'yield', 'lambda',
 'try', 'except', 'finally', 'raise',
 'import', 'from', 'as', 
 'and', 'or', 'not',
 'elif'
]

python3 = [
 keyword for keyword in python3
 if keyword not in pythonRemove
]

print("Python:", sorted(python3), len(python3))
print()
print("'typefree' C Language:", sorted(clang), len(clang))

print("\n------ DIFFERENCE -------")
pextra = set(python3) - set(clang)
cextra = set(clang) - set(python3)
print("extra in python:", sorted(pextra), len(pextra))
print("extra in clang:", sorted(cextra), len(cextra))

Keywords added to Python3: {'None', 'nonlocal', 
'True', 'False'}
Keywords removed from: {'print', 'exec'}
Total changes: 6
-----------------------
Comparing keywords in Python and C
-----------------------
Python: ['break', 'class', 'continue', 'def', 'del', 
'else', 'for', 'global', 'if', 'in', 'is', 
'nonlocal', 'pass', 'return', 'while'] 15

'typefree' C Language: ['auto', 'break', 'const', 
'continue', 'do', 'else', 'enum', 'extern', 'for', 
'goto', 'if', 'register', 'return', 'sizeof', 
'static', 'struct', 'typedef', 'union', 'void', 
'volatile', 'while'] 21

------ DIFFERENCE -------
extra in python: ['class', 'def', 'del', 'global', 
'in', 'is', 'nonlocal', 'pass'] 8
extra in clang: ['auto', 'const', 'do', 'enum', 
'extern', 'goto', 'register', 'sizeof', 'static', 
'struct', 'typedef', 'union', 'volatile'] 14

Originally published at medium.com on September 3, 2018.

Keywords in Python and C was originally published in Professional Pirates on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Originally published at medium.com on August 25, 2018.

Why every engineer must write regularly was originally published in Professional Pirates on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

It is important not only to become technically strong, but also document your progress towards this goal. Use a blogging site (like Medium) to publish to the world about your commitment to technical skills (especially coding if you are a computer science engineering student, it could be others skills for other streams) and communication skills.

What to write? How often to write? How to start? Please read this article https://medium.freecodecamp.org/why-every-software-engineer-should-write-articles-f35bdae72d1b

Good luck!

Why every engineer must write regularly was originally published in hackgenius on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The task: Write python code to generate prime_factors for any integer.

The solution: A one-liner Python program (okay three, if you count the import statements) which get the job done, without actually defining the function. Lo and behold!

The above python code scrapes and selects one of the answers associated with the related Stackoverflow question. The exec function call eliminates the need for performing the typical cut-and-paste job! How cool is that? That’s why Python rocks!

Incredible, isn’t it? Take it for a spin below:

The JavaScript Challenge

Who will be the first one to write an equivalent Javascript program that does exactly what the Python program does?

The Ulimate Cut-and-Paste Job was originally published in Professional Pirates on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Write about one web tool was originally published in Professional Pirates on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Manivasakam R of KGISL IIM (http://www.kgisliim.ac.in/) has developed a nice Blog Counter over at http://cbcounter.herokuapp.com/. His counter generates a report on the number of blogs made by each contributor to a common blog.

Take a look at it, remix his code and give it a twist of your own!

Only recently, Medium has started to open up its API and allow for integration. Read up more on this at https://venturebeat.com/2015/10/07/medium-opens-up-publishing-api-adds-wordpress-plugin-and-adds-new-content-partners/

Suggestions for Enhancement

Two enhancement ideas to the existing blog counter
1. Sort the list of bloggers based on their count (so it becomes a Blog Ladder)
2. Every week, generate this report and automatically post it to the common blog using the medium API
3. Automate Step 2 — is it even possible?

Blog counter for a Publication was originally published in Professional Pirates on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Following Part 1, Part 2 explores the in-place recursive Selection Sort technique which is not as straightforward, but still fun to wrap your head around using the JavaScript splice function.

The in-place select sort algorithm calls for a swap of the minimum value (basis for selection) with a specific indexed location, starting from 0 to the one-minus length of array.

Line 21 secures the minimum value in the variableminVal which is spliced in place in the index location idx in Line 23. This is after the element in that indexed location has already been spliced into place at the location where the minimum value originally had been discovered.

And finally, the loop continues to proceed to handle each of the other elements in the list. But, wait a minute! There is an important tweak you have to make to the helper function indexOfMinValue, which is as follows:

Basically, the only addition is Line 10 which filters out those elements that are not integers. More importantly, the i < iMin check is required to ensure that the comparison check begins with the first element of the unsorted sub-list, which is located at thestart index.

Happy Sorting!