> Emotionally though (once you have the environment set up), it’s just such a breeze to write it.

That's no different than the JS fans saying "hey, if you have the exactly right versions combo of Node.JS, npm and webpack, everything works fine!". I almost never manage to install anything via `pip install`. I just cross my fingers and am not at all surprised when it doesn't work. Not for a lack of trying, mind you, I've fiddled with separating Python 2 and 3 environments, tried a few package managers etc.

If I can't install Python + a package manager and I can't then install any random tool that proudly says "we're just a `pip install` away" in their GitHub repo then to me that's a failed ecosystem relying on inertia and Stockholm Syndrome. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

> It’s like executable pseudo code with zero boilerplate.

Is it? I've seen some pretty horrible constructor boilerplate that managed to look almost as alien as Perl. Also who decided that methods starting by underscores is a solid convention lol. Of course bad programmers will manage to butcher every language, think we all agree on that, but as I get older I appreciate languages that don't allow bad coding in the first place (or realistically, limit it as much as they can).

> You can focus purely on the algorithms and business logic.

Not my observation. I know a few data scientists and a few people who just learned Python out of desperation related to how mundane and repetitive their jobs are. They all had to wrestle with OS-specific quirks -- that a stdlib absolutely should abstract away -- the same package management woes as me, and libraries they need subtly breaking because apparently they only work well in Python 3.6 and not after (one random example).

I get the sentiment and I wanted to believe that such a language existed a while ago
but I am just not seeing it. Foot-guns and all, you know the old sayings.

> For many applications where the the outcome of the program is more important than the performance or environment, like glue code, simple intranet applications or exploratory coding, it is still the perfect choice.

I am still looking for such a tech for myself as well because my main choices of languages aren't a super good fit for tinkering. But so far I haven't seen Python filling that niche. Too much minutiae to handle.

> You also have to consider what it is replacing, often the alternative would be even worse; bash-scripts, Excel or Matlab.

Yeah that's a real problem, absolutely. For now I always got away by just learning an insane amount of CLI / TUI tools and always assembling them together just enough with bash/zsh scripting to get my task done... but that approach has deficiencies as well, and will not work forever.

> Another way to put it is that it’s a very good Swiss Army knife that is good at everything but not best at anything.

To add to the analogy: it also starts getting rusty and doesn't work as reliably as before but grandpa will let anyone replacing it only over his dead body.

(And I semi-mockingly call people "grandpas" as a 42 year old who is supposed to be conservative but I find it extremely amusing how many 28-year olds I've met that are more conservative than me and my 69-year old mother.)