If a newbie tries out the Python interpreter for the first time, he will notice that the code runs horrible slow. Compared to the compiled C language a python program is around 20x slower which makes the language unusable for practical application. And exactly for this reason Python is a great language. Because it draws a line between teaching and productive scenario.
From a technical point of view, it's not very hard to make Python faster. One option is to optimize the python interpreter or develop a just in time compiler. The resulting language would have much in common with node.js, java and C++. It will become a language which is used for teaching programming and for programming real systems at the same time.
The good news is, that this is not the goal of Python. It's a teaching language. It allows to learn programming and create prototypes but the Python ecosystem prevents that Python code gets executed in real operating systems. Let us compare Python with other object oriented languages:
Java, C++, C#, node.js and ruby have in common that they are used for teaching programming to the newbies. Java for example is widely used in an academic context. It explains very well what object oriented programming is. The fast executation speed is that main difference of Java to Python. A fast execution speed implies that the language can be used outside a learning environment as an alternative to C.
Is Java able to replace C programs? No it doesn't. C is the number one language in the wild. It's used for creating operating systems, libraries, AAA game and object-oriented desktop application. The only problem with C is, that it's not used for teaching programming, because it has no explicit classes. And exactly this gap was filled by Python. Python is the missing part to train the newbies. If somebody has understand who to write Python programs he can try to use C structs and C pointers for doing the same for writing production ready code.
Python -> C -> Forth
Python is the number one language for creating prototypes and learn to program. The entry barrier for creating python scripts is very low. Even non programmer can create a hello world application within minutes. The C language is the number language for creating software in the wild. Most (>80%) softwareprojects in the reality are realized in C and it's superior to C++, Java and C#. C is the dominant language for the x86 PC architecture and any sort of application can be created. The Forth language is a special case, it's a language for programmers who are already with C and who are searching for a faster alternative. The main difference is that Forth will run on non-x86 systems which can be designed in FPGAs from scratch. Rewritting existing C code into Forth is good startin point to get familiar with stack-based computing.
Educational programming languages
Recent object oriented languages like Java and C# are teached very often in computer courses as an example for object oriented programming. The audience are newbies and non-programmers who are interested in learning the language from scratch. Python can be teached also in such courses. The main difference between Python and Java is, that Python programmers are aware that their language can't be used for practical applications. If they are writing a small prime number generator with a for loop they will recognize very soon, that the language is way to slow for practical applications. Python is an educational only language. That menas, if somebody like to program software in the wild he won't use Python.
In contrast the educational situation for Java is different. Java is used in introduction courses and the same Java language has become popular in writing real applications. Similar to C++, Java is used in an academic context and for practical applications at the same time. The problem is that programming experts are using C since 30 years and they are not planning to rewrite the code in any other language. That means, all the newly written Java, C++, Python and Ruby libraries are useless. Real operating systems are equipped with normal C libraries which are providing the maximum performance and are maintained by experts and any other language is critized as a toy language. In the case of Python, the Python community won't argue against it. They know, that Python can't replace a C library.
The situation in the programming world is, that there is the expert language C on the one hand which is used for creating important software, productive software and for large scale projects, and all the other languages were developed for niche problems, for academic purposes or as an alternative to C. A relative new understanding of computer programming is, that the C language is especially recommended for object oriented programming. This is a bit surprising, because C++, Java and C# were developed as a dedicated OOP language, but they have failed to replace C in this domain.
What the alternative languages over C have in common is, that they are widespread used in an educational setting. Many books were written about it and they are used in computer courses at the university. In contrast, the C language is never teached anyware and modern literature isn't available. The assumption of the newbies is, that the C language is outdated and is replaced by Java, C++ and other languages. This thesis isn't backuped by the percpetion in the reality. If software projects becomes larger, and are realzed with modern OOP technique it's in all cases a C only programming project. This is not wishful thinking but can be determined by take a look into the sourcecode of the software.
Why is C so popular? The reason is, that software engineering can't be separated from low level programming. If somebody likes to write a high level application he will need an operating system and existing libraries for doing so. To get access to the existing sourcecode, an API is needed and every API is working with pointers. Even higher languages like C++ and Java are using pointers all the time, and before the newbie is able to program in Java he has to know what pointers are. That means, it's not possible to ignore the topic at all.
And if C supports pointers, structs and modules out of the box, the programmer has no need to use a different langauge than the existing one. That means, especially newly written code is created in C. The prediction is, that this will be the same in 10 years from now, except somebody invents a language which can replace C.
The only area in which C can be ignored is for academic reasons and for software prototyping. If the idea is to explain in general what object oriented programming is, how an algorithm is working in theory and how to create an UML diagram, the C language isn't the best choice in doing so. A java based UML Generator is the prefered choice for software engineering teaching, while algorithm can be explained with Python very well. It makes no sense to print a screenshot of C sourcecode in a textbook because the syntax is hard to understand. C is way to low level and provides too much details of the underlying CPU.
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