There is no denying the fact that Python is indeed one of the fastest-growing programming languages in the world. No matter which popular index you look at, you will easily find Python topping the charts by beating several other once-favorite programming languages.
Statistics suggest that today, there are more than 8 million Python developers in the world. And nothing is stopping this number from rising with each passing day.
We live in a society whose dynamics change almost every day. Having said this, the world has come a long way in the evolution of programming languages. Be it C, C++, Java, or Python, every language had a set of features that have proven itself to the world and contributed to developmental work in different ways.
The focus, however, is on multiple programming languages. While some are designed to ease enterprise development, others facilitate research and help harness the latest technologies of the world.
Python is one such programming language that has transformed the world in various ways. It helps breathe life into advanced artificial intelligence-based ideas, among others. This implementation of concepts like machine learning is also possible using languages other than Python.
As we said, each programming language is born with a mission; Python is no different. It has a plethora of in-built machine learning libraries like Tensorflow, Numpy, Sci-kit Learn, etc. These libraries not only ease work but also let any developer harness the best of emerging technologies.
Welcome Nim
But, like every programming language, Python has its limitations too. With millions of developers using Python as their primary development language, it has become evident that the programming language isn’t as flawless as it looks.
Even though Python continues to be updated with time, other programming languages are taking shape in the world. One such language is Nim, which might be the next Python in the world.
Nim is a relatively young programming language, dwelling from the concepts of Python. Its freshness and ease of coding, along with a plethora of features, are giving it an edge and making it the talk of the town.
It is a statistically typed programming language that also draws some inspiration from Pascal, C and other meta-programming capabilities. Since it is a compiled language, Nim has also been compared to Rust, C++, Google’s Go, Golang, etc. Let’s look at some of its features closely.
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Clean Syntax
One of the fundamental things that programmers expect in a new programming language is ease of coding. And a clean syntax adds to it. A clean syntax helps in understanding a piece of code quickly without having to fuss about it.
Since Nim draws inspiration from a variety of languages, programmers can easily understand its syntax. It also facilitates modifying the code faster and with more efficiency. While this enables programmers to concentrate on more critical tasks, such as innovation, it also saves a lot of time otherwise spent on understanding the code.
As Nim draws from Python, it has significant indentation syntax, multiple-constructs, multi-line lambdas, etc. Apart from this, it has Oberon-inspired visibility markers along with Pascal-inspired type sections for leaner definitions.
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Garbage Collector Options
A significant challenge when designing a programming language is garbage collection. It is a property that pauses time and memory usage. For any particular language, the lower the pause time, the better the programming.
As compared to languages like Go, JAVA and Haskell, Nim has the lowest pause time, which is a maximum of 0.6829 milliseconds. Similarly, when it comes to memory usage, the maximum resident set size is 277 Mb.
Developers can attribute the reduced pause time and memory usage to multiple garbage collector options in Nim. Programmers get to choose from a deferred RC’ing garbage collector that is fast, incremental and pauseless. It is also deterministic, thus allowing users to specify the maximum pause time along with other options.
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Native Performance
The programming language compiles to C, which is why it is fast and enjoys various benefits over other languages. The fundamental gains that Nim enjoys due to modern C compilers are portability and optimizations.
All programming language designers have been implementing portability and optimization for nearly 40 years. The binaries that are produced by Nim enjoy independence with no dependencies and are small size. This facilitates hassle-free distribution and keeps users content.
Java Script Compilation
Another great property of the language Nim is that it offers a JavaScript backend, making client and server targeting effortless at the same time.
Extensibility
Nim comprises of powerful meta-programming features. These include support for generics, templates and macros. On the one hand, it allows the programming language to be extended with comfort, while on the other hand, it avoids any boilerplate issues for the developers.
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Convenient Wrapping
Since Nim’s core is based on a large number of languages, it facilitates suitable wrapping. Nim can easily bind to C, C++ and Objective-C libraries, thus allowing developers to access and utilize one of the largest ecosystems and powerful libraries.
The first stable version of Nim, called 1.0, was released last month. However, its foundation took shape in 2008 by German Programmer Andreas Rumpf.
Initially, Nim was designed for not more than 20,000 lines of code and a macro system to fill the gaps. But, as time passes, Nim’s compiler and standard library use as many as 140,000 lines of code.
Although there are many security issues that make the system vulnerable, its greatest virtues lies in incremental recompilation.
Coming back to Python, Nim can be utilized to speed some of its modules. While programming in Python has its benefits, it is also a nightmare when it comes to writing efficient performance code. With Nim, developers not only enjoy Python-like syntax but also many advanced features that overcome the shortcomings of Python.
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Conclusion
As of now, Nim might not be as efficient as Python, especially when we talk about the vulnerability of the code. But with time, once these deficiencies are addressed, it will give a tough fight to Python. As of now, Nim has close to 1000 packages.
This number is all set to increase in the future once developers realize its potential to create games and applications. In other words, it could be the next Python in the coming years.
