this post was submitted on 11 Oct 2023
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I'm migrating some VBAs to python/pandas and reducing some process times from half an hour to 3 minutes.
Yup that's normal because VBA is single-threaded, doesn't take advantage of vector instructions and even its interpreter is slow. So when someone writes numerical code in VBA working in single precision, and assuming they have an 8 core CPU with AVX2, they're using only 1/64-th of their CPU's processing power. On the other hand with Python, while it's still interpreted, the interpreter is much faster on its own, and you have modules like
numpythat use precompiled routines that take advantage of vector instructions (and possibly multiple cores).Yes. Python is a LOT more powerful. Requires a LOT technical knowledge to operate.
Are you making north of 150k to make your strife worth it?
Or are you raising the technical bar while also lowering the compensation bar?
Myself, I make 60k and my VBA gets the job done. Zero incentive to get into the minutia you just explained. My shit works. And I'm not set on fucking up the bell curve for everyone.
bruv Python is so simple you barely need to know English to use it. Haven't used VBA but I'll just blindly guess it's more difficult because honestly I have not seen a language that is easier to pick up than Python.
I learned some VB.net in college and it probably depends on what you are trying to do with it, but it's simpler than Python, I would say. It is an event driven language, and you handle everything at a very high level. It was the first language taught in my CS studies in the mid to late 2000s for that reason. I remember enjoying working with it, the performance just sucks and there are just better languages for most of the things it does, like C#.
That being said, Python is very nice and intuitive to learn and work with as well. It's just a much deeper rabbithole than VB.
Well, if VBA disappears, Python is what I'll need to learn.
If I don't need to learn a new language tho, I'd prefer that.
Honestly, 95% of my vba is just nested do until loops.
The remaining 5% is ODBC connections and BCP shell commands.
Not trying to hate on you but this sort of take is really bad. I understand if you dislike programming and are forced to do it for your job but otherwise learning a new thing occasionally is a good thing. In case programming is a key part of your job it's like a carpenter saying "I prefer hand sawing everything but if they discontinue them I'll be forced to use a table saw". But again, if you are forced to program at work despite not liking it that changes things.
I challenge your read.
I love programming. I'd love to expand my knowledge.
I am 5 years deep on "you hired an analyst and then demanded a developer/architect/salesman, and the payrate didn't follow. I am still making creative ramen dishes from my rental when I should have a house, and I should get a yearly vacation."
My CEO gets 30% gains yearly... and he is the only person at my company that enjoys that.
Basically I am striking. Like the rest of the world.
Cool you are making a fair wage and aren't scabbing on your peers. Because a love for leaving behind what works to make something in a different language that also works fills your soul with joy?
Yes? I don't know what you expect me to say here, why tf wouldn't learning a better language every now and then fill me with joy? I'm dabbling in side projects all the time and when I switched from React to Svelte I felt elated because it's just so much more comfortable to work with. If your boss is not paying you for your work that's that but nothing stops you from learning new stuff for yourself. I do understand you not wanting to hand your boss your training for free but nobody forces you to do that either, just don't mention that you can use python when asked. That simple.
I feel like we are "mirror images", but not in a predictable way.
Like, you get off on flying through languages having done things in said languages but never fully understanding any language and I get off on not needing a new language until I fully understand the one Im on, but LOVE informing you on the same tripwire you hit in each new language whilst I trip over that same thing in my language. Every. Time.
I dont fancy you wrong, just not correct.
I'd hope you'd fancy me not correct, but also not wrong.
I wouldn't excatly say I'l flying through languages. My migrations so far were these:
C++ -> Rust: I learned C++ in Uni, I switched to Rust pretty quickly because I heard a lot of good things about it before I needed a compiled language in my free time
Python -> Bash: sort of a regression but most of my projects using Python by now have been moved over to Rust because I value the stability it provides. Bash replaced the use cases for small things like turning off RGB before suspend and things like that. I looked at Python, tested out Bash and concluded that my experience would be better with Bash despite it being older and less user friendly
Typescript + React -> Typescript + Svelte: I initially started out using NextJS and was growing frustrated with it, heard a lot of good about Svelte and decided to try it out on a smaller project. I quickly discovered that using Svelte increases my development speed and significantly reduces my headaches.
That's 3 switches in 4/5 years of developing things, most of these happened pretty early on as well. What I'm doing however is keeping an eye open in case something pops up that would suit my needs substantially better than what I already have.
I don't know what your seniority is, but it's cool if it works for you. However, to remain employable in case you someday get laid off (of course not wishing you that), it would be beneficial to have experience in a more modern language. To remain fixated on one single language/tech just because it works for you for now is going to cause you lots of pain in case you need to hit the job market again someday and it would be too late to learn new languages because, depending on your seniority again, recruiters won't want someone who just began learning the language.
Python is way easy lo learn that VBA imo, and is way more useful.
Btw, Libreoffice supports python scripts. Other offices too?
Excel will kinda support it soon, unfortunately it will only be available to run in the cloud and not locally.
I work in corporate, so it's Microsoft all the way up.