Go away Python

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Go as a scripting language

  • Thread centers on a trick that makes .go files directly executable by abusing // comments to smuggle a go run "$0" "$@" command through the shell.
  • Some like the idea: reuse project code in scripts, get static binaries, type checks, and Go’s “if it compiles, it runs” reliability for deployment and internal tooling.
  • Others argue Go’s verbose error handling and multi-file/module bias make it a poor fit for quick-and-dirty scripts compared to classic scripting languages.

Python environments and the rise of uv

  • Many comments push back on the blog’s “don’t want to care about pip vs poetry vs uv” premise by pointing out uv + PEP 723 inline metadata largely solves “just run this script with dependencies”:
    • uv run --script + a PEP 723 block can install the right Python version and packages on the fly, per-script, with hard‑link deduplication.
    • Some say uv is “a work of art” and has replaced pip, venv, pyenv, pipx, etc. in their workflow.
  • Others are skeptical:
    • Python’s history of competing tools and virtualenv confusion has burned them; they see uv as another layer rather than a fundamental fix.
    • Using uv pip still inherits pip’s quirks around incremental installs and dependency resolution order.
    • For non‑Python users, discovering uv is non‑obvious, and Python’s overall ecosystem still feels fragmented.

Scripting ergonomics and use‑cases

  • Several distinguish between “scripting” (small, single-file, OS-glue tasks) and “shippable software” (tests, pipelines, reproducible builds):
    • Bash/Perl/ruby/babashka are praised for shell integration and minimal ceremony.
    • Python is described as in the middle: good stdlib, but packaging/env pain, especially for non‑pure‑Python deps (GTK, GUI bindings).
    • Go and Rust are seen as better for robust tools than for throwaway one-offs.

Portability, shebangs, and alternatives

  • Discussion of portability issues: env -S support, paths to go, macOS/BSD quirks, exit code propagation from go run.
  • Alternatives to the Go hack:
    • gorun, yaegi for Go; binfmt_misc for transparent go run.
    • uv, pipx, nix-shell for Python; PEP 723 standardizing inline metadata.
    • First-class script support in .NET (dotnet run with package directives), Erlang escript, babashka (Clojure), Java jbang, Swift swift-sh, Rust’s cargo script mode.
  • General agreement that many languages can be bent into “scripting,” but ergonomics and tooling maturity vary widely.