The reason I use mathematica instead of any other CAS is because writing mathematica code feels like doing math, not writing code. I use it as a glorified calculator 99% of the time, not for actual programming. How easily can I write bindings for OpenCL or ZeroMQ or SDL? How interoperable is Wolfram? Compared to a general-purpose programming language - not very much. The entire ecosystem is community-driven (with important corporate sponsors, of course).

What if Wolfram changes their pricing model and I can no longer afford their software? Well, I neither have to pay to use Python, nor do I have to trust any particular organization in order to use it. Compare that to C++ or Python, which have different open-source implementations. At that point, you cannot use Wolfram products any longer. Or if you fall under some blanket ban because of politics. Imagine if after a year or two Wolfram goes bankrupt. I'd rather implement a complicated algorithm in plain C than optimize Wolfram Language code. Whenever I need more than a quick simulation or a few charts, I will always prefer a general-purpose programming language. The Wolfram platform is meant as an interactive tool, and like most interactive tools, it's difficult to build maintainable software.

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