That's just an absurd statement. C's worse case is obfuscated garbage http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Obfuscated_C_Code... that just about no one could read or maintain and you think that's better that Python, PHP, Pearl, or Ruby's best case?
Or is it more likely that like most C folk, you're just stuck on execution speed as the only measure of a language or you don't know what maintainability actually means?
C's being hard to maintain is not a perception, it's a reality. If C were easy to maintain there wouldn't have been room for scripting languages to exist, everyone would have just kept using C. C is extremely low level and extremely powerful, making it hard to work in and very dangerous.
Yes you can do anything with a for loop, but I'd much rather use higher level abstractions like higher order functions, first class functions, objects, continuations, and exceptions and not be able to directly play with memory or pointers because I don't give a crap about the machine, I give a crap about abstracting and solving my problem with the least amount of necessary boilerplate or repetitive code.
Look, make it simple, assume for the sake of argument that Python and C have exactly equal execution speed under all circumstances, given that axiom, why would anyone choose C over Python? Which language do you think most people would choose?
You reveal the primary flaw in your thinking with the phrase "C folk." Languages are not enemy camps. Just learn them both and use the appropriate tool in the appropriate situation - python for glue, prototyping, business systems, web programming, etc. C for operating systems, networking layers, database engines, etc. Try not to attach your ego to either one.
You're hand waving, and there was no flaw in my thinking. C doesn't scare me and I use many languages, and that still has no bearing on the point of the conversation. C is a maintainability nightmare compared to lighter weight scripting languages. That fact stands on its own.
There are "C folk" who won't use anything else because they're stuck in the rut of only thinking of execution speed, pointing that out is not a flaw, it's a fact.
Ok, I will address your argument directly. You state that it's possible to write maintainable C in the best case, but that the worst-case is more revealing. However if we're to be fair, we must also look at the worst case for scripting languages. For example, which of these is more maintainable?
I would suggest that neither one is particularly maintainable, nor are either of these styles of code likely to appear in the real world. Therefore the worst case for these languages is not really more telling, and not applicable to this discussion.
I wasn't the one who claimed C's worse case was better than Python's best. Perhaps you should reread the thread and see what I was objecting to. You can write bad code in any language, but some don't let you blow your foot off as easily. It's well known and well accepted that higher level languages are more maintainable that C, that's just a fact. If you don't agree, then you're the one making radical claims, not I. Regardless, I'm bored now, this is a dead horse.
I don't disagree, btw, that dynamic languages are easier, but I'm really wondering if C's maintenance is really more of a perception than a reality.