19. The method of claim 17 , wherein the general purpose language comprises an interpreted language.
17. A method of using a general purpose programming language to operate a neural network comprising a plurality of elements, the method comprising: enabling, via computer processing logic, a user of the network to define a parameter of the network using the general purpose programming language; automatically generating general purpose code, the generation effectuated by a code conversion tool associated with the general purpose programming language; and automatically generating a general network description code consistent with the parameter of the network, the generation effectuated by a network tool associated with the general purpose programming language; wherein: the general purpose code is configured to provide a network object definition for the plurality of elements in accordance with the parameter of the network; the general network description code is configured to instantiate individual ones of the plurality of elements in accordance with the network object definition and being implemented for a specific hardware platform; and the network object definition is characterized by at least a first memory location configured to store a reference to a code element corresponding to the general purpose code.