Python on the desktop

[John Roth]

"Sarat Venugopal" <sarat_venugopal at yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:94e3fce8.0112210053.2568529d at posting.google.com...
> Hi all,
>    I am fairly new to Python, in the sense that I haven't written
> anything substantial in it, although I have gone through all the major
> books so far. Coming from a strong, industrial strength C++
> application development background, let me make some quick
> observations. Needless to say, I am quite fascinated with the language
> primarily beacause of the strong emphasis on readability and
> maintainability of the code(Indentation, namespaces and the works). I
> guess if speed is the only issue, Python should suffice for a number
> of applications.
>
>  1. If python is to permeate the realm of commercial desktop (in
> whatever scope), we need the ability to convert it into a native
> executable(I have taken a look at some of the limited solutions
> available from individuals). I read somewhere, it may never be
> possible in Python. Can anyone throw light on this?
>  Most commercial applications wouldn't want to expose the source code
> or even leave it as byte-code(Note: ActiveState has announced a
> compiler for Perl)

There's a compiler project somewhere, but I've lost track of it.
It may be going great, or it may be moribund.

>  2. Absence of a standard GUI, which really fits the major platforms.
> For a lanuage like Python, this is really a handicap. Would I do it in
> Tkinter on Windows? No way. I guess that's why there are so many other
> independent implementations out there. There is so much fragmentation
> of effort here(Analogous to KDE, GNOME,...on Linux).

If anygui works and becomes popular, that problem will be solved.
It's currently in alpha test.

>  3. Does the community see Python as a full-fledged programming
> language? I remember Zope being projected as the killer app for
> Python. Does that mean Python is going to hide behind web servers, be
> yet another general/web scripting language and probably a rapid
> prototyping tool? I guess the language deserves a better treatment.

Of course it's a full fledged programming language. I use it as such,
and so do many other people and projects.

John Roth