Python on the desktop

[Kragen Sitaker]

sarat_venugopal at yahoo.com (Sarat Venugopal) writes:
>  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 are even a lot of noncommercial applications written by people
who don't want to expose the source code.  (And, of course, commercial
applications written by people who do.)

There are folks working on native-code compilers for Python for a
variety of reasons.  Ping made a list in (I think) May listing the
Python compilers, which is at
http://www.python.org/sigs/compiler-sig/dev-day-notes.txt.  It lists
CPython (the normal Python), JPython (which generates Java bytecodes
which can be compiled into native code), Python2C, and Vyper/Viper.
Unfortunately, it looks like only Jython remains standing among the
possibly-native-code compilers.

>  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.

You don't like the way it looks, or what?

>  3. Does the community see Python as a full-fledged programming
> language?

Yes.