Is Python Dead? Long Live Python!

[Peter Hansen]

Guido Stepken wrote:
> 
> Kemp Randy-W18971 wrote:
> > How can Python become as popular as Perl, Java, or PHP?
> 
> I have been teaching python to kids ...12 years old .... they really had
> fun ... that's the (only) reason for the extreme growing acceptance for
> python over java or perl or php .... 

While I readily admit to the sheer fun of Python compared to the 
feeling of depression I get over using most other languages, I can't
support the theory that's "the only reason" for the growing acceptance.

Relatively to PHP, it seems likely Python is growing because it
is not merely a crufty niche language.  (But we've seen arguments
PHP is growing faster anyway).

Relative to Perl, Python is clearly more readable and even the
author of Perl acts somewhat as a Python propagandist.

Relative to Java, which is probably overhyped but at least
represents a reasonable improvement to C++ in many areas,
Python is probably growing faster because of its productivity,
reasability, and the fact that with Jython one can hardly
point to Java's many benefits without admitting that one
can write Python code and not lose those most of the benefits.

I'm sure fun factors into it, but the "only" reason?  I doubt it.

> python will be #1 in 2 years .....expecially for huge projects ....

I predicted (to myself mainly :-) in about 1996 that in about
three years Java would be used for most application development.
I wasn't exactly right, but maybe I wasn't too far off the mark
relative to what some others thought.  I doubt Python will
have the same growth, and I really doubt it will be "#1" (whatever
that means) in only 2 years.  I do believe it will continue
to find roles in many diverse areas, including some large
projects, but I'm quite sure the really large projects will
manage to hold out for more traditional languages for a very 
long time.

Maybe what we'll see will be Python be used, not exclusively
but as one component, in the most projects.  So if we measure
"#1" in terms of number of projects using Python, it has a 
chance.  If we measure it in terms of lines of code, of course,
it has little chance of being number 1, for obvious reasons. :)

-- 
----------------------
Peter Hansen, P.Eng.
peter at engcorp.com