Is Python Dead? Long Live Python!

[Paul Prescod]

Peter Hansen wrote:
> 
>...
> 
> The users of the first would have most of their needs met by the
> online information available, and the incredible ease of learning
> the language or of applying it in diverse areas.
> 
> Publishers can smell this and would not put their efforts into
> tree-killing for the second language.  Entire forests, however,
> would be slaughtered in the name of the second language, to buy
> Mercedes automobiles for the publishing executives.

If this is true, why are there so many Python books all of a sudden?

Even a simple language needs books because many people prefer to learn
from books than from web tutorials. And no language is truly simple when
you look at it in sufficient context. Do you know everything about
Python including how to handle Unicode, XML, Tk, windows APIs, CORBA,
and a hundred other buzzwords? Even if there were a language you could
teach in one chapter (lambda calculus for dummies, anyone?), the
libraries and add-ons would add up to a thick book.

Plus, you can always pair it with another buzzword. "ADO Programming
with Python." "Web Services with Python." and so forth. The number of
books is a pretty good indication of a languages' growth. The only
problem is that it is an indicator that trails badly. For all we know
there are twenty Ruby books under development but they won't show up
until a year from now.

Publishers clearly believe that Python is going to be a big thing.
Consider:

http://www.deitel.com/whatsnew.html

These guys are the ultimate trend-watchers. The fact that Python has
attracted their attention means that it is gaining mainstream
traction....or was last year. :)

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