Is Python Dead?

[Kris J. Zaragoza]

This strikes me as flamebait, but I'll put on my asbestos suit and
dive in anyway. :-)

On Sun, 1 Jul 2001 21:42:37 -0700, Edward B. Wilson II <ed at ewilson.com> wrote:
>I have been following Python for five years now, and I am still just as
>frustrated with it as I was in 1996.
>
>Python still doesn't have good database support, nor has it grown to be
>useful in the web space as mod_perl.  PyApache has been around longer than
>mod_php, yet php has far surpassed it as a productivity tool in the web
>space.

It seems that you are completely ignoring both mod_snake and
mod_python, both of which offer all the power of mod_perl.  You are
also ignoring the wealth of database drivers available for Python, as
others in this thread have already attested to.

>It would seem Python can do everything, yet nothing.  Everyone wants to
>write the next killer application with Python, XML parsers, image
>manipulators, super computer steering modules, yet no one wants to work on
>making Python perform where it matters most.  Python is the best language at
>eclectic stuff, however, poor at bread and butter tasks.

Here is your fundamental error: You are assuming that everyone else
sees Python from your point of view.  For many people, XML parsers,
image analysis and manipulation, and heavy numerical work ARE bread
and butter tasks.  There are many people working within corporations
and research institutions that couldn't care less about spitting out
web pages.  What you consider to be extremely important is simply
trivial or completely unimportant to others.

>
>Python needs better leadership in areas of its growth.  Python is truly the
>best language in use today, except it still isn't very useful for the
>largest solution sector, database access, and information presentation (web,
>or otherwise).
>
>It seems that Python should strive to be great at the ABC's before it
>attempts poetry.

I think that Python's leadership (specifically Guido) has been doing a
fantastic job.  The powers that be have avoided trying to pigeon-hole
Python into one particular application area, instead making it useful
to a broader audience of software developers.  It is this flexibility
that makes Python so incredibly useful, in my opinion.

I myself use Python for a variety of tasks.  It scales down nicely to
simple scripting tasks, and scales up to heavy data analysis and
manipulation using relational databases.  I use Python for "bread and
butter" work that has nothing to do with generating web pages.  I'm
even using the Jython implementation in a production order processing
environment and haven't seen a single hiccup.  Python gives me all the
power and flexibility I need to get my job done.

-Kris

-- 
Kris J. Zaragoza           | "Unfortunately, most people can't out-think a
kzaragoza at mediaone.net     | grapefruit."  --Jon Bodner