Request for Validation of Python as Development Language

[Matt Gerrans]

You didn't mention Zope, which is a big Python project, if not commercial.

I was using JScript (VBScript actually supported better by MS's Script Host,
but I just cannot bring myself to write VB any more) and MSVC to do a lot of
Windows platform-specific work.   I liked Python, but I thought for the kind
of platform-specific work I was doing, it would be inappropriate, so I just
used it for my own projects.   Then I discovered the PyWin stuff and learned
that it was trivial to interact with COM automation servers with Python.

I don't think Python is a scripting language any more than Java, C#, managed
C++, etc., none of which compile to machine code.   You could say that Python
compiles to bytecode (pyc files) and needs the Python Virtual Machine to run.

The .NET platform is supposed to promote language agnosticism (in a desperate
effort to kill Java, I guess) and one of the languages it will ostensibly
support is Python.  I read this in Microsoft's propaganda.  I don't know if
they have support for it now, or they were saying "it could be supported" in
the same way that the Script Host can support any language you want to
implement for it.   From what I remember, it was more concrete than that,
though.

By the way, Python runs on/in Java: Jython (see jython.org).   It makes a
handy unit testing framework for Java classes.

I think in your environment, you have a good argument for Python, but the
proof lies in whether you can get the job done with the tool.   So, you might
want to try the "tracer bullet" concept from The Pragmatic Programmer: think
of a task (in your project) that you imagine might impossible or more
difficult to do with Python.   Spend a little time trying to implement it with
Python.   If it works, use it.  If it turns out to really be more of a problem
(than the alternatives, C#, Java, or whatever), then don't use it.

- mfg

A. Keyton Weissinger <keyton at weissinger.org> wrote in message
news:mailman.1005625157.24434.python-list at python.org...
> Does anyone have a more recent list of commercial products out there that
> use Python? I've heard the usual RedHat, Microsoft (nebulous), and Ultima
> Online. I'd like more.
>
> The information in the books and the python.org site is a bit dated.
>
> I'm pretty new to the language and I'd like to use it for more stuff at
> work. I'm beginning to feel some of the stigma of it being a "scripting
> language." This is a bad rap. I'm in a .NET/Java shop (about 90%/10% for
> those who care) and I'd like to introduce Python into the mix. But I say
> "scripting language" and people head to the hills yelling "PERL!" which is a
> bit disconcerting (especially since I like Perl too, though not as much as
> Python). They need to hear "object oriented application development
> language" or I need to buck up and realize I'm barking up the wrong tree.
>
> Thank you!
>
> Keyton
>
>