Could Python supplant Java?

[geek]

Then <bdesth at nospam.free.fr> wrote in message news:<3D631FF3.7060804 at nospam.free.fr>... spoke up and said:
> > Programs *should* be tested before shipping
> > (ok, I know it's a dream but... )
> 
> Software testing is the *LAST* line of defense against bugs,
> not the *FIRST* !!!  ;-)

So, you should probably do a little bit of research on the philosophy
behind TDD and XP.  What is the FIRST line of defense against bugs?
I'll let you in on a little secret: it's called "specification".  The
whole point of TDD, is that you have a specification for each function
that you're producing.  If you have a real specification, then
generating test cases is trivial (though possibly tedious).  

Yeah, yeah, yeah, you could write the test cases wrong, too.  But
that's not an excuse to avoid doing it.  That would be like noting
that there are bugs in compilers, so we'd better go back to writing
raw machine code!

Here's my question for you: how many well-planned software projects
have you ever worked on?  If all you know is "code by the seat of your
pants" where you sit down and write code without ever doing a
specification/planning phase, then yes, you need every crutch you can get.