Could Python supplant Java?

[Dan Johnson]

"Grant Wagner" <gwagner at agricoreunited.com> wrote in message
news:3D669B54.8C339A5E at agricoreunited.com...
> Dan Johnson wrote:
> > I think unilaterally excluding everything that doesn't
> > come on the OS CD is a little harsh. Development, somehow,
> > still gets done on Windows. Perhaps other developers don't
> > feel obliged to stick to what came with the OS?
>
> And it's odd that you'd consider vi and gcc to be "more developer
friendly",
> than running, say, Eclipse and Sun's JDK, or Squeak, both freely
> downloadable for Windows.

It's an odd truth that there's a hard core of development
tools available on nearly every platform: the GNU tools. And
a bunch of other tools, like Sun's JDK and Forte, that
are widely available on many platforms. These tools don't
really favor one platform over another.

Still, you can distinguish the platforms by their tools. I
know that some very silly people have ported KDevelop
to Windows using Cygwin, but you wouldn't really use
it anywhere but a Unix. Visual Studio is just for Windows.
Interface Builder is just for MacOS X.

[snip]
> > Indeed, they also often come with thing like a
> > spreadsheet.
> >
> > Linux just bundles more stuff at a lower price. That's
> > a legitimate advantage, but it isn't *everything*.
>
> Besides, if Windows came with a C# compiler and "VS.NET Lite" (or
> something), someone (Sun) would complain that Microsoft is using it's
> monopoly power to drive other solution vendors out of business, and they'd
> want Microsoft to separate the language compiler and IDE from the OS... oh
> wait a minute, it already is...

Heh. Microsoft does not seem inclined to do that; after all, most
users will never use them. They put the runtime and libraries
in with the OS, make the compilers and linkers and docs free
downloads, and sell the IDE.