OT: Python popularity rises sharply!

[Peter Hansen]

I haven't seen anyone pointing out the obvious _real_ reason for
Guido's proposal on the ternary operator (and I hereby vote +1
for anything that reduces the use of the ([a] and [b] or [c])[0]
crap, but -1.2 on the counter-intuitive order of elements in
the proposed syntax, for a net vote of -0.2).

Recently Python has been dropping in the polls, with languages 
such as LabVIEW and even Clipper encroaching on its territory.

With the release of new PSU technology which is able to measure the
popularity of a programming(*) language based on advanced metrics
including the number of unique posters in the last month's worth
of posts to a newsgroup, it is suddenly more important than
ever to make sure that activity remains high in the newsgroup.
More than that, activity by many lurkers must be encouraged,
so that frequent posters don't reduce the measured popularity
with their useless and annoying babble.

And what better way to do that than to generate controversy 
using the patented Python Excitation Process (tm) (or PEP, as
it has become known)?

Look for Python finally to reach a close second after the
ever-popular (especially for 3D work with 4-byte floats) C++
in the coming months, with a final climb to ascendancy only
after the future posting of PEP 517 "Statically typed constants".

-Peter

(*) the debate over the definition of "programming language" of 
course being responsible for Python's recent surge over Perl....