what do you use python for?

[Peter Hansen]

Jason Tesser wrote:
> 
> I work for a Bible College of about 1000 people and we are going to be developing a complete software
> package for the college. We are looking at using Python with PostgreSQL in the backend.  We want to
> have applications that are cross-platform and in the future could easily be ported to other OSs like Linux as
> our desktops are all M$.
> 
> Ok my question is are any of you doing this kind of stuff in Python and what do
> you think about our project?  Our project will include everything from registration stuff to busness office to
> POS system.
> 
> Thank you in advance for any feedback :-)

It sounds like an *excellent* use for Python, and I'd wholeheartedly support
it for your application.

I would caution you about the scope of what you are attempting, however, as
I've seen people (and organizations the size of yours) take on such projects
time and again and, eventually, fail to produce much of anything that was
really usable.  

My constructive advice about that area would be to investigate some of the
Extreme Programming ideas, as they are very effective at helping you see
scope-creep and understand how to deliver the really useful parts to your
users very quickly, and gather feedback on what the real priorities are.
(Too many developers spend too little time helping their customers understand
why they don't really want what they think they want, and too many customers
spend too little time insisting that they really do what certain things,
but that other things are just icing on the cake and they could do without.)

As for Python itself: you might want to take a little trip east to Church
Street in T.O. this coming Tuesday, for the regular monthly meeting of PyGTA.
This is the Greater Toronto Area Python user group, and it usually gets 
pretty good attendance from between ten and twenty people with a variety
of Python and programming backgrounds, and there would definitely be people
there to offer advice, stories, and perhaps even assistance on your project.

See the URL http://www.engcorp.com/pygta for the main page and be sure to
click on the NextMeeting link that you'll find there.  There's also a mailing
list for general discussion (you could ask questions there about local help
if you can't make it to the meeting) and for meeting announcements.

-Peter