Flython?

[Peter Hansen]

simo wrote:

> There's a few libraries for making SVG files in PHP, so there may be
> Python versions too, but if you want ActionScript then I guess you're
> determined to go with Flash instead.....

Well, SVG and ActionScript have very little, if anything, in
common.  On the other hand SVG has much overlap with the rest
of the "Flash" system (taken as a nebulous whole), and when
supplemented with Javascript, in systems that can handle that,
it starts becoming somewhat similar in many ways.

On the other hand, so far I haven't seen signs that SVG
support has advanced enough to really be on par with the
capabilities (mostly in terms of speed and simplicity) of
the little bit of Flash/ActionScript that interests me.

My personal goal with this (and I believe Dan's as well)
is to be able to create GUI software using ActionScript
to write (roughly) the "view" and "controller" portions,
with the back end ("model") implemented elsewhere (i.e.
on a server) with Python.

Why?  Well, consider the alternatives.  D/HTML plus
Javascript gives you the same basic structure, but at
the cost of a mostly crappy kind of interface which
violates all kinds of UI conventions, feels awkward,
often runs slowly, and is a bitch to construct and
maintain.

Something like wxPython is pretty good for fixing most
of that, but then you actually have to install software
on the client machines, which is pretty much the thing
you want to avoid when you are trying to do client/server.

The idea is *not* to do pretty animations ala JibJab.com
but "plain old GUI software" (POGS, to steal from Bell
and coin a phrase at the same time).  SVG really isn't
up to the task (yet), and even if it is I suspect there
may be really serious performance issues for some time
to come.  Flash has a compact bytecode, while SVG comes
as XML.  Need I say more?

-Peter