The best way to do web apps with Python?

[Paul Rubin]

"worzel" <asda at sdarta.com> writes:
> What is the best way to web developemnt with Python? Is there
> anything close to PHP style in-page script placement that can create
> and use other Python objects? I am not really interested in Zope (I
> believe that is more a CMS than anything else?) I am also looking
> for something a little more structured than a series of CGI Scripts.

Basically, yes, there are various Python template systems similar to
PHP.  I won't name them because other people more knowledgeable than
me will do a better job than I could.  I'll say that Python is a
better language than PHP, but getting a basic dynamic web app running
in PHP is much simpler than it is in Python.  Python's advantage
starts to shine once the app gets complicated.

> While on the topic - what is the expectataion of Python for this
> kind of stuff? Would one use Python for certain other things but
> turn to PHP for web apps - or would one use their Python skills in
> place of PHP?  TIA

It's sort of a difficult trade-off and it depends a lot on your
application, who will develop and maintain it, who will use it, where
it will be deployed, etc.  Lots more people know PHP than Python, PHP
is easier to get started with, and cheap PHP hosting is available all
over.  So if you're building some simple app that you want to
distribute widely and run everywhere, PHP is attractive.  If you're
building a complex system which you'll run on a server that you have
more control over, and you'll have relatively high-powered developers
on hand to maintain the code, Python beats PHP.