What is your favorite Python web framework?

[bbangert at parachute.com]

Admin wrote:
> I am doing some research for a Python framework to build web applications.
> I have discarted Zope because from what I've read, the learning curve is
> too steep, and it takes more time to build applications in general with
> Zope.

I've heard many good things about Zope 3, although nightmares of Zope 2
still haunt me.... :)

> I have kept the following:
>
>   - PyWork - http://pywork.sourceforge.net (Not sure if it's mature)
>   - Django - http://www.djangoproject.com (Looks interesting)

Some thoughts on Django that I agree with:
http://griddlenoise.blogspot.com/2005/07/python-off-rails.html

> But I'd like to know your opinion on what you think is best. The Python
> framework I'll use will be to build an e-commerce application looking like
> Amazon.com

Amazon.com is built on HTML::Mason, maybe a Python version of it is in
order? Mason has been ported to Python and is called Myghty. It's had
several significant additions as well allowing for a clear MVC
development style with more advanced URL resolving abilities. This
framework runs our company's site (www.parachute.com), and has been
operating under heavy load for quite a few months now without an issue.

> I favor speed of development, intensive OO development, performance under
> heavy load, short learning curve, good documentation and community.

No Python framework has a "huge" community except for Zope. All the
Python frameworks that are under active development typically have very
responsive and helpful support from my experience.

For ease of development and maximum re-use of code, I'd suggest Myghty
coupled with a database ORM like SQLObject (my favorite) and some other
libraries to help you quickly deal with common tasks like form
validation (formencode).

CherryPy is also a very capable framework, so I'd keep it on your list
as well, and maybe check out Subway which utilizes CherryPy, SQLObject,
and Cheetah.

Cheers,
Ben