Getting Python Accepted in my Organisation

[Alex Martelli]

bonono at gmail.com <bonono at gmail.com> wrote:

> How about, Google use python extensively ? This I believe is a very
> strong argument for any concern about python.

I must admit to feeling very good when I read this kind of comment (it
IS nice to see one's employer held up as a good example -- and, I WAS
hired at Google in good part based on my Python skills, and authorship
of the "Python in a Nutshell" book, which is among our standards books
for new hires).  However, let me play devil's advocate: the mix of
software that Google develops, considering what we offer to the public
and some reasonable speculation about the infrastructure that must be
behind those offers, is clearly heavily slanted towards _networking_.  

So, our use cannot necessarily be "concern-allaying" for a firm which
(say) doesn't care about networking, but rather wants to program games,
or traditional business applications, or personal/group productivity
apps, or ...  But fortunately there are plenty of "success stories" in
each and every one of these fields.

For example, for games, Civilization IV is being developed mostly in
Python (with C++ for some low levels, and BoostPython as "glue"); other
Python success stories show it used in payroll applications (the hugely
successful PayThyme), productivity ones (OSAF's Chandler), etc, etc.

Look around the web for "Python success stories" and you may find many
other examples in as huge a variety of fields as one might wish.


Alex