Python + Java Integration

[Diez B. Roggisch]

Chas Emerick wrote:

> This may seem like it's coming out of left field for a minute, but
> bear with me.
> 
> There is no doubt that Ruby's success is a concern for anyone who
> sees it as diminishing Python's status.  One of the reasons for
> Ruby's success is certainly the notion (originally advocated by Bruce
> Tate, if I'm not mistaken) that it is the "next Java" -- the language
> and environment that mainstream Java developers are, or will, look to
> as a natural next step.
> 
> One thing that would help Python in this "debate" (or, perhaps simply
> put it in the running, at least as a "next Java" candidate) would be
> if Python had an easier migration path for Java developers that
> currently rely upon various third-party libraries.  The wealth of
> third-party libraries available for Java has always been one of its
> great strengths.  Ergo, if Python had an easy-to-use, recommended way
> to use those libraries within the Python environment, that would be a
> significant advantage to present to Java developers and those who
> would choose Ruby over Java.  Platform compatibility is always a huge
> motivator for those looking to migrate or upgrade.

While you might have a point with easing the transition for java developers
might favor them python over ruby, you seem to mix a few things here, and
forget about others:


 - ruby has no notion of java-library support. So if anything lures java
developers from J2EE-land to rails, its the framework itself. Which, by my
standards, is at least met if not excelled by TurboGears and Django. So
it's marketing, but of a different kind, we need.


 - jython, after a period of seemingly inactivity, makes huge progress
towards python2.2 and python2.3. Which will open up new possibilities just
the other way round: use existing, powerful python libraries written in
post-2.1 from jython, neatly integrating java and python. Now there is
jRuby trying to do the same for ruby - but I never heard of it before
(googled it for this post), so it seems not to be as important as jython
certainly is


Diez