Web based application in python

[Ravi Teja]

>> I would like to know whether it is possible to develop web based application using Python.

Any general purpose language may be used for developing web
applications. Even your favorite shell language. You should really at
least read the python.org main page before asking this question. It
points you to http://wiki.python.org/moin/WebProgramming

>> If yes, what are the challenges or areas I've to concentrate.

There are no challenges. Python is an easy language. There are plenty
of web frameworks. Don't ask which one. That entirely depends on what
you want the framework to do for you. Everyone has their favorite and
other people's favorites might not apply to you.

>> How would be the performance, handling hits, scalability etc?
These mostly depend on you and the framework, not Python. For example,
CGI model will be slower than app server model. Caching will improve
scalability.

>> What are the pros and cons of using python in place of JAVA or J2EE?
Pros:
  1.) Better language
  2.) You won't be adding any extra complexity to your application,
something that all J2EE solutions seem to love to add and solve
problems that few have in the first place. Provided you are a
half-descent programmer, you will be able to learn most web frameworks
in a few hours and get started (Notable exception: Zope).
Cons:
  1.) No Fancy IDE and commercial tool support - you won't need them
anyway since the frameworks are often very simple in themselves.
  2.) Your co-workers will look strangely at you if you say you are
using Karrigell instead of Tomcat.