Using python for a CAD program

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    >> 1.  Databases.  Assuming I roll my own, does python have any
    >>     performance issues for this sort of thing?

Most databases are written in a compiled language (gadfly being an
exception).  Even so, in my apps that use databases (mostly SQL-based), the
database is the bottleneck, not Python.

    >> 5.  Threads and parallelism.  Should I even bother?  I've read that
    >> it's possibly more tricky with python than with normal dev tools.

Threads help if you're going to be I/O-bound.  If you're going to be
CPU-bound I wouldn't bother unless it provides some major structural
advantage to your code.  If you think you need more than a couple CPUs, you
probably want a multi-process model anyway so you can leverage multiple
computers on a LAN (think Beowulf-style multiprocessing).

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