Python web app. (advice sought)

[bruno.desthuilliers at gmail.com]

Duncan Smith a écrit :
> Hello,
>      I find myself in the, for me, unusual (and at the moment unique)
> position of having to write a web application.  I have quite a lot of
> existing Python code that will form part of the business logic.  This
> relies on 3rd party libraries (such as numpy) which would make porting
> to e.g. IronPython difficult (I would imagine).  I was thinking LAMP
> (the P standing for Python, of course), particularly as I was originally
> encouraged to go for open source solutions.
>
> The application will provide some basic statistical analyses of data
> contained in database tables and associated plots (R / matplotlib /
> graphviz).  There will also be some heavier duty Monte Carlo simulation
> and graphical modelling / MCMC.  The user(s) will need to be able to set
> model parameters; maybe even tinker with model structure, so it will be
> very interactive (AJAX?).
>
> I've had a look at Django, Turbogears and Plone, and at the moment I am
> torn between Turbogears and Plone.  I get the impression that Turbogears
> will require me to write more non-Python code,

???

> but maybe Plone is more
> than I need (steeper learning curve?).  Maybe Turbogears will lead to a
> more loosely coupled app. than Plone?

Plone is nice for content management (well, it's a CMS, isn't it ?),
but I certainly wouldn't choose it for the kind off application you are
describing. A simpler, lighter MVC framework would be far more
appropriate IMHO. Turbogears may be a good choice, but you may also
want to have a look at web.py and Pylons.

> The disconcerting thing is that others on the project (who won't be
> developing) have started to talk about a LAMP back end with an IIS front
> end, .NET, and the benefits of sharepoint.

My my my...

>  The emphasis is supposed to
> be on rapid development, and these technologies are supposed to help.
> But I have no real familiarity with them at all; just Python, C and SQL
> to any realistic level of competence.

Then go for the simplest thing.
 
My 2 cents...