Considering migrating to Python from Visual Basic 6 for engineering applications

[Mark Lawrence]

On 18/02/2016 11:32, Chris Angelico wrote:
> On Thu, Feb 18, 2016 at 10:11 PM,  <wrong.address.1 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Almost everything points positively for Python. Thanks to all of you who have responded. But please also tell me the disadvantages of Python. If I start using Python, I should be aware of the price I am paying. Speed is not a big problem for me, so an interpreted language is fine. Is packaging/installing very messy? Do I create dozens of files for a simple program calculating the sum of two numbers and product of two numbers in text boxes with one command to be clicked? Can I learn this much in the first couple of hours?
>>
>
> There are a few warts, particularly on Windows, as regards packaging
> and third-party modules. Anything that's written in pure Python is
> fairly easy; stuff that's written in C is sometimes a bit hairy. But
> that's a limitation on the "extended library" of PyPI, not the stuff
> that comes with Python itself.
>

The vast majority of C code that you're ever likely to need can be 
obtained here http://www.lfd.uci.edu/~gohlke/pythonlibs/ if there isn't 
a whl file on pypi.  The site might be headed "Unofficial Windows 
Binaries for Python Extension Packages" but it's as safe as houses, I've 
been using it for years without any problems at all.

-- 
My fellow Pythonistas, ask not what our language can do for you, ask
what you can do for our language.

Mark Lawrence