Python Usage

[Pete Gilbert]

Tim Daneliuk <tundra at tundraware.com> writes:

> "cddlens at yahoo.com" wrote:
> > 
> > I'm currently investigating Python for potential
> > company adoption, and it seems to be quite powerful.
> > I have some fundamental questions however:
> > 
> > Is Python commonly used throughout an enterprise (such
> > as within IT, MIS) for script generation, or mostly by
> > software groups and teams that have dedicated
> > programmers writing full-blown applications?  Is often
> > used by system managers as a replacement for batch
> > files or multiplatform scripting?  Is it more common
> > within software/technology organizations or within
> > other sectors such as financial and manufacturing?
> > 
> 
> I am relatively new to Python but have a fair bit of experience
> in industry, so take these observations in that context:
> 
> 1) perl is probably more common as a scripting tool and so too is VB script.
>    But, perl is (or can be) a maintenance headache and VBS is missing
>    some essential features such as cross-platform support and regular
>    expression handling.  Python, IMO, is starting to get a lot of buzz
>    in this community and is on the upswing.
> 
> 2) Judging from the posts here and snooping around the web, it seems clear
>    that Python is very popular in communities where computing is essential,
>    but not the central element of the work.  Examples include scientific
>    applications, reducing and analyzing large data sets, data conversion,
>    and so on.
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Tim Daneliuk
> tundra at tundraware.com

Whilst VBS doesn't have cross-platform support, it does now have
regular expression handling. We use VBS here at UWE, and have now
replaced the use of batch files and tools like Kix on new PC's
(although these are still used in login scripts to provide support for
our many thousand NT4 users) . I am trying to get people interested in
using Python, however, but it is an uphill struggle - having just
switched to VBS. I am not giving up though, and I will eventually find
a niche that only Python will fill, then it will get a foothold. 
Pete

-- 
Pete Gilbert UWE, Bristol

A man who walks to the top of a hill and then doesn't turn round 
to look at the view is a fool.