[BangPypers] Creating PPT with graphs

[Venkatraman S]

On Thu, Jan 13, 2011 at 4:59 PM, Jins Thomas <jinsthomas at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> 1. Would these kind of problems happen if i had used Python also
>

Looks like the link to OO is a weak link; so any changes in OO can cause
trouble
for you. More than that, if the program that was written was 'bad', the same
thing
can happen in any other language too.


> 2. How good is the similar modules for creating OpenOffice documents, pdfs
> ,
> graphs as png files in Python
>

Reportlab is pretty good with pdf and I have generated high quality pdfs
which
can be used for printing.
There are many charting libraries in Python that can be used.



3. Would it be a good idea to rewrite the entire thing in Python.
>

Depends on your timeline and skillset that you might have. Writing this in
Python
for the heck of it is not a good idea, especially when you have in-house
perl talent.
Instead look for the reasons to why your code became 'unmaintainable' - this
would
give some valuable insights. Also, check for updates to your charting and
other libs
that you might be using in your app.

4. And some general programming thoughts/suggestsion/advice why this
> happened :(
>

Crystal ball gazing is tough! But IMHO, many apps that manipulate data and
generate
charts are adhoc ones - it requires fair amount of vision in 'knowing' your
data and how
it would transform over time. Mistakes are bound to occur, some constant
grave digging
helps in bringing the product to a good maturity level.

-V
http://blizzardzblogs.blogspot.com/