Python suitability

[Darrell]

Python is easy to learn and very nice for at least the largish project I
just finished. We had a max of four Python developers at one point and the
first release took about eight months. This doesn't sound large from a C++
prospective, I know. But the same project in C++ would have been a much
larger undertaking. Not just in the amount of code but the number of
developers and associated problems.

The quality of our code for the second release was vastly better than the
first. Learning to write good Python took a while.

Some things I noticed that effect most everything.

1. Deciding on a directory structure and whether or not to use packages
    was a big debate. Importing the wrong module of the same name is
    a problem. Someone installs the latest cool Python thingie and your
    application stops working. 

2. Memory management is easy, but test for memory leaks.
    Or just massive memory usage. It's easy to eat huge amounts of
    memory or for some module to tuck away references that can't be freed.

3. Slicing and dicing huge strings is a performance problem. When we first
    started everyone was slicing and pasting with a+b+c. Don't do that.
    We came up with a Python solution though it required a lot of code 
    rework. It wasn't until integration that we noticed the problem !

4. Exceptions, error messages and debug control were vastly improved
    in the second release. My first attempt was just way too complicated.
    Python lends it's self to simple solutions, that aren't always obvious 
    to a the reformed C++ developer.

5. We have only one C++ extension module even though I wanted to
    write more. Seems that what we have is fast enough, at least for
    what they want to pay. 

6. Many of the things you do in C++ are to over come it's own 
    limitations. Such as the Visitor pattern that gets written up in the 
    C++ report every other issue. For the most part it solves a problem
    of C++.  
    
    How to stop thinking in C++ and start doing things the Pythonic
    way takes a while. Find an experienced Pythonist who can review code
    and designs. 


Go for it, but remember there are no silver bullets, software is hard.

--Darrell