Zope & Python

[Cameron Laird]

In article <8pt8g8015pt at news2.newsguy.com>,
Alex Martelli <aleaxit at yahoo.com> wrote:
>"Leon Booyens" <leon_booyens at xsinet.co.za> wrote in message
>news:39c208eb$0$231 at hades.is.co.za...
>> Hi,
>>
>> I asked one of our specialists if we should not consider using Zope
>instead
>> of tomcat and Python instead of Java.
>>
>> His reply was as follows :
>>
>> Do you agree with all these comments ?
>
>Of course not, or else we would hardly be following this group:-).  But
>the first key issue is the usual one: whether compile-time-enforced
>static typing is mandatory (or even particularly advisable) to develop
>big apps (the current buzzword for which is "enterprise") or not.
			.
		[great, great commentary
		on typing challenges and
		opportunities]
			.
			.
'Anyone have a succinct description of the following?
A.  How do you choose between Perl, Python, Rexx, Tcl, ...?
    1.  Ask a trusted friend
    2.  Decide based on some subjective affinity
	you can detect in the first hour of exer-
	cising each
    3.  Learn each so thoroughly that you can
	judge for yourself whether the specific
	contingent advantages of, say, CPAN, Tcl's
	event-based I/O, Lua's metaprogrammability,
	Python's syntax for built-ins, Tcl's traces,
	Python's manifold implementations, Perl's
	prospective support for currying, ...
	is the best fit for your situation.
B.  How do you decide about type systems?
    1.  Ask a trusted friend
    2.  Say, "well, are there compile-time checks?"
    3.  Understand the issues with sufficient
	depth to be able to put Bob Martin, Erlang,
	Ada, OCaML, Luca Cardelli, Haskell, Smalltalk,
	Clean, ... in their proper places, and make a
	specific judgment between them conditioned
	on your own situation.

I'm rather frustrated that I haven't yet been able even to
summarize comprehensibly for civilians how great is the invest-
ment alternative 3. requires.

I salute Alex's analysis, and recommend its re-reading.

Mr. Booyens, do you realize the return address above bounces?
-- 

Cameron Laird <claird at NeoSoft.com>
Business:  http://www.Phaseit.net
Personal:  http://starbase.neosoft.com/~claird/home.html