Long Live Python!

[Alan Green]

Peter Hansen <peter at engcorp.com> wrote in message news:<3B4CC986.A5C8E605 at engcorp.com>...
> I tend to think of Python more as an extremely effective and maintainable
> general-purpose programming language, which happens also to work
> very well when applied as a "scripting language" (whatever that means).

<soapbox>

Until it reaches the mythical "mindshare critical mass", Python is
going to have to take over the world just one project at a time. For
those of us who want to work in Python in the typical IT shop, this
means doing some advocacy.

To be an effective advocate of Python, you need to:

a) deeply understand what the people you are advocating to understand,
b) have the respect of the people you are advocating to, and
c) deeply understand why Python is better at the kinds of problem
being solved, and be able to express it.

(a) might be a lot of work, depending on your background, but it
certainly helps with (b). (b) is critical to the success of your
argument - how often do you find yourself swayed by the argument of
someone for who you have no respect?. (c) is definitely a lot of work
- reading and coding.

If you can do all of these, then you will be well on the way to making
an argument that is effective both on the technical and
person-to-person levels.

In an IT shop, the audience for your advocacy needs to include: the
programmers that would need to work on Python code, the technical
management and possibly your client or end-user.

I plan for the process to take 12 months before expecting to see
significant results. And remember: it might not work, but then again,
there is no fun in a guarantee.

</soapbox>

Enjoy!

Alan.