Is Python Dead?

[Kemp Randy-W18971]

I walked into this bar, and asked the piano player, "Do you know?  Is Python dead?"  He replied, "no, but if you hum a few bars, I will try to play it."

-----Original Message-----
From: m.faassen at vet.uu.nl [mailto:m.faassen at vet.uu.nl]
Sent: Monday, July 02, 2001 11:22 AM
To: python-list at python.org
Subject: Re: Is Python Dead?


Edward B. Wilson II <ed at ewilson.com> wrote:
> I have been following Python for five years now, and I am still just as
> frustrated with it as I was in 1996.

And 'is Python dead' will guarantee you people will read your post.

> Python still doesn't have good database support,

I realize I'm not familiar with Perl's dbi, which I hear is more powerful
than Python's database interfacing, but I've happily connected 
Python to things like Access, MySQL and PostgreSQL. Also from 
within Zope. What do you consider to be 'good database support'?

> nor has it grown to be
> useful in the web space as mod_perl.  PyApache has been around longer than
> mod_php, yet php has far surpassed it as a productivity tool in the web
> space.

What about Zope, Quixote, WebWare? I mean, really, this is an area which
has seen a lot of growth in recent years.

http://www.zope.org
http://www.mems-exchange.org/software/python/quixote/
http://webware.sourceforge.net/

And then there's this:

http://www.vex.net/parnassus

where you can find much more web related stuff, in case that wasn't enough.

> It would seem Python can do everything, yet nothing.  Everyone wants to
> write the next killer application with Python, XML parsers, image
> manipulators, super computer steering modules, yet no one wants to work on
> making Python perform where it matters most.  Python is the best language at
> eclectic stuff, however, poor at bread and butter tasks.

You'll just have to be more specific about this..

> Python needs better leadership in areas of its growth.  Python is truly the
> best language in use today, except it still isn't very useful for the
> largest solution sector, database access, and information presentation (web,
> or otherwise).

But those areas are exactly what I've been using it for the last couple
of years! Surely I would've noticed it if Python was dead. :)

Of course, some things could be nicer (relational object
integration would be nice), and as have been discussed recently,
the Python Standard Library could've seen some more development. 
Also of course a comprehensive Python Catalog ala CPAN would be nice.

But really, either you've managed to miss an amazing amount of developments
the last few years (really, had you missed Zope?), or your post here
was rather unclear -- what exactly is it that you're missing?

Regards,

Martijn
-- 
History of the 20th Century: WW1, WW2, WW3?
No, WWW -- Could we be going in the right direction?