Can Python replace Visual Basic? Should it?

[Brad Bollenbach]

Okay, sure this has been asked again and again, but I've never really seen a
clear answer to this question:

    Can Python replace Visual Basic? Should it?

As far as I can see, they both seem close to equal in their not-so-simple
ways of distributing apps to end-users, which VB programmers have seem to
overcome to some degree and so Python programmers should and probably do
likewise. What I want is a programming language that can make Windows fun
(like C or Perl does Unix), without having to shell out the big bucks for
full installs of VB or VC++. Though I don't believe in using price as an
important criteria in deciding what language I'll like (unless of course,
it's Powerbuilder, which is over $4000 :), I still have to admit that I like
what Python is about, and the benefits of an Open Source language are
obvious. As I work with Powerbuilder in my day job, I've also realized that
"languages" that are based on an IDE are not really my thing (I hate having
a 40,000 foot view of what I'm doing).

But really, very specifically, were YOU a former Visual Basic (or
Powerbuilder, or Delphi) programmer that is now using Python to write the
complex GUI's VB used to handle for you? I'm an on again, off again, student
of Python, who really wants to give this a go, if there's a good chance that
I'll get the return on my investment: a programming tool that can take over
where VB, Powerbuilder, and Delphi used to play.

Again, I'm much more interested in the real world experience of those who
used to use the big visual development tools in Windows like VB, Delphi or
Powerbuilder rather than theoretical answers.

Thanks!

Brad Bollenbach