python a bust?

[Michele Simionato]

python473 at yahoo.com (John Howard) wrote in message news:<9eabe547.0311131610.4dd7819c at posting.google.com>...
> I've sent several messages over the last year asking about python - 
> Who teaches python? Is python losing steam? etc. I have noticed, eg,
> the declinng number of books at my local borders. The last time I
> visited a borders (last week), there was 1 (sic) book about python on
> the shelve compared to dozens on perl & java! On my last inquiry about
> who teaching python, I got two, maybe three, responses. I really want
> to see python succeed! It's the best language I've seen. I see a lot
> on www.python.org about development, but little on usage. I sent a
> message to someone on the python site (I forget who - I know, no
> excuse) about what I've done done on a site (grades, web application,
> web registration, etc). No reponse. Sorry to ramble, but I wanted to
> say a lot, but not have to go into a lot of detail.

Python is not backed by Microsoft or Sun, so there are less courses
and books about Python than about C#/Visual C++/Visual Basic or Java;
Perl is not backed, but it was there well before Python, and lots of 
people know it and use it (even they do not necessarily love it ;), so
it has a definite historical advantage.

The present situation is clear: but then what? Should we ask Bill Gates to
adopt Python as the next Visual Basic? Or ask Sun to switch to Jython?
Or ask Larry Wall to convert to the Zen of Python? 

The only thing we can do in practice is to predicate the verb of Python 
to our friends, as we all do it already. Also, we can work on slick new 
logos and to a restyling of the Python Website. But this will not raise 
the number of Python books in the stores in a couple of weeks or months 
or years. It is quite sterile to complain against things we have no real 
way to control.
We can only wait and see (as in that old chinese said ...)

              Michele Simionato