Python versus VB

[Mark Carter]

> > I am meeting with a potential client next week to
> > discuss starting a new project.  His preference is for
> > VB whereas I would prefer Python for obvious reasons ;-)

One might argue that clients should rarely be specifying how a problem
is solved. On the other hand ... he who pays the piper. It might be an
idea to ask the client *why* he thinks that VB is the solution. The
chances are, it wont be an especially well-informed answer. If you can
counter with some other argument (robustness, maintainability, cost,
whatever), then you may be able to get away with using Python.

A couple of ohter points to remember: is the client from a big
company, and does the product have to be installed on many machines?
Big companies tend to have paranoid IT support staff, and may baulk at
installing Python. Mind you, they'll also probably baulk at VB, too. I
know, I have to do a lot of development in Excel, because we're "not
allowed to install software".

If the software has to be installed on many machines, then you may
find a VB app to be a better bet. It'll be more click-n-go.