Where is Python in the scheme of things?

[Eric_Dexter at msn.com]

Carl Trachte wrote:
> I came from a VB/VBA environment before using Python.  My experience has
> been that Python has a lot more free, pre-coded tools within its community
> to do the sort of things I do in my job (geometric algorithms, date-time
> functions, processing and accessing lists of items, scientific programming,
> etc., etc.).  The main strength of VB6 was its ease in dragging and dropping
> stuff to make a graphical user interface (GUI).  The main strength of VBA is
> that a lot of people know it and it interfaces with the Excel spreadsheet
> software nicely (except when Windows is acting up, but that's another
> story).  Tkinker took some getting used to.  I've dabbled with wxPython a
> bit.  After an initial learning curve, the tools aren't that hard to use,
> and they both have modules for pre-made widgets (window items) like PMW for
> Tkinter.
>
> The module system, I find, is almost always a step up from dealing with
> VB/VBA's DLL's.  "DLL hell" is real, especially for someone coming into a
> programming environment for the first time.
>
> My last point is a bit controversial.  You will get smarter faster and
> cheaper in the Python community.  It's not that there aren't smart people in
> the (classic) VB community.  It's just that there are a lot of people in
> that community that never programmed in any other language, people that
> think that learning a Unix based system is too much to ask from an employer,
> people that believe that the GUI is the quality center and most critical
> part of the program, and that the backend is an afterthought.  I wish I were
> being cynical or exaggerating, but I'm not.  Hanging out around the Python
> community will make you a better VB, dotNet (C#), or C++ programmer, even if
> you go with one of those as your language of choice.
>
> My 2 cents.
>
> Carl Trachte
>
> "gord" <gord at no_spaming.com> wrote in message
> news:I4GdnY3G96ZZirnYnZ2dnUVZ_uidnZ2d at magma.ca...
> > As a complete novice in the study of Python, I am asking myself where this
> > language is superior or better suited than others. For example, all I see
> in
> > the tutorials are lots of examples of list processing, arithmetic
> > calculations - all in a DOS-like environment.
> >
> > What is particularly disappointing is the absence of a Windows IDE,
> > components and an event driven paradigm. How does Python stand relative to
> > the big 3, namely Visual C++, Visual Basic and Delphi? I realize that
> these
> > programming packages are quite expensive now while Python is free (at
> least
> > for the package I am using - ActivePython).
> >
> > Please discuss where Python shines.
> > Gord
> >
> >


I had a choice of writing in c or in python.  I am choosing python
because it is the scripting language that is used in csound.  I have to
admit that it feels like banging my head against the floor sometimes
and at other times it is realy rapid.  The price is also right being
unemployed reduced my software budget even though I do have two c
compilers(borland and microsoft), three if you count public domain
(bloodshed) and dark basic.  I have noticed alot of sound tools that
use python and other csound public domain app's that have been writen
in python.  The gtk stuff is intresting and sorta beg to be put into a
public distrubution with a rapid framework and boa-constructor could
have alot of new features added for rapid devolopment such as click on
code to replace solid values.  Possibly the tools only get better with
time.

http://www.stormpages.com/edexter/csound.html