Commercial Products in Python

[Bruno Desthuilliers]

Paulo J. Matos a écrit :
> Bruno Desthuilliers wrote:
>> Paulo J. Matos a écrit :
>>> Hi all,
>>>
>>> I was just wondering, if you wish to commercialize an application
>>> developed in Python, what's the way to go?
>>> I guess the only way is to sell the source, right?
>> Nope, why ?
>>
>>> This is because (and tell me if I am wrong):
>>> 1) You can't sell an executable because Python doesn't compile to native
>>> code (the usual approach, afaik);
>>> 2) You can't sell the bytecode, otherwise you get the client stuck with
>>> a specific python version (given bytecode might vary between versions)
>>> (the alternative);
>> This is the case for quite a few languages (VB6 and Java just to name a
>> few), and it seems like it didn't prevent anyone writing and selling
>> commercial software written with these languages.
>>
> 
> Truth is I am ignorant as how Java packages are sold. :) About VB I
> thought they generate an executable and that is installed on the clients
> computer (at least in old VB5, I guess).

This 'executable' is of the same sort of what you'd get using py2exe or 
some similar solution : the application's code and the necessary runtime 
bundled together as a nice package that Windows can run. FWIW, using 
vb6, you didn't even had a standalone "executable" - you had to install 
vb6 runtime and possibly a couple dll's too.

> Question remains, how would you do it with Python? (I am not saying that
> you can't in Python, I just really don't know!)

It all depends on what kind of application you're talking about 
('grand-public' GUI app ? High-end server app ? Web app ?) and the 
people you expect to buy it (Joe Average WindowsUser ? Wall-street co ? 
etc...)