[Tutor] Writing scripts and apps for Internet consumption

[Eric Hamiter]

Not sure if this is the right place for this, since this is a tutor list,
but I think it is because it involves learning Python and the application of
knowledge.

I've just started learning it as my initial programming language as of two
months ago. I like to think I'm making steady progress, and I now understand
the most rudimentary level of the basics. What I keep reading is how Python
is most powerful on server side applications, in the cloud, so to speak. The
portability of Python is also widely evangelized.

Here's my problem with this so far-- I can write a basic script, have it
take in data, rearrange it, and spit it back out. Following along in a book,
I can write a basic GUI or game. It's all wine and roses on my Windows
laptop, where I have everything configured just right, with all of the
modules in place where they need to be.

Moving this to a server or even another computer so far has been a seemingly
impossible task. There's a lot of documentation for CGI scripting (which is
now frowned upon, with every page recommending looking into wsgi), and there
have been applications devoted to transforming scripts into Windows
executables (py2exe, etc.) but it seems like this is much more confusing
than need be, and I can't get them to work regardless. When I try and google
for solutions, choosing any terms like "web" or "server" point me to massive
framework solutions like Django or Pylons, which seem extraordinarily
complex for what I want.

Specific examples: I have a livewires/pygame GUI game I wrote along with
folowing the book "Python Programming for the Absolute Beginner" and it
works great on my laptop. I tried installing Python/pygame on a work
computer and copying my scripts over, but it endlessly fails with errors so
obtuse I can't troubleshoot. I'm not even sure if I have the correct modules
installed here. Should they be under "Lib" or "libs" or "includes"?  Trying
to use py2exe fails because I can't figure out how to include non-scripts in
the final program, like .pngs or .jpgs. How would I even begin to put this
on a server? I'm clueless.

Another program I am using on my laptop is a convenience script-- it takes
in a text list of groceries, and spits out a formatted list based on aisle
locations so I can get in and out of the grocery store faster. My laptop is
the only place I can use this. I've tried using multiple CGI examples, and
it always results in a "File Not Found" error. Not even sure how I can debug
it. I can have the server do a simple one-line of printing "Hello World" but
anything more complicated than that makes it implode.

The most frustrating thing is how flippantly experienced programmers say to
use Django for Python web apps because it's so simple to use. It took me a
good half-day to just install it, and unless I'm writing a sample code or if
I want to clone a newspaper service, I have absolutely no idea how I would
use it efficiently. I want to learn the basics before running off to learn a
new framework. I'm trying to find good resources so I can continue self
teaching, but everything I find seems to be tailored to two classes: the
complete newbie who doesn't know how to print a line, or an advanced
programmer who is using list comprehension within a recursion with multiple
modules.

In short, is there a "simple" method for putting python scripts onto a
server that I do not host myself? I've seen web2py and it looks like it
would be more my speed, but support is lacking and doesn't seem too
compatible with my host. I use Dreamhost, and they are very adaptable and
configurable, but so far I can't find an easy way to accomplish what I want.

Thanks for reading this far if you did! I welcome any suggestions
whatsoever.

Eric
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