Whats Python Good For?

What s Python Good For?

Because Python is used in a wide variety of ways, it's almost impossible to give an authoritative answer to this question. In general, any application that can benefit from the inclusion of a language optimized for speed of development is a good target Python application domain. Given the ever-shrinking schedules in software development, this a very broad category.

A more specific answer is less easy to formulate. For instance, some use Python as an embedded extension language, while others use it exclusively as a standalone programming tool. And to some extent, this entire book will answer this very question -- it explores some of Python's most common roles. For now, here's a summary of some of the more common ways Python is being applied today:

System utilities

Portable command-line tools, testing systems

Internet scripting

CGI web sites, Java applets, XML, ASP, email tools

Graphical user interfaces

With APIs such as Tk, MFC, Gnome, KDE

Component integration

C/C++ library front-ends, product customization

Database access

Persistent object stores, SQL database system interfaces

Distributed programming

With client/server APIs like CORBA, COM

Rapid-prototyping /development

Throwaway or deliverable prototypes

Language-based modules

Replacing special-purpose parsers with Python

And more

Image processing, numeric programming, AI, etc.

Buses Considered Harmful

The PSA organization described earlier was originally formed in response to an early thread on the Python newsgroup, which posed the semiserious question: "What would happen if Guido was hit by a bus?"

These days, Guido van Rossum is still the ultimate arbiter of proposed Python changes, but Python's user base helps support the language, work on extensions, fix bugs, and so on. In fact, Python development is now a completely open process -- anyone can inspect the latest source-code files or submit patches by visiting a web site (see http://www.python.org for details).

As an open source package, Python development is really in the hands of a very large cast of developers working in concert around the world. Given Python's popularity, bus attacks seem less threatening now than they once did; of course, I can't speak for Guido.

On the other hand, Python is not really tied to any particular application area at all. For example, Python's integration support makes it useful for almost any system that can benefit from a frontend, programmable interface. In abstract terms, Python provides services that span domains. It is:

  • A dynamic programming language, for situations in which a compile/link step is either impossible (on-site customization), or inconvenient (prototyping, rapid development, system utilities)
  • A powerful but simple programming language designed for development speed, for situations in which the complexity of larger languages can be a liability (prototyping, end-user coding)
  • A generalized language tool, for situations where we might otherwise need to invent and implement yet another "little language" (programmable system interfaces, configuration tools)

Given these general properties, Python can be applied to any area we're interested in by extending it with domain libraries, embedding it in an application, or using it all by itself. For instance, Python's role as a system tools language is due as much to its built-in interfaces to operating system services as to the language itself. In fact, because Python was built with integration in mind, it has naturally given rise to a growing library of extensions and tools, available as off-the-shelf components to Python developers. Table 1-2 names just a few; you can find more about most of these components in this book or on Python's web site.

Table 1-2. A Few Popular Python Tools and Extensions

Domain

Extensions

Systems programming

Sockets, threads, signals, pipes, RPC calls, POSIX bindings

Graphical user interfaces

Tk, PMW, MFC, X11, wxPython, KDE, Gnome

Database interfaces

Oracle, Sybase, PostGres, mSQL, persistence, dbm

Microsoft Windows tools

MFC, COM, ActiveX, ASP, ODBC, .NET

Internet tools

JPython, CGI tools, HTML/XML parsers, email tools, Zope

Distributed objects

DCOM, CORBA, ILU, Fnorb

Other popular tools

SWIG, PIL, regular expressions, NumPy, cryptography

Introducing Python

Part I: System Interfaces

System Tools

Parallel System Tools

Larger System Examples I

Larger System Examples II

Part II: GUI Programming

Graphical User Interfaces

A Tkinter Tour, Part 1

A Tkinter Tour, Part 2

Larger GUI Examples

Part III: Internet Scripting

Network Scripting

Client-Side Scripting

Server-Side Scripting

Larger Web Site Examples I

Larger Web Site Examples II

Advanced Internet Topics

Part IV: Assorted Topics

Databases and Persistence

Data Structures

Text and Language

Part V: Integration

Extending Python

Embedding Python

VI: The End

Conclusion Python and the Development Cycle



Programming Python
Python Programming for the Absolute Beginner, 3rd Edition
ISBN: 1435455002
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2000
Pages: 245

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