[Python-au] Re: General question about Python use

[Reinhold Quillen]

Jack,

I appreciate your feedback. My sentiments mirror your own.

Reinhold.


At 01:44 12/12/01 -0800, Jack Andrews wrote:
>--- Reinhold wrote:
> > I am new to this list. I have a general question, which I would like
> > to put to the list subscribers.
> >
> > I am a software developer (C/C++/Delphi, Unix/NT), who recently
> > "discovered" Python's many uses.
> >
> > I am curious to find out how many of you use Python commercially
> > in your jobs and how many use it for private use only?
>
>I use it commercially, in my job and privately.  Your question
>prompts me to tell a story about Python in the workplace.
>
>As a quick overview, a company that I work for is STR (.com.au).
>STR develops a proprietary DBMS for statistical use.  STR's main
>customers are census bureaus around the world.  My team was
>responsible for a product which would suck data out of their Data
>Warehouses (Oracle, Sybase, SAS etc.) and pump it into our DBMS.
>We used JDBC and JPython (now known as jython) to do the work.
>
>IMnsHO, the pump-sucker (now why didn't I think of that name
>2 years ago!!!?? :) was a great success.  There were initial
>concerns about efficiency, but there was no efficiency problem
>in the end.  The pump-sucker only ever had a few bugs that we
>hadn't discovered before we shipped it -- it was a good project.
>
>That was all well and good.  I left STR after the challenge had
>gone and went to work for Ericsson to load balance web servers
>in the 'Lodbroker' business.  They used Erlang (a functional/
>process oriented language) and C.  That was nice for 6mths or
>so until Ericsson started laying off staff.  Now the project is
>dead.  (but I digress) -- see lodbroker.com.
>
>So, being a tech-wreck refugee, I returned to STR where my
>services were more than welcome.  I return to find that the
>guy who took over the project hates python, thinks everything
>is crap, and is planning to have the software re-written in
>Java!
>
>So to answer your question... what was your question again ;)
>Anyway -- maybe there's a universal pattern there.  You write
>a good product and then they come and write it in more
>'acceptable'  languages.  I heard some guy from Yahoo complaining
>about the 'horrible' Lisp code in the Yahoo shopping cart app and
>how he was rewriting it in C++ or something.  Maybe it's
>inevitable that software be reduced to C :)
>
>Sorry -- to bring the tone of my email up a bit, Python is cool.
>There, I said it.  I've just discovered wxPython -- python just
>get's better the more I use it.
>
> > I am trying to determine if Python has any visibility in IT shops
> > in this country, specifically Melbourne and how widespread its use
>
>Yeah -- it would be interesting if there were a survey...
>actually, there was a survey talked about on slashdot recently...
><does a quick search> nope -- can't find it... it was quite
>extensive and had an on-line form for you to say which languages
>you use .
>
>
>Jack.
>
>__________________________________________________
>Do You Yahoo!?
>Check out Yahoo! Shopping and Yahoo! Auctions for all of
>your unique holiday gifts! Buy at http://shopping.yahoo.com
>or bid at http://auctions.yahoo.com



E-mail: rquillen@ozemail.com.au
Tel/Fax:        03 9818 5543
Mob:            0428 838 668