[hblug] Python

[Jim Tittsler]

On Sep 25, 2006, at 05:31, Peter Harrison wrote:

> Is Python as mature as Java? No

Agreed, but there are lots of people using Java so Java should catch  
up eventually.  :-)

> implemented because the developers are doing it their way. Also the  
> lack
> of separation; ie with Java you have the servlet runner
> (tomcat/resin/jetty etc), the framework (Struts etc), and the template
> language (JSP/Velocity) - and you can choose the ones you like. For
> server/web apps this level of abstraction has not yet been  
> developed for
> Python. There is also Zope; of which I have no experience.

One of Python's weaknesses is the huge range of web application  
frameworks.  They span the range of monolithic (Zope 2.x) to  
separable (Turbo Gears or Webkit).

> Oh, one final gripe; name spaces. I wish you could have period  
> separated
> package paths like Java in the imports. In large applications you  
> often
> get class naming collisions. Java has a way of resolving those naming
> issues. While I'm no fan of Java class paths, I think that Python  
> could
> have easily introduced a mechanism for nested packages. Its not a  
> "deal
> breaker" issue for me, but one I would have liked to see,

Python can nest packages, and they are imported using dot separated  
paths.  This is rather common when you want to make sure your  
application gets your version of a package rather than a system  
version for example.  (The 'import mypackage.foo.bar as bar' can help  
hide this in your application, or you can use longer paths to avoid  
collisions.)