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From: Dan Strohl <D.Strohl@F5.com>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.python
Subject: RE: Considering migrating to Python from Visual Basic 6 for engineering applications
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 2016 16:24:33 +0000
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I totally agree with Chris here, try it out, do some simpler things to get =
your feet wet before committing to redoing hundreds of thousands of lines o=
f code in it.  Find a few of the "deal breakers" and try to solve them in P=
ython (create a hello world app in python, then package it in an exe and di=
stribute it to some friends).. VB is a fine language, and is likely to suit=
 your needs as well... even if we all believe that Python is better, the ef=
fort to convert from one to the other may not make sense.

I would also suggest taking a few steps back and seeing if there is a diffe=
rent overall architectural approach that makes sense.  If you are using a h=
eavy weight local app, what about a web app?  What about doing a combinatio=
n approach?  Have a back end running on a server with Python, that feeds a =
VB app on a client for displaying and manipulating data? (then a Java app f=
or mobile clients or Linux ones?)

Also, looking at existing frameworks and expandable apps out there that you=
 might be able to do less work but still meet your goals with because 80% o=
f the work was done for you... things like django, splunk, tableau, etc...

Dan


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Python-list [mailto:python-list-bounces+d.strohl=3Df5.com@python.or=
g] On
> Behalf Of Chris Angelico
> Sent: Thursday, February 18, 2016 8:06 AM
> Cc: python-list@python.org
> Subject: Re: Considering migrating to Python from Visual Basic 6 for engi=
neering
> applications
>=20
> On Fri, Feb 19, 2016 at 2:49 AM,  <wrong.address.1@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Thanks. You have guided me quite well, and I am almost ready to declare=
 that I
> will use Python for the next few decades.
> >
>=20
> Don't declare like that - just start using it, and see what you think
> :) But I would be very much surprised if Python doesn't get added to your
> toolbelt. A good programmer should always keep a selection of tools handy=
 -
> seldom is one tool the right one for every job.
>=20
> > Imagine I want to read in two (or a few) numbers from a text file, disp=
lay them
> in two (or more) text boxes, calculate their sums and products, may be ta=
ke
> logarithms of them, and display them in other two text boxes or labels, a=
nd
> make some bar charts, scatter plots, and later draw curves and surfaces o=
n a
> computer screen. Do I really need PyPi or other external stuff for this? =
Is Python
> well equipped for this?
> >
>=20
> You could do all of that with just the standard library, but then your on=
ly choice
> of GUI library is Tkinter, which is derived from Tcl/Tk.
> If you don't like how that looks (either in your code, or in the resultin=
g GUI),
> you'll need to turn to PyPI for an alternative (eg something derived from=
 GTK or
> wxWindows or Qt). I'm not sure how the graphing capabilities of Tkinter a=
re, so
> you might want to grab matplotlib too - again, it'll give you a lot more =
flexibility
> than you would have if you restrict yourself to *just* the standard libra=
ry.
> But I think you could do all of that - certainly most of it - with just t=
he language
> and standard library.
>=20
> > I will have to learn GUI creating quickly after I know the basics of re=
ading and
> writing text files, and doing simple mathematical calculations.
> >
>=20
> Reading and writing text files is easy, as is basic mathematics.
> You'll have that down in an hour or two, most likely, and then you'll hav=
e time to
> play GUIs.
>=20
> > Later I can imagine using things like sending an SMS from a phone runni=
ng this
> on Android, or placing a graph in a WhatsApp message, make a call to some=
one
> and tell him the temperature is now too high, etc. These things might nee=
d
> external libraries, but I can learn this later on.
> >
>=20
> Those things will most likely require external libraries. But most of the=
m are
> probably possible.
>=20
> ChrisA
> --
> https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list