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From: William Ray Wing <wrw@mac.com>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.python
Subject: Re: Considering migrating to Python from Visual Basic 6 for engineering applications
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2016 16:27:59 -0500
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> On Feb 17, 2016, at 2:49 PM, wrong.address.1@gmail.com wrote:
>=20
> I am mostly getting positive feedback for Python.
>=20

I would be surprised if you weren=E2=80=99t.

> It seems Python is used more for web based applications. Is it equally =
fine for creating stand-alone *.exe's? Can the same code be compiled to =
run on Linux or Android or web-based?
>=20

I=E2=80=99m not sure where you got that idea.  Python has been and is =
being used for an extremely broad range of applications.  At one =
extreme, the popular YouTube site is based on Python (and yes, that is a =
web application), at the other extreme much (most?) of the data analysis =
of the recent LIGO data leading up to the discovery of gravitational =
waves was done in Python, and numpy (a python numerical library); with =
the results displayed in matplotlib (a python library for =
scientific-engineering graphics).

The basic python language and its libraries are completely =
cross-platform (Linux, OS-X, Windows, iOS, and Android).  The same =
source code will run on all of them.  However, because it is an =
Interpreted language, the step to a bundled, self-contained image is =
platform dependent. There python compliers (as opposed to interpreters) =
for some, but not all platforms, and there is a very active JiT compiler =
project that would fall somewhere in between.=20

> Is it possible to create GUI elements with a good IDE? Can they be =
defined like in Visual Basic with given sizes, fonts, visible/invisible, =
etc.?
>=20

There are several GUI libraries for Python.  You might check out TK =
(which comes built-in), but there are also libraries like wxPython, Kivi =
(which is completely cross platform), and PyQt.  Note that these are the =
GUI libraries themselves, not IDE=E2=80=99s which tend to be =
independent.  There are too many IDE=E2=80=99s to list here - check with =
Google.

> Is it easy to do matrix operations in Python? Or do I need to write =
subroutines like in Visual Basic?

Matrix (and similar operations) can be done in Python directly, but if =
you need maximum performance you should use the optimized vector =
routines available in numpy, these are typically pre-compiled with C or =
FORTRAN and squeeze out the maximum speed your hardware is capable of.  =
(There is work being done to migrate them to GPUs, but is VERY hardware =
dependent at this point.) If you need to do scientific/engineering =
analysis, you should also check out scipy, which is built on top of it =
and is also vector optimized.

>=20
> Could someone kindly tell me advantages and disadvantages of Python?

If you are completely satisfied with VB, there is no reason to change =
(other than the enjoyable exercise of learning a new and more powerful =
language).

On the other hand, Python has often been referred to as =E2=80=9Cexecutabl=
e pseudo code=E2=80=9D - in other words, the english-like steps you =
might sketch out to outline the solution to a programming problem in =
another language is to all intents and purposes Python itself.  This =
makes for very fast and productive code generation with typically fewer =
errors than are made in other languages. In addition, and as has been =
implied above, it is cross platform.  The same python source code (with =
the appropriate libraries) will run on all the platforms mentioned =
above. One of the biggest productive features of Python is the fact that =
it is interpreted (in its most common instantiation).  Thus, you can =
have two windows open side by side, with the source code in one and =
running code in the other.  Changes in the source code can instantly be =
reflected in the output.

> Or any better options? I have like 40-50 VB Forms and may be around =
20000 lines of code. It will be a task to learn a new language and =
translate/re-write that code.
>=20

Not necessarily better, but at least worth looking into would be the =
Swift language, which shares much of Python=E2=80=99s modern structure, =
is now also open source, and has been ported to most flavors of Linux.  =
A Window=E2=80=99s port is promised, but I don=E2=80=99t know how far =
along it is.  It *is* a compiled language, so you would then be back in =
the edit, compile, link, and run loop as you debug your code.

I=E2=80=99m sure you will get lots of other answers - Google each of the =
things I=E2=80=99ve mentioned and you will get a truck-load of info.  =
You might start with Wikipedia and read there about Python and Swift.

> Thanks for your responses.=20
> --=20
> https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list