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Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2013 21:40:47 -0500
From: Mitya Sirenef <msirenef@lightbird.net>
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To: python-list@python.org
Subject: Re: Python Newbie
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On 02/22/2013 09:18 PM, Chris Angelico wrote:
> On Sat, Feb 23, 2013 at 1:02  PM, Steven D'Aprano
 > <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> wrote:
 >> On Fri, 22 Feb 2013 20:47:20 -0500, Mitya Sirenef wrote:
 >>
 >>> It's been used for many important projects by a huge number of big
 >>> companies:
 >>>
 >>> http://www.python.org/about/success/
 >>>
 >>> Unlike Java and C#, it's not backed by a marketing effort of a large
 >>> company, so its success is entirely due to its value.
 >>
 >> +1 QOTW
 >>
 >>
 >> Well said. While Sun (now Oracle) have spent millions marketing 
Java, and
 >> Microsoft done the same for C#, Python has got where it is almost
 >> entirely on merit and word-of-mouth.
 >
 > It's worth noting, though, that there are self-perpetuating aspects to
 > it. I can happily distribute a .py file to a Linux audience, because
 > many Linux distros come with a Python already installed, or at very
 > least can grab one easily via the package manager. No matter how
 > awesome Fred's Awesome Internet Language is, it's not going to be as
 > good a choice as something that people can simply 'apt-get install',
 > 'yum install', or whatever they're most familiar with. I don't have
 > enough history with Python to know when that status began to be
 > achieved, nor how it happened, but I'd guess that exciting/interesting
 > a distro manager is different from being the best choice for writing
 > an application.
 >
 > That said, though, Python is very good at both halves. But there might
 > very well be a language far superior for writing (say) a GUI app, that
 > just doesn't have the traction that Python does thanks to its
 > usefulness in the plumbing.
 >
 > ChrisA


Sure, that's true; I mostly meant it in context of stuff listed on that
page, and when compared to languages of similar age.

It's also worth noting that if there's a new language that is somewhat
better than all established languages, but not to the extent that it
will ever replace them (because of network effects), it's not really
better for any practical purposes -- present and future[*] ecosystem is a
part of a language's value proposition.

  -m

[*] of course, future is hard to predict, especially when it hasn't yet
happened.


-- 
Lark's Tongue Guide to Python: http://lightbird.net/larks/

True friends stab you in the front.
Oscar Wilde