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Switch from perl to python?

Mike Meyer mwm at mired.org
Sat Dec 14 05:39:47 EST 2002 
elechak at bigfoot.com (Erik Lechak) writes:
> Why should I use python rather than perl?

OO libraries. Python's libraries grew after it became OO, and tend to
be OO. This makes modifying them to do other things - my case was
adding support for the FTP account feature - much saner than doing the
same for Perls libraries. There are probably as many reasons as there
are converts.

> Where is python's equivalent to CPAN?

The Vaults of Parnasus <URL: http://www.vex.net/parnassus/ > is
probably the closest thing in terms of a software collection. I don't
believe there's an auto-fetch-and-install system yet.

> Are there any benchmark comparisons between python and perl?

There are. Check google for them.

> Are python threads fully functional?

I believe the answer is yes, but it depends on what you mean by "fully
functional". You can also use the threading in PyQt if you want
something different.

> How active is python development (interpreter, modules)?

Very.

> What are python's shortcomings?

No native code compiler. Pippy is stuck at 1.5.2.

> Can I distribute a reliable python/GUI application without including
> the source (not interested in obfuscation or source filters)?

I assume you could ship the .pyc files, but I'm not sure how well it
would work.

        <mike
-- 
Mike Meyer <mwm at mired.org>			http://www.mired.org/home/mwm/
Independent WWW/Perforce/FreeBSD/Unix consultant, email for more information.
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