CHAPTER 21
Conclusion: Python and the
Development Cycle
Foreword for the Fourth Edition
I wrote the following conclusion in 1995 for the first edition of this book, at a time
when Python’s integration role as a front-end scripting language was viewed as more
important than it often is today. Since then, Python has emerged as one of the top four
or five most widely used programming languages in the world. As it has grown in pop-
ularity, its focus on code quality and readability, and their related impact on developer
productivity, seems to have become the more dominant factor behind Python’s success.
In fact, most Python programmers today write pure Python code, without ever having
to know or care about external libraries. Typically, a small handful of developers inte-
grate external libraries for the majority to leverage in their Python code. While inte-
gration still matters, Python is largely about quality and productivity to most people
today (see “The Python “Secret Handshake”” on page 70 for more on Python contem-
porary philosophy).
Because of this shift, some of this conclusion may have grown a bit narrow. In deference,
I’ve removed all the “postscript” updates that appeared here in prior editions. This
edition retains the conclusion itself, though, partly because of its historical value, partly
because it still reflects the ideals that propelled Python into the limelight in the first
place, and partly because of its continued relevance to Python users who still integrate
hybrid systems (well, that, plus the jokes).
At the end of the day, many of us have gotten off this chapter’s proverbial island by
now, thanks to the rise of tools such as Python. Indeed, over the last 15 years Python
has realized most of its original aspirations laid out here. The choice before us today
seems to be between keeping the boat from growing too heavy or learning to swim well.1543Do
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