So What’s “Python: The Sequel”?
As we’ve seen in this book, Python is a multifaceted tool, useful in a wide variety of
domains. What can we say about Python to sum up here? In terms of some of its best
attributes, the Python language is:
- General purpose
- Object-oriented
- Interpreted
- Very high level
- Openly designed
- Widely portable
- Freely available
- Refreshingly coherent
Python is useful for both standalone development and extension work, and it is opti-
mized to boost developer productivity on many fronts. But the real meaning of Python
is really up to you, the reader. Since Python is a general-purpose tool, what it “is”
depends on how you choose to use it.
In the Final Analysis...
I hope this book has taught you something about Python, both the language and its
roles. Beyond this text, there is really no substitute for doing some original Python
programming. Be sure to grab a reference source or two to help you along the way.
The task of programming computers will probably always be challenging. Perhaps
happily, there will continue to be a need for intelligent software engineers, skilled at
translating real-world tasks into computer-executable form, at least for the foreseeable
future. After all, if it were too easy, none of us would get paid. No language or tool can
obviate the hard work of full-scale programming entirely.
But current development practice and tools make our tasks unnecessarily difficult:
many of the obstacles faced by software developers are purely artificial. We have come
far in our quest to improve the speed of computers; the time has come to focus our
attention on improving the speed of development. In an era of constantly shrinking
schedules, productivity must be paramount.
Python, as a mixed-paradigm tool, has the potential to foster development modes that
simultaneously leverage the benefits of rapid development and of traditional languages.
While Python won’t solve all the problems of the software industry, it offers hope for
making programming simpler, faster, and at least a little more enjoyable.
It may not get us off that island altogether, but it sure beats bananas and coconuts.
In the Final Analysis...| 1555