Why I write Python

I read an interesting thread asking why do you use Python. I’ve been using several languages recently, including Python, and this has been a recurring question. There is much commonality in the responses of others

• It makes me more productive by removing boiler-plate code.
• There are many good libraries for Python which are very consistent, making it easy to produce complex applications with few lines of code.
• Meta programming techniques such as missing method and metaclasses make producing sophisticated frameworks easy.

These are all interesting points, but none of these things are the real reason I write Python code in preference to Java, Scala, Groovy or Ruby. The primary reason for me, is that I really enjoy writing Python applications. I think in a Pythonic way, so writing Python applications is intuitive and enjoyable. I rarely need to battle with the language to acheive what I want to do. A common question that gets asked is “What can Python do that you can’t do in Language X?”. The answer is usually “Nothing, provided you are prepared to write enough code, you can solve all the same problems. It’s just I enjoy writing Python, which means I am more engaged in solving the business problem, and therefore able to consistently get the job done faster, better, and with a greater level of satisfaction in the solution”.

I know this isn’t a scientific answer to the question, but writing software is a job done by people who aren’t mechanised robots. People need to be motivated in order to produce the best results and that includes being able to choose the tools they use based on what makes them happy. Recently it’s been my pleasure to spread a little Python love around my team mates. It’s been great to see the enthusiasm with which they have taken to using it, and the stunned awe when the see just how powerful this ‘Scripting Language’ really is. This has increased the motivation of the team, and as a result we are completing more work, to a higher standard, in a shorter time than we were previously while working in C# .NET