Pleasantly Surprised with Python Today
I've been writing an XML file generator in Python hooking into a few data sources (systems) here at the Shop. I'm really quite pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to do all the little things you need to do. Formatting, logging, database, it's all there. With a decent access to the data, and a nice object model, it's downright pleasant.
I have to admit I'm surprised. I expected a more 'stripped down' language than this has shown itself to be. Yes, it's supposed to be all wonderful and that, but until you really need to dig into it, refactor it, and do all the little things that you're not going to find in a simple 'Hello, World!' app, you can have your doubts, as I did mine.
The object model is nice, if not a little confusing. The proliferation of self is a trifle annoying - can't this be inferred from scope? Maybe not. It's something that I can get over, but it is a bit odd at first.
The indenting at least makes things look nice. The speed is first-rate, I'll give you that. There isn't anything I can complain about there.
If I spent a lot of time in it for a few weeks, I'm sure I'd pick up a lot of habits that would make it very nice to write in. Libraries, or finding those libraries like the XML DOM, are real time savers, and yet it takes time to look them up, learn how to use them, etc. Time worth spending, but time you need to spend.
I have to say... it's not PHP, but it's really quite nice.