Abstract.html

<H1>Abstract of Python talk</H1>

<P>Python is an advanced scripting language that is being used
successfully to glue together large software components. It spans
multiple platforms (including, but not limited to, Windows, Unix and
Mac), and application domains. Python is an object-oriented language
with high-level data structures, dynamic typing, and dynamic
binding. Python has been around since 1991, and has a very active user
community. For more information, see the Python website <A
HREF="http://www.python.org">http://www.python.org</A>.

<P>Like Tcl, Python is easily extensible with C/C++/Java code, and
easily embeddable in applications. Many extensions already exist,
including access modules for commercial databases, numerical
libraries, graphics packages, and (on Windows) COM clients and
servers. Python even uses Tk, the Tcl GUI toolkit, for a de-facto
standard portable GUI toolkit. Unlike Tcl, however, Python supports
object-oriented programming. Python programmers can create classes,
use multiple inheritance, define methods, overload operators, and so
on.

<P>Popular application domains for Python include web scripting, rapid
development of GUI applications, and controlling scientific
applications. For example, Lawrence Livermore National Labs is
committed to replacing a home-grown scripting environment for its
scientists with a Python-based one. As another example of a large
Python applications, CNRI has developed Grail, a complete web browser
written in Python.