Python Marketing And The Web

Why web programming matters most

http://ianbicking.org/docs/pycon2005/

Ian Bicking
Imaginary Landscape LLC
www.imagescape.com

Marketing

Marketing Python

  • Python has appeal for programmers
  • Python's appeal isn't interesting to managers and other decision makers
  • What a programmer creates with Python is interesting to these people

Marketing

Python's Appeal To Managers

  • Programs developed more quickly
  • Programs developed more reliably
  • Happy, responsive, friendly programmers

Marketing

Marketing

  • We just need to get our foot in the door

Why Web

Why Is The Web Most Important

  • The easiest programming environment
  • The most public platform
  • Less liability from heterogeneous environments
  • Standards do the heavy lifting: HTTP, HTML, CSS

The Potential

PHP growth figures:

./phpstats-200501.png

Why We're Not Java

Python isn't a better Java

  • The PSF isn't Sun
  • Zope 3 and PEAK aren't J2EE
  • Static typing isn't dynamic typing
  • These aren't just technical differences

Why We're Not Smalltalk

Python isn't the next Smalltalk

  • At least I really really hope it isn't

Why We Are a P* Language

Perl, PHP, ...

  • Yeah, yeah, we don't like Perl
  • Sure, PHP 5 is a poor attempt to catch up with 1995 Python
  • But the marketing should be the same

Perl, PHP

Perl, PHP, ...

  • No corporate backing
  • Not appealing to managers
  • Dynamically typed
  • Bursts of growth attached to the web

We're Missing Out

  • The state of Python web programming is embarrassing
  • Python web programmers become Python programmers, Python advocates, Python contributors