I can't believe that I missed the Google App Engine Demo! As some of you may know, I was working over at Google all last year on a contract which, unfortunately, came to an end. I've been tied up quite a bit getting used to my new gig and missed the last meeting. Although I'm not currently with Google, I'm incredibly excited over the prospects for python and the Google App Engine.<br>
<br>For years I worked with companies who were mostly perl shops and having met with the leadership of the perl foundation I clearly pointed out that they need a better way to reach the masses. Without that mass appeal and a simple scaffolded way of introducing a language any language will begin to suffer. Ruby shows what can happen if you provide a relatively standardized, scaffolded framework (although if RonR has legs is still to be decided). Java doesn't have to worry about this since most colleges force the language as the defacto "standard." Another critical factor is web-enabling your application. In the past, python wasn't that easy in the sense that you had to go to special hosting services etc. to get a python account, and if you're not totally web savvy setting up your own system seemed like overkill. Let's face it, every cheap hosting account had PHP ready to roll and python was beat out there.<br>
<br>App Engine gives a nice, simple, yet relatively powerful way for people to introduce themselves to python. I'm sure that all of the other languages out there are dying from jealousy. I have to admit, I'm completely excited about this in a way that I haven't been in some years. I'm not a full time programmer but I really like to dabble. Having App Engine take some of the rough edges off for me and abstract enough so I can simply focus on my goals is exciting. I'll let you know how my experiments work out ;)<br>
<br>Todd<br>