[Pipet Devel] better link to Python-XML

[bizzaro at bc.edu]

On Thu, 4 Feb 1999 10:29:02 -0600 (CST) rahul at photino.sid.rice.edu
(Rahul Jain) wrote:

>My reason for wanting to use Perl in specific parts of the software
are
>not because of a lack of support in Python for specific libraries,
but
>because of the purpose of the language. Perl is *designed* for
processing
>text, Python is like a normal programming language, designed for
calculation.

I don't see such a big difference between Perl and Python regarding
their text handling capabilities.  Python, like any good UNIX
scripting language, uses ASCII as a standard mean of
communication...so it has to be designed for it.

However, since your project is dealing with even more text than the
others, by having to manipulate HTML, you have a good point about
needing the best tool for the job.

>If we have all of our communication between the various tools in pure
>XML, we can use any language we want for the tools.

...providing they can communicate with the Paos object server.

> As for C, that should
>really only be used in the processor-intensive routines, most of
which
>would be called from the Python scripts (as they are handling the
computation).

Right.

>Perl would only be use when we want to input text and manipulate it
into
>another text format, e.g. my project, the web interface. That is
something
>where the sloppiness of Perl becomes useful and almost essential. In
>Python, the project is doable, but not nearly as easy because Python
>wasn't meant to do all of this stuff, or at least not as much as Perl
was
>meant to do it.

Actually, your project, the Web interface, is not a part of the "core
distribution" of Loci, as I've been defining it.  It is the core that
I am really fighting over trying to keep it all Python.  The Web
interface is the way for non-UNIX users (and UNIX users who don't have
Loci installed) to access all/most of the analysis algorithms that
will be tied into Loci via Internet servers.  So, I think you can use
whatever programming language you want to.

But I think you'll find that we may come up with Python alternatives
to the Perl tools you'll be using.  Also, you want to be sure you can
tie into the Paos server, so some Python may be necessary.


Jeff
bizzaro at bc.edu