[mod_python] Promoting Python as web application development language

vio vmilitaru at sympatico.ca
Tue Aug 27 05:28:20 EST 2002


First of all, thanks for your reply.

Why mod_python on the apache.org site?
I'm a web apps coder. And I love my python. Why mod_python? Because I want to
code apache apps in python. Also because of mod_perl: as a python afficionado, 
I feel left out (as the rest of the python community): why doesn't the ASF also
promote python on the same level as perl, java et al.

Why mod_python? It just so happens that there are not that many options out
there to write apache apps in python. This particular package seems to do the
job well, is very close and integrated with the apache program itself, and 
that's about all there is to it. 
We (I) 'need' a mod_perl for python programmers.

I hope this answers Ken's question, though imperfectly.

I would like to add that I am not a programmer of this mod_python package. I
am just a (heavy) user of both apache and python, and this question of the lack
of a python alternative on the main apache web site came out on our mailing 
list recently. And I personally took the liberty to writing to the apache board.

To Greg's argument that there is no ASF Python project, my question is WHY?
It's obvious to me there should be one.

Though I am obviously not an ASF member, and am not aware of how things work
at ASF, interestingly, through discussions on this topic on the mod_python
list, I came to the same conclusion as Greg: from my user's point of view
I would expect the apache site to feature only the core package itself,
and then only 'direct' extensions of the core: the modules (mod_perl, mod_ssl,
and yes, a python module - be it mod_python or something else). Anything else
would appear as an unhealthy overextension of the 'apache' brand. It's just my 
very personal opinion.

Gregory (Grisha) Trubetskoy is the author of mod_python. I hope he gets a 
chance to react to your post, especially Greg Stein's last 2 paragraphs.

Regards,
Vio

* Greg Stein <gstein at lyra.org> [020827 03:54]:
> On Mon, Aug 26, 2002 at 01:50:10PM -0400, Rodent of Unusual Size wrote:
> > vio wrote:
> > > But I just wanted to cut the bull and go straight to the point:
> > > we have this great apache module called mod_python, thanks to
> > > Gregory (Grisha) Trubetskoy, suffering from a big lack of exposure.
> > > We strongly believe this great piece of technology (which is the
> > > marriage of apache + python) deserves a place alongside mod_perl
> > > and mod_ssl 'on the main apache site'.
> > 
> > It might be possible to list it under the 'Sister Project' section,
> > but the question becomes: why mod_python and not mod_*?  What
> > makes mod_python stand out above the hundreds of other modules
> > in order to warrant this?  (Not being facetious; it's a serious
> > question.)
> 
> Ken also missed pointing out that the Perl, PHP, and Tcl projects that
> you're seeing in that list are all ASF projects. As there is no "Python"
> project, you don't see a Python listed there :-)
> 
> Personally, I have (recently) been advocating a move away from
> language-specific ASF Projects. In my ideal world, mod_perl, mod_(d)tcl, and
> mod_php would all be "sub projects" of the Apache HTTP Server project, and
> the Perl, Tcl, PHP projects would disappear. IMO, that is their natural,
> functional grouping.
> 
> To that extent, I would very much love to see mod_python become a subproject
> of the HTTP server. It would reside alongside mod_ldap, mod_mbox, mod_pop3,
> etc. From there, it could gain exposure through a number of venues on the
> ASF website.
> 
> To become an ASF project, the owners/committers of the code would need to
> agree to donate the codebase to the ASF and be willing to maintain it within
> our framework (along with other ASF committers and members who are also
> interested). Ideally, the community that comes with it would also follow
> some of the philosophy of the ASF in terms of being a friendly community,
> open source code, etc.
> 
> Cheers,
> -g
> 
> -- 
> Greg Stein, http://www.lyra.org/



More information about the Mod_python mailing list