Hi Julia,
At Colorado College most of our coding efforts have been in Python including a Django Discovery Layer (https://github.com/jermnelson/Discover-Aristotle), a number of Flask-based utilites for our Fedora Commons repository (https://github.com/jermnelson/adr-cc-utilities), and my current work on a new Flask-based catalog (http://catalog.coloradocollege.edu/, repository at https://github.com/jermnelson/tiger-catalog/) for our library that uses JSON-LD representations of MARC, BIBFRAME and Schema.org.

Jeremy Nelson
Metadata and Systems Librarian
Colorado College

-----Original Message-----
From: Code for Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Eric Phetteplace
Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2014 9:27 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Python in Your Library

> So if your goal is to script some part of your workflow (especially if 
> you
need to munch on MARC, csv, text, data...), Python is awesome.

Andromeda's nailed it in terms of my experience with Python. None of the (mostly PHP) major web software I work with uses Python but for automating little tasks it's my language of choice simply because of it's ease and readability. So batch editing MARC records with pymarc or scripting browser tasks with Selenium, for instance.

Best,
Eric


On Wed, May 7, 2014 at 11:02 AM, Andromeda Yelton < [log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I'm writing a Library Technology Report for ALA TechSource on short, 
> useful programs people have written (in whatever language) in 
> libraries, so....ask me again in six months and I'll have a giant list 
> for you ;)
>
> (In the meantime, if you've written short -- under a hundred-ish line 
> -- programs that do fun or useful things for your library, and ideally 
> if "developer" is *not* in your job title, let's talk.)
>
> IMO advantages of Python include:
> * (Relative) ease of learning and reading
> * Python makes it particularly easy to write string-manipulation-type 
> stuff
> * Tons of high-quality packages available (pymarc, written by 
> code4libbers, is particularly library-relevant)
> * A large, often friendly user community that cares about outreach and 
> diversity
> * For me personally, it's the only programming language I know that's 
> ever felt *fun* to write
>
> The main disadvantage in a library context is that the big open-source 
> projects used in libraries tend not to be in Python. Also, if you want 
> to use Python for a web app, you're going to also want to learn Django 
> or Flask or something (which, mind you, are great; it just feels like 
> a hurdle if you're used to embedding PHP in HTML pages).
>
> So if your goal is to script some part of your workflow (especially if 
> you need to munch on MARC, csv, text, data...), Python is awesome. If 
> you want to be hacking on Hydra or Koha or Drupal or Wordpress or 
> something, you'll need a different language.
>
>
> Andromeda Yelton
> LITA Board of Directors, Director-at-Large, 2013-2016 
> http://andromedayelton.com @ThatAndromeda
>
>
> On Wed, May 7, 2014 at 9:13 AM, Julia <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > Hi All,
> >
> > This is my first time posting to Code4Lib.  Now seems like a good time.
> >
> > I am wondering how you have applied Python in your library.  What
> projects
> > have been successful?  What have you heard of other libraries doing?
>  What
> > advantages or disadvantages does it have compared to other scripting 
> > languages used in the library field?
> >
> > If you have any thoughts on any of those questions, I'd love to hear 
> > from you.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Julia
> > [log in to unmask]
> > Simmons College Library
> >
>