vivekkhurana

For python, if the work is simple, we use web2py and if we need something scalable or complex we build the stack ourselves based on the combo of dejavu and cherrypy. Lots of components are available in python for different segments of a web application.

For web server/dispatcher/controller I think cherrypy beats them all. Cherrypy alone can take you a long way. For ORM there is sqlachemy, dejavu and storm. For forms there is formencode, for json you have simplejson... let me know if you need something else...

On the contrary with other pythonic frmeworks, the curve is not that difficult. Currently we are using the combo of cherrypy and dejavu in python, and the learning curve was surprisingly small.

Anyone who tried hands with sqlachemy or storm ?

I would agree with the article that django has lowered the entry barrier but thats it. Problem with django is, it is easy to do 70% of the work but rest 30% would make you cry... as long as you have clearly defined problem, like newspaper cms or todo list etc., django is a pain to work with and the django ORM is a toy...

Dont worry, all good programmers I know have sucked at maths at one point or the other. Try sage http://www.sagemath.org/ , its a free software written in python. The software has a web interface which lets you program the equations and see visual output in form of graphs or other suitable figures.

Have a look at sage demo at http://wiki.sagemath.org/interact and try it after downloading. If you still have issues, write back, we would love to help you...

We have enough examples now where a company open sources its product and still makes money, Redhat, Mysql to name few. You can always open up the base product and charge for additional features (the freemium model).

You have to create an ecosystem around the product it will be profitable. That ecosystem can be additional plugins or services around a free software product. Since free software is based on the concept of sharing the network effect will kick in, for good products.

If the product is good you will make money immaterial of open source or closed source nature. In my opinion free software has more stability and performance but most free softwares are packaged badly (or not packaged at all). When Free software hackers learn the art of packaging a product and start realizing that there are others who are going to use the product too, we can should lot more usable products from open source world.

I find apple as a smart company, they make good products and they ensure profitability of every venture. I dont count apple products as a premium products but they are not making commodity products either. Overall apple has managed to strike a balance between innovation, brand and profit (now we have number for this too).

Higher profits means higher share holder value, something every corporate strives for

joelonsoftware http://www.joelonsoftware.com/

Awesome post and the organization of algorithm in different sections is simply perfect...

I love this one... So can we say now that 'computing is a child's play' ?

I having pain in my stomach laughing... where is PHP, Python and Ruby ? I loved the perl one "You stab yourself in the foot repeatedly with an incredibly large and very heavy Swiss Army knife."

I like the idea in the end of the software, "Every designer on the planet has a portfolio of their designs, but how many have a portfolio of their minds?". Rarely you see a designer or an enterprnuer talking about what is in there mind. Portfolio of mind does not mean you have to spell out the idea verbatim, but you present a map of the path you are planning to tread. Having tried this technique of presenting what is going in my mind to potential customers, I can say when 'mind portfolio' is mixed with 'brand portfolio', you do get more customers. In my experience of running startups, customers do prefer startups that can think over startups trying to simply sell stuff.

The caveat is, you should be capable of presenting the mind portfolio without appearing to be a smart donkey. Spelling out your mind portfolio during a general chit chat with potential customer over a cup of tea, is what I do.

I do couple of meditations like whirling, vipsana, gibberish etc. depending on the need of my body. Meditation is not a quick fix, infact initially meditation might result in fall in productivity as your body energy is re-balanced. Meditation is a long term solution and if learned properly, it will improve your productivity and make you less stressful. So, the most important point is to learn meditation from a master. I will suggest you stay away from the websites etc. which talk about meditation as most of them are money making pockets which teach half cooked ways to make you flowing money towards them. Btw, a proper sleep is one of the best form of meditation and if you are suffering from lack of sleep, you should increase the physical activity, for instance play tennis for one hour daily. This will de-stress you as well as ensure good sleep at night. Ensure 6-8 hrs of sleep everyday, this is the natures way to get rid of stress....

So you are working with a new technology stack and exploring new things... throwaway prototype is good when youa re doing something new. If you were versed witht he particular protocol, would you need to write to throwaway prototype ? I dont think so...

Isn't this what refactoring is ? As you mature as a coder, you will be able to write good code for certain standards which need not be thrown away. So having a look at the code and fixing the crappy portion will be more productive than throwing away the whole implementation. I think whole rewrite rule is useful when you start working on a new technology... but if you are using a stack for considerable amount of time, then refactoring is the way to improve the code quality.

What you are facing is a standard problem in adaptation of technology. What most techies think usable might not be that much usable by non-techie user. As far as wiki is concerned, I find it challenging to use a wiki even being a techie. The obnoxious syntax of wiki is sufficient to scare away several users. As you mentioned, people like to send email, I would suggest creating a separate mailbox for leave applications and then writing bunch of scripts to parse the email and put the email in wiki, db or whatever you want to. Second option is to use a CMS and create web form, as most CMS have support for forms and reporting built in. I have done this with drupal couple of times and the solution has been received well by non-techies. In the end, what ever comments you receive on this thread will turn out to be useless if you are not willing to understand the reason why non-techies are not using the wiki ? Few minutes spent with the end user will save you several hours of developing and deploying a solution that will not be used by non-technies...