About Me

PBX I'm Paul Bissex, and e-scribe.com is my consulting business. I build web applications using open source software, especially Django. I teach photographers web design and professional skills. In the '90s I did graphic design for newspapers and magazines. Then I wrote technology commentary and reviews for Wired, Salon.com, Chicago Tribune, and lots of little places you've never heard of. Feel free to email me.

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I'm co-author of "Python Web Development with Django", an excellent guide to my favorite web framework. Its strong points include an introduction to Python, and better coverage of Django 1.0 than nearly anybody else. Published by Addison-Wesley, it is available from Amazon and your favorite technical bookstore as well.

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Built using Django, served by Apache and mod_wsgi. The database is SQLite. The operating system is FreeBSD, on a VPS hosted at Johncompanies.com. Comment-spam protection by Akismet. Vintage topo imagery from the Maptech archive. The markup engine is Markdown.

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PyObjC in, Cocoa-Java out

The Apple Developer Connection recently posted what looks like a nice introduction to PyObjC. It's even got QuickTime movies showing how to work with Interface Builder. Cool. The enthusiasm on the page is palpable:

PyObjC's maturity is unmatched - it's been around longer than even Apple's Java bridge (it originated on NeXTstep).

Meanwhile, in case you missed it, the Cocoa-Java bindings are deprecated:

Features added to Cocoa in Mac OS X versions later than 10.4 will not be added to the Cocoa-Java programming interface. Therefore, you should develop Cocoa applications using Objective-C to take advantage of existing and upcoming Cocoa features.

This is a watershed moment, I think. Python is a language Apple enthusiastically endorses for building Cocoa apps, while Java is emphatically not. Wow.

Apple's taking a gamble here. I imagine that among other factors they expect to get better, more Mac-like applications via PyObjC than Java. This will rankle the Java folks, of course. And when we see the first official tutorial on the Ruby-ObjC bridge the rioting will start. But Apple's never been particularly averse to pissing off developers -- often to the company's detriment. I hope this works out happily.

Wednesday, August 17th, 2005
apple + java + os x + python
2 comments

Some related posts: Mac OS Forge • A different kind of switching • AppleWorks, R.I.P. • Great open source apps for the Mac • PowerBook "Safe Sleep" • WebKit screen-grabbers • Google wants Mac developers • Gruber on AppleScript • Mac troubleshooting tips + bonus rant • Palm/Mac sync woes

• Comment from Norman , later that day

I wonder if this could presage a step only mildly less dramatic than the Intel switch - moving from Applescript to Python?

• Comment from Paul , 1 day later

Interesting suggestion. Seems unlikely, given recent developments like Applescript Studio. Java bindings languished for quite a while before being deprecated. But if they did decide to do it, the proof of concept is there in [Appscript][1]...

[1]: http://freespace.virgin.net/hamish.sanderson/appscript.html