About Me

PBX My name is Paul Bissex, and e-scribe.com is my consulting business. I build web applications using as much open source software as possible. From September to June I teach web design and other important non-photographic professional skills to photographers. In the '90s I wrote technology commentary and reviews for magazines, newspapers, and web publications, including Wired, Salon.com, FamilyPC, the late lamented Web Review, and the Chicago Tribune. Feel free to email me.

Book

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.

Colophon

This runs on Django, served by Apache and mod_python. 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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Stuff I Use

Akismet, del.icio.us, Django, dpaste.com, Emacs, FreeBSD, Freenode, jQuery, LaunchBar, MacPorts, Markdown, Mercurial, OS X, Postfix, Python, SQLite, Subversion, TextMate, Trac, Ubuntu Linux, wmii

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At least 58977 pieces of comment spam killed since January 2008, mostly via Akismet.

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 unmatchedit'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...