Using Python on the WWW Guido van Rossum

Using Python on the WWW Guido van Rossum CNRI guido@python. org

Python Today • OO scripting, prototyping, etc. • Free, Open Source, portable, etc. • large collection of useful software • Active, enthousiastic community • newsgroups, mailing lists, websites • Python Consortium being formed • several books, more under way • Suitable for large projects

Personal web history

1992 • Python existed and had socket code & GUI code (stdwin) • First heard of WWW, used line mode browser to learn about it • No mosaic yet; one graphical browser (Viola), no source code • Interest piqued

First graphical web browser in Python • http 0. 9 - trivial w. Python sockets • html 1. 0 (? ) - event-driven parser • formatter - several variants • line mode browser followed • feedback to Marc Andreessen • Python still has all these components (much evolved)

1994 • I didn’t get CGI! – Mike Mc. Lay & Steve Majewski wrote first CGI module • Eventually I caught up – Standard cgi module supports file upload &c

1995 • I moved to CNRI • Grail browser started – as demo for annotating web pages – anecdote: Bob Kahn didn’t get open source, withdrew source distribution • HTML 3. 2, Python applets

1999 • last release of Grail (0. 6) • gave up against netscape & IE • still useful for minority platforms • URL: http: //grail. cnri. reston. va. us

Python and the web

Who uses Python on the web? • Infoseek’s Ultraseek – site search engine – written in Python except for engine code • Yahoo mail

Standard modules • asyncore/asynchat • urllib; httplib, ftplib, . . . ; socket • smtplib, nntplib, . . . • cgi • “sgmllib”, htmllib • Simple. Http. Server &c

Standard tools • webchecker, websucker • ftpmirror

3 rd party modules • HTMLgen • Document. Template • cookie module • XML SIG • Linbot • Zope