Python as Glue Language

Maurice LING

Hi Everyone,

From the documentations, it did mention that python is a good glue
language. What does it really means by "glue language"? Does it means
interfacing between modules of different languages? How does that work?
Because it seems that only C is mentioned in the documentations and I'm
not quite interested to program in C unless absolutely essential.

Thanks
Maurice
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Jul 18 '05 #1

Garry Knight

In message <40********@news.unimelb.edu.au>, Maurice LING wrote:

From the documentations, it did mention that python is a good glue
language. What does it really means by "glue language"?
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]

glue language
<language> Any language, usually a scripting language, used
to write glue to integrate tools and other programs to solve
some problem.
(1999-02-22)

glue
<jargon> A generic term for any interface logic or protocol
that connects two component blocks. For example, Blue Glue
is IBM's SNA protocol, and hardware designers call anything
used to connect large VLSI's or circuit blocks "glue logic".
(1999-02-22)
Does it means interfacing between modules of different languages?

Interfacing between anything that takes an input and yields an output,
including scripts written in other languages, shell commands, executables,
etc.

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Garry Knight
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Linux registered user 182025

Jul 18 '05 #2

Paul Prescod

Maurice LING wrote:

Hi Everyone,

From the documentations, it did mention that python is a good glue
language. What does it really means by "glue language"? Does it means
interfacing between modules of different languages? How does that work?
Because it seems that only C is mentioned in the documentations and I'm
not quite interested to program in C unless absolutely essential.

Not just C, but also C++, VB and C# (via COM and Python.NET), Java (via
Jython and JPE), Fortran (via PyFort) and anything else in the world via
sockets, files, pipes, shared memory, web services, standard Internet
protocols etc.

Python is good for gluing almost anything to almost anything in large
part because the Python community makes bridges to every interesting
technology in the universe.

Paul Prescod

Jul 18 '05 #3