A quick introduction to the power of Python for prospective users of the Plone CMS.

1. Plone is great,
Python is too!
Carlos de la Guardia

2. You just chose Plone as a CMS
Congratulations. You might not realize it yet, but
in addition to picking a great CMS, you have
implicitly selected a programming language:
Python.

3. Make it an explicit choice
 Unless you plan to only use Plone's out of the box
functionality and third party products, you will need
Python at some point.
 It's better to dive in and get to know the language,
because Plone can be used to create fantastic content
based applications that extend the platform, but you
need Python for that.
 You can of course depend on one of the many Plone
companies around (we thank you for your business),
but if you are the kind of organization that has its own
developers, it easy to introduce them to Python.

4. About Python
”The Python paradox: if a company chooses to write its software in
a comparatively esoteric language, they'll be able to hire better
programmers, because they'll attract only those who cared enough
to learn it.”
Paul Graham
 Python is powerful... and fast
 Python plays well with others
 Python runs everywhere
 Python is friendly... and easy to learn
 Python is Open
 Python developers care about Python

5. Python the language
 very clear, readable syntax
 strong introspection capabilities
 intuitive object orientation
 natural expression of procedural code
 full modularity, supporting hierarchical packages
 exception-based error handling
 very high level dynamic data types
 extensive standard libraries and third party modules for virtually every task
 extensions and modules easily written in C, C++ (or Java for Jython, or .NET
languages for IronPython)
 embeddable within applications as a scripting interface

6. Python the community
 Global, diverse community
 Regional conferences all over the world
 The Python Foundation oversees the
advancement of the language and supports
community groups and efforts
 The community is friendly and open
 Many Plone developers are very involved with
the language

7. Python package index
 Repository of software for the Python
programming language
 17,489 packages and counting
 Packages can be installed from the command
line directly from this repository
 Plone uses it to get third party products (and
Plone's components as well)

8. The Zen of Python
cguardia@hal9001:~/work/eye$ python
Python 2.6.6 (r266:84292, Sep 15 2010, 15:52:39)
[GCC 4.4.5] on linux2
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> import this
The Zen of Python, by Tim Peters
Beautiful is better than ugly.
Explicit is better than implicit.
Simple is better than complex.
Complex is better than complicated.
Flat is better than nested.
Sparse is better than dense.
Readability counts.
Special cases aren't special enough to break the rules.
Although practicality beats purity.
Errors should never pass silently.
Unless explicitly silenced.
In the face of ambiguity, refuse the temptation to guess.
There should be one-- and preferably only one --obvious way to do it.
Although that way may not be obvious at first unless you're Dutch.
Now is better than never.
Although never is often better than *right* now.
If the implementation is hard to explain, it's a bad idea.
If the implementation is easy to explain, it may be a good idea.
Namespaces are one honking great idea -- let's do more of those!

9. With Python you can extend Plone
 You can create new content types
 You can create portlets
 You can define special views for your content
 You can personalize existing views
 You can manipulate your site's content
programatically
 Basically, you can make Plone do your bidding
 But...

10. You'll also know when NOT to use Plone
 As we saw, Python offers tons of packages
and tools in many different areas
 Python is specially strong in web development
 Plone is a great CMS, but it's not meant to be
used for all your website needs
 Trust me, you don't want to meet FrankenPlone

11. Warning signs
 If you are thinking ”we need something like
Plone, but without this and this and this...”
 Or ”we could use Plone, except we'll have to
add this and this and this”
 Resist the temptation. Here's a rule of thumb: if
yours is not a content application or if Plone's
functionality would get in the way of what you
want to do, you might be better of with
something else.

12. Combining Plone with other Python tools
 Need reporting? Plone is not well suited for many
writes to the database. But with Python and
SQLAlchemy you can create a reporting app and
make Plone push data there.
 Need to share data? You can have Plone return JSON
data and another Python app can use it.
 Plone can also easily get data from other applications
in a variety of formats. With Python, many times this
means a library import and a few lines of code.
 Need to analyze your Plone database? Why not write
a pure Python app that connects to a copy of your
ZODB directly?

13. Python for Web Development
 Sometimes Plone may not be the right tool for
the job. Need a financial system, an accounting
package or a web store?
 There are many Python frameworks that can
help you create web applications.
 Pyramid (personal favorite), Flask, Django are
all great choices.
 Using Python for all gives you advantages like
having common library code specific for your
organization and allowing team members to
work on the different web applications

14. In Conclusion
 Python is a great language, give it a chance
 Consider using it for more than your Plone site
 Know when to extend Plone and when to go
with somethimng else.
 Statistics show that you'll have happier
developers
 Some developers end up not working with
Plone when they change jobs to somewhere
where it's not used. They never leave Python,
though.