> I have read some posts on this subject but I haven't been able to make
> a decision whether to use Python or not.

> I'm considering converting a Java CAD program to Python/C with
> wxWdigets for the GUI.

> I don't have good answers for:

> 1)  Can I use py2exe or pyinstaller to produce an executable for
> Linux, Windows, and Mac?  If not,  is there a way it can be done?

> 2)  Is there any way to protect the source code,  like obfuscation?

> 3)  Memory footprint of application seems large for python demo. Is
> this typical for large python applications?

> I guess the best thing to do is convert a little portion of the Java
> program and see how  it works out with respect to the concerns above.

> Suggestions and comments appreciated.

> > I have read some posts on this subject but I haven't been able to make
> > a decision whether to use Python or not.

> > I'm considering converting a Java CAD program to Python/C with
> > wxWdigets for the GUI.

> > I don't have good answers for:

> > 1)  Can I use py2exe or pyinstaller to produce an executable for
> > Linux, Windows, and Mac?  If not,  is there a way it can be done?

> > 2)  Is there any way to protect the source code,  like obfuscation?

> > 3)  Memory footprint of application seems large for python demo. Is
> > this typical for large python applications?

> > I guess the best thing to do is convert a little portion of the Java
> > program and see how  it works out with respect to the concerns above.

> > Suggestions and comments appreciated.

> Look at python-cad, that might give you an idea how such a thing is to be
> accomplished using python.

> Diez

> I did look at PythonCad but the distribution and install methods for
> Windows is not user freindly. Since the public domain software,  I
> don't think they protect the source code either.

> 2)  Is there any way to protect the source code,  like obfuscation?

> 3)  Memory footprint of application seems large for python demo. Is
>     this typical for large python applications?

> > I did look at PythonCad but the distribution and install methods for
> > Windows is not user freindly. Since the public domain software,  I
> > don't think they protect the source code either.

> The subject of code obfuscation in python has been beaten to death quite a
> few times on this list, do a search to find anything you want to know.

> In a nutshell: forget about it. it's not worth it, difficult to accomplish
> due to the dynamic nature of python and to be brutally honest: more or less
> nothing you can come up with in your own code is really worth looking at
> anyway. That's not saying that you can't code, just that more or less
> everything one programs is trivial and only of value in the actual context
> it was written in. So nobody is really interested in ripping stuff out.

> diez

> > > I did look at PythonCad but the distribution and install methods for
> > > Windows is not user freindly. Since the public domain software,  I
> > > don't think they protect the source code either.

> > The subject of code obfuscation in python has been beaten to death quite a
> > few times on this list, do a search to find anything you want to know.

> > In a nutshell: forget about it. it's not worth it, difficult to accomplish
> > due to the dynamic nature of python and to be brutally honest: more or less
> > nothing you can come up with in your own code is really worth looking at
> > anyway. That's not saying that you can't code, just that more or less
> > everything one programs is trivial and only of value in the actual context
> > it was written in. So nobody is really interested in ripping stuff out.

> > diez

> Your opinions are noted, thank you,  but I don't agree with you.
> There are
> portions of the code that are under review for patents and as such
> need to
> be protected.

> For the record: This is not true. If you've already applied
> for the patent, you have as much legal protection as you will
> ever get. Also, since patents apply to methods and not to
> literal source, if you're trying to protect something
> patentable you have even less protection against analysis and
> disassembly than you would if you were trying to protect the
> copyright on the code. If you need to make a token effort to
> satisfy whatever legal hurdles are involved, shipping .pyc
> files (which py2exe and all the other packagers I'm aware of
> do) is just as effective as shipping executables compiled with
> C or C++.

>> I'm investigating whether Python is the right language to use
>> for a commercial CAD application. While I think Python is a
>> great scripting language, there seems to limitations with
>> regards to packaging and distributing programs.

> None that don't also exist in every other language in
> existence. These are fundamental issues of information theory,
> not language constraints.

> >> Your opinions are noted, thank you, but I don't agree with
> >> you. There are portions of the code that are under review for
> >> patents and as such need to be protected.

> > For the record: This is not true. If you've already applied
> > for the patent, you have as much legal protection as you will
> > ever get. Also, since patents apply to methods and not to
> > literal source, if you're trying to protect something
> > patentable you have even less protection against analysis and
> > disassembly than you would if you were trying to protect the
> > copyright on the code. If you need to make a token effort to
> > satisfy whatever legal hurdles are involved, shipping .pyc
> > files (which py2exe and all the other packagers I'm aware of
> > do) is just as effective as shipping executables compiled with
> > C or C++.

> >> I'm investigating whether Python is the right language to use
> >> for a commercial CAD application. While I think Python is a
> >> great scripting language, there seems to limitations with
> >> regards to packaging and distributing programs.

> > None that don't also exist in every other language in
> > existence. These are fundamental issues of information theory,
> > not language constraints.

> Especially since the alternative appears to be Java.  Just like
> Java, Python compiles to byte code that runs on a VM.

> If for some reason he's happy shipping Java VM byte-code and
> not Python VM byte-code, then he can use Jython to generate
> byte-code for the Java VM instead of for the Python VM.
> Personally I think it's rather deluded to think that one is any
> more secure than the other.

> --
> Grant Edwards                   grante             Yow! What UNIVERSE is this,
>                                   at               please??
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