Between the product and the prototype

So, it seems lead isn't a good material for wings
(Australian War Memorial collection, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons)

These days I had a conversation with my colleagues about Python. One of them supported strongly the argument that Python is a good language for prototyping, but not for a final product. As stylists prepare prototypes for their new dresses with cheap fabric and then made the final product with the costly silk they designed from the very beginning.
To better support the paragon, they asked me: would you make the software control of a robot in Javascript or PHP?
Strong opinion, indeed. My answer was "no, because they are languages with big ambiguities".
But Python?

Makefiles Returns

_{Doing stuff: the good old way}

I often write Makefile(s) for my projects, even when they’re in some scripting language. This because the good old, humble make is installed almost everywhere and its simple syntax does one thing and does it well: doing tasks according to dependencies.

Some reflections about In Defense of the "Not Invented Here" Syndrome

_{Just invented here!
Image curtesy of Wikimedia}

Some months ago I read an interesting article by Joel Spolsky, written back in the neolithic epoch (2001).

A Way to Deploy Python Programs

[...]we will use Java, because a jar file is easier to deploy.

This sentence occurs sometimes where I work. In this multi-environment place, a easy way to deploy your software is a fundamental requirement.