For Immediate Release
July 23, 1998
Further Information
Contact Jim Hugunin
Lead Developer for JPython
(617) 621-7152
hugunin@python.org
http://www.python.org/jpython
JPYTHON-1.0 PROVIDES A POWERFUL COMPANION TO JAVA
Supports Embedded Scripting, Interactive Experimentation, and Rapid
Application Development
Reston, VA — The Corporation for National Research Initiatives has
announced the release of JPython-1.0. JPython is a freely available
implementation of the high-level, dynamic, object-oriented language Python
— integrated seamlessly with the Java(TM) platform and certified as 100%
Pure Java(TM).
“CNRI is gratified with the positive response to the beta releases of
JPython. We think it is the perfect complement to Java,” said Albert Vezza,
vice president of CNRI. JPython is especially well suited for embedded
scripting, interactive experimentation, prototyping applications, and
building any system where programmer productivity is a primary concern. Its
rich integration with Java allows programmers to freely mix JPython and
Java code without giving up any of the advantages of either language.
“JPython is to Java and JavaBeans what Visual Basic(TM) is to C++ and
Microsoft(TM) COM(TM) objects,” said Nathan Sharp of Phoenix Integration.
“The seamless integration easily makes JPython the most powerful scripting
language for Java around.”
JPython’s integration with Java draws on the strengths of the Java
platform. JPython code can easily access any existing Java libraries and
JavaBeans. The Java virtual machine allows JPython to statically compile
Python source code to Java bytecodes that will run anywhere that Java does.
Through Java’s support for dynamic class loading, JPython can dynamically
compile Python code to allow interactive use while still achieving the
performance of a true compiler.
Others are noticing and taking advantage of the power JPython provides to
Java developers:
“Using JPython, we have complete access to our Java-based system software
without writing new interfaces, hooks or wrappers,” said Ken Swisz, Cougar
Software Manager at KLA-Tencor Corp. “This gives our users all the power we
can possibly provide at a relatively low investment in effort for us. The
advantage in using JPython over other choices is tremendous. The language
itself is well designed, and its object-oriented nature makes it a natural
fit for Java. I have been recommending it to other organizations in the
company for their use as a scripting language.”
“The first generation of our CASE tool used Tcl as its integrated scripting
language,” said Dan Snider, president of Object Domain Systems Inc. “In
developing Object Domain 2.0, we decided to instead use JPython. The
transition was primarily motivated by the desire for an Object-Oriented
scripting language, Python’s cleaner syntax, and JPython’s seamless
integration with Object Domain’s Java-based framework.”
“By providing easy access to the rich Java graphics APIs, JPython is
clearly the number one choice for developers of GUI applications,” said
Norman Shelley of Motorola Corp.
Guido van Rossum created the Python language in the early 1990s, and it has
been used successfully in many interesting software projects since then.
Steve Kirsch, the chairman of Infoseek Corp., describes his experiences
with the language: “Over the past 30 years, I’ve written code in every
major programming language. Python is my favorite programming language by a
wide margin. It’s an elegant, well-designed language that can be learned in
a few hours. In addition, the code is easy to read and large systems are
easy to maintain. There is simply no faster way to develop applications. A
skilled Python programmer can, on average, crank out applications five
times faster than a programmer in more traditional languages.”
JPython completely implements the Python language in 100% Pure Java, and is
freely available in both source and binary form. In order to implement
Python’s Perl5-compatible regular expressions, JPython includes the
outstanding OROMatcher(TM) regular expression engine developed by Original
Reusable Objects(TM) at http://www.oroinc.com. By agreement, this regular
expression engine is only distributed in binary form. JPython can be found
at http://www.python.org/jpython.