Thanks for the link. Looks fairly well written. The author sure seems like he's given quite a bit back. I will check it out.

Now for the really stupid question from a php programmer...

In one or two sentences (no language wars please), WHY should I consider Python over php?

Python is more consistent, and it has a limited set of core concepts the language was built around. Secondly, Python was designed to make it harder for you to write unclear or bad code. While the code is less forgiving of mistakes than PHP, you can't help but improve on your personal coding practices after using the language for a while. Finally, Python's library support is better if you want to do anything other than web programming.

I learnt PHP, albeit briefly, before I found Python. The things that quickly and totally converted me, in a few words: elegance, efficiency, pragmatism, fun, style, community, libraries (not necessarily in that order).

Everything, the names/code/look of the final program is natural and easy on the eyes. Plus there are a LOT of useful libraries available.

PG calls it the Python Paradox, ESR says that it was so natural that he was able to make a useful GUI while still learning the language, IIRC Spolsky called it part of the 2.5 languages that are safe to use in the business environment.

> Other than the fact Linux has a cool name, could someone explain why I should use Linux over BSD?

No. That's it. The cool name, that is. We worked very hard on creating a name that would appeal to the majority of people, and it certainly paid off: thousands of people are using linux just to be able to say "OS/2? Hah. I've got Linux. What a cool name". 386BSD made the mistake of putting a lot of numbers and weird abbreviations into the name, and is scaring away a lot of people just because it sounds too technical.

Hardware support is added to Linux sooner than BSD. More pre-compiled binaries are available for Linux. Also, it can be a bit harder to get applications up and running on BSD.

Sure. I should have added the source of my citation. It's a joke answer from Linus.

Hell, I learned Python over a weekend, while building a project for a client (nothing like getting paid to learn a great new language). Not my best code obviously but it just flowed so naturally. The closest thing to poetry or pseudo code I've ever been able to compile(py2exe).