I like writing code in Python, as much as I’ve enjoyed writing code in any other language (and I’ve written in a bunch commercially).

I got to thinking today about what it is that really makes Python a great language. In fact, it’s missing some features that I like (e.g. closures). Obviously it has a whole bunch of cool features, but then so do most of the other dynamic languages (like Ruby, PHP or Perl) — for those of you who don’t know me, I’m much happier in a dynamic/interpreted language environment than a static/compiled one (and yes I know those pairs don’t strictly go hand-in-hand)

After thinking it through, I realized that it’s the maintainability of Python that makes it great. I can read through any Python that someone in my whole company has written and understand it and know why it’s working the way it is. And so can anyone else on my team, even without huge depth of experience in the language. The choices that have been made about its structure and support make it inclusive for anyone to be a part of the community, rather than inadvertently excluding certain types of people.

So, Python is now officially my language of choice, because more than any other language, it makes my team a happier place and wants me to be part of its community.