So some folks might be thinking and asking “Why Python? I thought you were going to use PHP?” so I have decided to lay down our reasons for choosing Python over PHP.

Firstly, we reckon that most churches will want to install openworship on their internal network (which will most certainly happen in countries where the cost of Internet is high, e.g. most African countries). Since they will be running their own servers, getting Python, Pylons and openworship working will not be a problem.

For those folks who don’t want to run their own server, and those who are happy having their system on the Internet, we are investigating a hosted solution. This would mean that a church can pay a small monthly fee to have openworship hosted for them, reducing the need for them to know how to run the server and to watch out for software updates and the like.

Secondly, by using Python and Pylons, we’re going to be developing things a lot faster.

Python really speeds up development time. It’s a powerful and concise programming language, and I’ve been really impressed with it recently. Python is also a very “readable” programming language. This means that it’s easy for new folks to quickly get up to speed, and it’s easy to find bugs.

Pylons is an application framework, which means we have less groundwork to do and can get on to developing the important stuff. Coupled with Pylons are a variety of open source Python libraries that make working with databases, templates, and other things much easier and faster.

So at the end of the day, choosing to use Python means it’s easier for us to develop, and it’s not difficult for others to get openworship up and running.