technologies synergistic with Python

[Ethan Furman]

Greetings!

What is the consensus... okay, okay -- what are some wide ranging
opinions on technologies that I should know if my dream job is one that
consists mostly of Python, and might allow telecommuting?

(Please don't say Java, please don't say Java, please don't say...

~Ethan~

 

[Steven D'Aprano]

Greetings!

What is the consensus... okay, okay -- what are some wide ranging
opinions on technologies that I should know if my dream job is one that
consists mostly of Python, and might allow telecommuting?

That depends on what your dream job is using Python for.

Web development?

HTML, Javascript, Flash *spit*, JSON, XML, SQL, server-side system
administration ("how do I restart the web server?"), whatever framework
is being used.

Linux system administration?

Linux, bash (or some other shell), perl, gcc, Python.

Numerical work?

C, Fortran, numpy, scipy, mathematics.

Integration with Java frameworks and applications?

Java

 

[Chris Angelico]

Integration with Java frameworks and applications?

Java

<voice imitate="Maxwell Smart">I asked you not to tell me that!</voice>

JavaScript/ECMAScript/etc-script isn't that bad a language. It's
workable. And thanks to it, my boss now understands pass-by-object
semantics, which is a Good Thing. But good or bad, you can't do much
web programming without it. Of course, you can do a lot of Python
without writing for the web.

Expand out in any direction at all, really. Anything'll make you more
employable. Systems administration and basic management, as Steven
mentioned; I'd expand on that to general networking. Know how to
diagnose basic issues with getting information off the web (interface
down, routing problems, DNS issues, etc), because some day, you'll be
on your own without any access to Google and have to solve the problem
unassisted

http://xkcd.com/903/

ChrisA

 

[alex23]

What is the consensus... okay, okay -- what are some wide ranging
opinions on technologies that I should know if my dream job is one that
consists mostly of Python, and might allow telecommuting?

A "technology" that I consider *highly* synergistic with Python but
that seems to have permanent outsider status is Zope. (It has a
reputation for being baroque and/or over-engineered, but to me it just
seems to reflect almost 20 years of web development experience. I've
also become a big fan of its component architecture approach.)

CoffeeScript is a neat little language that compiles to JavaScript. It
borrows liberally from Python & Ruby, so you can write this:

foods = ['broccoli', 'spinach', 'chocolate']
eat food for food in foods when food isnt 'chocolate'

Instead of this:

foods = ['broccoli', 'spinach', 'chocolate'];
for (_k = 0, _len2 = foods.length; _k < _len2; _k++) {
food = foods[_k];
if (food !== 'chocolate') {
eat(food);
}
}


Chris Angelico nailed it, though:

"Expand out in any direction at all, really. Anything'll make you
more
employable."

My only extension would be to pick the directions you find you enjoy
rather than the ones you think will make you more employable. I've
found it's more often than not the obscure experience I have that
makes me desirable to employers rather than the common ground they can
find anywhere.