No hype about the cloud here: just a quickstart for playing with google app engine for python (GAE-P)!

1. GAE-P is essentially a python application server;
2. it is free for low volume sites, so you can use your google account for creating your apps;
3. you can develop your app locally downloading the GAE-P .zip file and run it – it’s a .py script: when you’re done, upload your app to google using the GAE web interface;

(mis) Features of GAE-P:

0. free & scalable python hosting, tonns of libraries;

1. no RDBMS, your app must use a GoogleDB user-friendly object database;

pseudocode ex.

from google.app.engine import db

class PostIt:

user = db.User();

content = db.String()

postit1 = PostIt()

postit1.nickname = “this is my post”

postit1.put()

This db has a SQL-like straightforward interface. Moreover you don’t have to bother on connection issues, listeners & co.

2. no session support, you can implement it by yourself or use an external library;

3. support – thru custom libs – for mail, fetchurl & image manipulation