Why python?

Hey guys,

Yesterday night my brother (who is a 'real programmer') asked me 'why someone would use python?' and I didn't know how to answer.

I think python is awesome, an object-oriented programming language with 'batteries included', open source, great for prototyping (no boiler plate, mostly crossplatform, with a lot of convenient features and clever built-in types).... But in a broader context, well, it's a tough question.

Perhaps python's best feature is its Zen, it's the glue that holds it all together.

1. Beautiful is better than ugly.
2. Explicit is better than implicit.
3. Simple is better than complex.
4. Complex is better than complicated.
5. Flat is better than nested.
6. Sparse is better than dense.
7. Readability counts.
8. Special cases aren’t special enough to break the rules.
9. Although practicality beats purity.
10. Errors should never pass silently.
11. Unless explicitly silenced.
12. In the face of ambiguity, refuse the temptation to guess.
13. There should be one– and preferably only one –obvious way to do it.
14. Although that way may not be obvious at first unless you’re Dutch.
15. Now is better than never.
16. Although never is often better than right now.
17. If the implementation is hard to explain, it’s a bad idea.
18. If the implementation is easy to explain, it may be a good idea.
19. NameSpaces are one honking great idea — let’s do more of those!

What do you think? What makes python so awesome?

Cheers!