Does Google use Python for anything but internal utilities and administration?

Question

I'm curious...I've read much of Python being on the approved list of languages used by Google employees, and I know they employ Guido. That said, is their use of Python focused mainly on managing servers and applications, and not for developing the applications themselves? If so, why? It seems most I read indicates they use Java for the heavy lifting. Is this because there's an inherent limitation in using Python for things like GMail, etc?

Answer 1

While Google has never published any official stats on the issue, I think it's fair to say that, overall, C++ and Python dominate most "Google infrastructure" (which is fairly heavy "lifting", believe me;-), while Java and Javascript are more common at the application level (which deliver application fuctionality to the user, running on top of the Google infrastructure).

Of course, there are plenty of exceptions, such as YouTube and code.google.com, which are mostly Python (and a very little bit of C++) as opposed to Java, on one side, and Android (which is mostly-Java) on the other. As it's pretty clear that YouTube's "heavy lifting" no less than, say, Google Docs, I believe this basically indicates that the choice of languages in each area is largely historical.

Answer 2

To summarize Alex with his own words about the use of Python at Google:

Python where we can, C++ where we must.

The quote is already some years old but still valid.

Answer 3

Yes.