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The software giant has unveiled the first beta of IronPython, a .NET implementation of Python. Seen on UK.Builder.

IronPython 1.0 Beta 1, which was released at the end of last week, is "well integrated" with the rest of .NET programming framework and allows all .NET libraries to be "easily" accessed by Python programmers, according to Microsoft.

Microsoft's support for Python could help the software giant attract Unix developers to the Windows platform, as it is a commonly used scripting language on the Unix platform, according to Salim Fadhley, who develops Python programs for Unix.

"If Microsoft embraces Python it could be a big draw for Unix hackers — if our favourite language was supported as a first tier language by a major software vendor it would be a major draw to Windows. At the moment most Python developers hack on Mac and Linux," said Fadhley. "IronPython could be a massive land-grab by Microsoft into the domain of traditional Unix scripting."

And then there is IBM putting its weight behind PHP and apparently de-emphasizing Java.

On Friday, the tech giant is expected to announce a partnership with Zend Technologies to create a bundle called ZendCore, which includes IBM's Cloudscape-embedded database and Zend's PHP development tools. Zend sells tools built on the open source edition of PHP and offers related services.

IBM also plans to establish an area dedicated to PHP on its developer Web site, which will include technical resources such as white papers.

Scripting languages such as PHP, Perl and Python have been around for several years and their use appears to be growing, according to analysts. IBM's participation in the open source PHP community will help make development more professional, said Anne Thomas Manes, an analyst at the Burton Group.

One industry executive who requested not to be named said that IBM's push into PHP and scripting reflects IBM's disillusionment with the Java standardisation process and the industry's inability to make Java very easy to use.

"IBM's been so fed up with Java that they've been looking for alternatives for years," the executive said. "They want people to build applications quickly that tap into IBM back-ends... and with Java, it just isn't happening."

For his part, Smith said that Java and PHP can be used for different tasks and said that IBM remains committed to Java.

Meanwhile --

Google has launched a new site intended to serve as a central resource for developers working on applications related to the popular search engine.

The new Google Code will be a repository for source code, APIs, and other tools to assist developers working on Google-related projects, according to a welcome note on Thursday from Chris DiBona, Google's open-source program manager and former editor of Slashdot.

The site also will profile current and ongoing projects, DiBona said, to give developers a better sense of what's happening in the Google universe. "One thing we really wanted to put up on Google Code was a way of bringing recognition to those people and groups who have created programs that use our APIs or the code we have released," he said.

The initial tool releases include Perftools and Sparsehashtable, for developers working in C++, and Goopy/functional, for Python developers. Tools will be distributed through SourceForge.net open-source programming site, and releases targeting other languages and development toolsets will be made as the program matures, DiBona said.