Python developers, there's a new way to get your apps running in the cloud – Amazon's Elastic Beanstalk service now supports Python. Elastic Beanstalk previously supported PHP, Java and .NET apps.
The new Python support means that popular web frameworks like Django (which powers Instagram, Everyblock and other popular sites) are easier to deploy across Amazon's suite of cloud services.
It also means that Amazon and Google App Engine are once again going head to head, this time over Google App Engine's territory. Thanks to its Python-friendly environment, App Engine has been a favorite with Python developers looking to deploy apps on hosted services.
While it's always been possible to host Python apps on Amazon, setting up and configuring apps can be a pain. That's where Beanstalk comes in. For those who haven't tried it, Elastic Beanstalk greatly simplifies the process of deploying your app to Amazon's various cloud services, including setting up new EC2 instances, load balancing with Elastic Load Balancing, as well as scaling and managing your app after it's deployed. Beanstalk also integrates with Git and virtualenv.
Originally Beanstalk had a distinctly Java bias to it, but since then it has expanded to handle Java, .NET and now Python as well. For more details on exactly how Beanstalk's new Python support works, check out the Beanstalk overview page. Django developers should also read through Amazon's guide to deploying a Django application to AWS Elastic Beanstalk.
