They seem to do comparable things. Are there disadvantages to going with the ActiveState version? Is the pywin32 package patched more frequently?

I'm looking for a scripting solution that can examine text files and extract data, and that is easily extensible to building and extracting data from Excel files. I've seen REXX packages that will do that, but I figure Python has more of a future. I know Python can do the job. The question is, whether I can get it to do its magic with a minimum of fuss. With luck, I'll be able to construct scripts, etc., that can be used and extended by others (some of whom have less programming experience than I do), so perl is out.

My inclination is going with ActivePython.

Thanks.

Cheers,
Scott.