I, for one, am perfectly happy with Tcl. I've not used php or python so I can't make specific comparisons. The nice thing about Tcl is that it's simple to learn (since you obviously know at least one other language, you should be able to pick up Tcl in an hour or two). Tcl's introspection capabilities are incredible, and it is very easy to extend. Spend some time over at
the Tcl'ers Wiki to appreciate how extensible and powerful Tcl really is.
As to your second question, ArsDigita is currently porting ACS 4 to Java, which undoubtedly will be more buzzword compliant than the pure Tcl version, and will probably open doors in corporate IT depts, etc. that would otherwise remain closed due to Tcl ignorance or bigotry. Others from time to time have asked about ports to other scripting languages (here and at ArsDigita.com). The standard answer has been that no one (yet) has felt there was enough to be gained to take the time. (Folks want to make the existing wheel better rather than stop & re-invent it.) That being said there's nothing stoping anyone from doing it. That's the beauty of open-source: if you have an itch, you can scratch it.
