You could also code in raw c. I used to code some small utilities in c for my linux home computer... long time ago!
I've installed gcc and tools, and thanks to Pygtkeditor, I've been able to write and compile a little tcp sniffer straight on my n900! (you can find it somewhere in app section).
Now I'm tinkering with netbeans on the phone. A bit slow though but usable. I have to try a bit of pyQt now.