IMO, no hoopla. Python is an easier language to learn for a non-programmer when compared to C++, Java, etc. If a new programmer wants something coded asap, Python. If a new programmer wants to learn the most proper techniques first, and time is not an issue, then go with Java, C++, etc.
Excel is an easy tool to start to get into coding for non-programmers. It's been used and abused all over the world, in offices, education, etc. I do agree, that after a while it'll probably become limiting. It's a good prototyping environment though and I wouldn't underestimate what you can learn by using it in early stages of learning. Excel doesn't mean you must use someone else's sheets or ActiveX code. As userque suggested above you can program anything using VBA, ie. using that for interfacing. This is how I first got started several years ago. However, for my analysis I used too many rows and cells. Excel is quite well optimized, but starts to have scalability issues beyond filesize of 150-200 MB. So benefited then from moving to Ninjatrader, which I've since left for a more general purpose build-from-scratch project, first using ruby and now Golang. It's possible for curious souls, but I wouldn't generally recommend learning Golang as a first language. When you know what you need, is the time you'll benefit from going more general-purpose. Of course, whatever recommendations, only oneself can really take the necessary steps and learn what works best. The challenge is matching the technical solution to functional requirements of a trading system, which is impossible if the trading system is very immature and in experimental stages. So I think it's actually beneficial to take babysteps rather than putting in too much work and time overdesigning and overoptimizing in the early stages.
What risk? It's basically a wrapper for the Java functions. It has plenty of users who have been trading live with it for over 5 years. Python is somewhat easier and more economical than other languages, that's the main reason I recommend it. Plus there are great modules for handling data cleanly and quickly. Funnily enough Quantopian is written in Python...
Why would someone need a wrapper over Java? Possibly only for python libraries. Not b/c it's easier to learn.
I thought he wants to trade live using IB's API. He will most likely use the sheets provided with the API, writing them from scratch isn't much simpler than using Java, Python etc. Backtesting is a different story, while I'd choose Python with Pandas, Excel would be fine for EOD data on a single instrument but intraday data on US equities would be a nightmare. When it comes to live trading, I'd never trust Excel to operate without someone monitoring activity. I'd have no problem doing it with IbPy as I've never seen it have any issues.
I've entrusted Multicharts to handle my trades unattended once my entries are filled. I don't have a need for the charting, backtesting, and accountability features in real time. I'd love to have an execution only platform. Any recommendations? I don't code
I don't know of a solid piece of software to that that doesn't require some coding. Why not stick with Multicharts? I believe it's using the IB API anyway so you're already using the optimal solution.
Look, OP asked for a suggestion and I gave my advice. Who uses Fortran these days and what maintained modules do you get? Sure, he can use Java or C++ but if you look around, people who know all three languages typically suggest Python as it's easier to get started with. So what's your suggestion? C++ for a newbie in programming?