Mailman 3 December 2001 - Python-announce-list

ViewCVS 0.9 released
by Greg Stein 23 Dec '01

23 Dec '01

ViewCVS 0.9 has been released. For more information, see: http://viewcvs.sourceforge.net/ This release has two major feature enhancements: * completed the conversion to using templates for all pages * added internationalization capabilities and dynamic language selection based on the Accept-Language request header The usual assortment of bug fixes and UI tweaks are included, of course. Further changes are listed at: http://cvs.sourceforge.net/cgi-bin/viewcvs.cgi/viewcvs/viewcvs/CHANGES?rev=… Questions, comments, or problems should be sent to the ViewCVS Users mailing list: viewcvs(a)lyra.org Cheers, -g -- Greg Stein, http://www.lyra.org/

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SnoPy 0.1 - SNOBOL pattern matching for Python
by Don Rozenberg 22 Dec '01

22 Dec '01

This is the first release of SnoPy, a Python extension build on GNAT.SPITBOL.PATTERNS which provides many features of SNOBOL pattern matching to the Python developer. It is released under the GPL. The home site for SnoPy is http://snopy.sourceforge.net. There is an extensive users guide including a SNOBOL pattern matching tutorial. SNOBOL was a text processing language without equal that was developed at Bell Labs in the 1960's. It has nearly died out but I am offering this extension as an alternative to regular expressions. In many respects, SNOBOL pattern matching is much more powerful yet easier to learn than regular expressions. <P><A HREF="http://snopy.sourceforge.net">SnoPy 0.1</A> - SNOBOL pattern matching extension for Python. (22-Dec-01)

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Python 2.2 for RISC OS
by Dietmar Schwertberger 22 Dec '01

22 Dec '01

============================================================================ Python 2.2 for RISC OS release 2001-12-21 ============================================================================ I'm pleased to announce that binaries of Python 2.2 for RISC OS are available from http://www.schwertberger.de/python.html . RISC OS Python includes the following highlights: * An integrated interface to the SWI system * Drawfile support * Interfaces to the RISC OS WIMP and toolbox (with examples) * Numeric extension Who & Thanks ============ Thanks to Chris T. Stretch, Laurence Tratt, David Boddie, James Bursa, Andrew Clover and Simon Callan for porting and maintaining previous versions of RISC OS Python, contributing code and libraries and working on the future (32bit, RM version) for RISC OS Python... Thanks to Guido v. Rossum for merging the RISC OS patches and of course special thanks for creating Python. Bug reports etc. ================ RISC OS specific bug reports, contributions, comments, critics, links to RISC OS compatible Python libraries to dietmar(a)schwertberger.de

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New VPython mouse and keyboard capabilities
by Bruce Sherwood 21 Dec '01

21 Dec '01

VPython (http://vpython.org) consists of Python plus the Visual module originally developed by David Scherer plus the idlefork version of IDLE initiated by Scherer. This environment makes it easy even for novices to write programs with 3D animations. A sizable suite of demo programs is included. There is extensive documentation. The secret to ease of use is that 3D graphics come as a side effect of computations: compute a change in the position or color attribute of an object such as a sphere or box, and a parallel thread automatically renders the altered scene. VPython-2001-12-21 has just been released for Python 2.2 on Windows, including new facilities for handling the mouse and the keyboard. New versions for Linux and Mac are in the works. VPython is used by students in an introductory physics course to do serious computer modeling of physical systems. After just 1-2 hours of instruction, they are able to model a binary star system, even if they had never written a program before. By the end of the year they are able in about an hour to model in 3D a traveling electromagnetic wave and the motion of a relativistic positron acted on by the traveling electric and magnetic fields. At some colleges where Python is the (excellent) choice for the language taught in introductory programming courses, VPython is part of the curriculum, because making 3D animations is highly motivating, and it makes visible the notion of an "object". Bruce Sherwood <P><A HREF="http://vpython.org">VPython-2001-12-21</A> - 3D Programming for Ordinary Mortals. (21-12-2001)

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ANN: TMDA 0.43 - SPAM reduction system (now supports SENDMAIL)
by Jason R. Mastaler 21 Dec '01

21 Dec '01

TMDA now supports the Sendmail MTA in addition to qmail, Postfix and Exim. TMDA is an OSI certified Python application designed to significantly reduce the amount of SPAM/UCE you receive. TMDA combines a "whitelist" (for known/trusted senders), a "blacklist" (for undesired senders), and a cryptographically enhanced confirmation system (for unknown, but legitimate senders). TMDA strives to be more effectual, yet less time-consuming than traditional filters. For more information including a demonstration, download locations and installation instructions, visit the TMDA homepage: <URL:http://tmda.sourceforge.net/> Enjoy, Jason R. Mastaler <P><A HREF="http://tmda.sourceforge.net/">TMDA 0.43</A> - SPAM reduction system (21-Dec-2001)

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[Module] SnoPy
by Don Rozenberg 21 Dec '01

21 Dec '01

SnoPy ----- SNOBOL Pattern Matching for Python SnoPy allows the Python developer to use SNOBOL pattern matching as an easy to learn alternative to regular expressions. URL: http://snopy.sourceforge.net License: GPL Platform: Linux-386 Requires: SWIG, GNAT Categories: Python Tools/Extensions Don Rozenberg (rozen(a)mcn.org) -- <a href="http://snopy.sourceforge.net">SnoPy</a> -- SNOBOL Pattern Matching for Python

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ANN: Second beta release of Jython-2.1
by bckfnn＠worldonline.dk 21 Dec '01

21 Dec '01

I am happy to announce the second beta release of Jython 2.1. Jython is a Java implementation of the Python programming language. It allows users to compile Python source code to Java byte codes, and run the resulting bytecodes on any Java Virtual Machine. It is a very seamless and smooth integration with Java: from Python you have complete access to all Java libraries, can build applets, can integrate with Java beans, and can subclass Java classes in Python and vice versa. Like Python, and unlike Java, Jython can also be used interactively: just type some Jython code at the prompt and see the results immediately. A java installer is available for download at the Jython website: http://www.jython.org/ Installation of version 2.1b2 is similar to version 2.0. Further information and tips on installation is available at: http://www.jython.org/install.html Jython 2.1 aims to be feature compatible with Python 2.1.1 and among the new feature are: - support for callproc() in zxJDBC is now available for most simple stored procedure calls. The list of bugs fixed since the previous release includes: - [ #451552 ] case insensitivity on import causes prob - [ #456926 ] PackageManager doesn't work correctly - [ #484949 ] __import__(_) does unwanted rel search - [ #488632 ] -c sys.argv diff - [ #489168 ] Parse error, java traceback - [ #489836 ] Private names is not mangled - [ #490157 ] string.splitlines() - incorrectly splits - [ #490230 ] NotImplemented not implemented - [ #490961 ] PyFile.java requires JDK 1.2 - [ #490962 ] Typo in PyFile.java - [ #490963 ] Please update ReadlineConsole.java - [ #494514 ] Python object not gc()'d - [ #495458 ] multi level import from .zip file. - [ #495870 ] zxJDBC now only prepares statements with params. A complete list of changes and differences are available here: http://www.jython.org/NEWS.html Bugs can be reported to the bug manager on SourceForge: http://sourceforge.net/bugs/?group_id=12867 Cheers, the jython-developers

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RELEASED - Python 2.2 final
by Guido van Rossum 21 Dec '01

21 Dec '01

On December 21, just in time to be placed under the Christmas tree, we're issuing the final release of Python 2.2. We're proud of this release, and expect that you'll like it. Please check it out here: http://www.python.org/2.2/ Our thanks to everyone who helped test Python 2.2 during the alpha, beta and release candidate phases, and to everyone who contributed patches, feedback, and suggestions! Please continue to report any bugs you find to the bug tracker: http://sourceforge.net/bugs/?group_id=5470 Highlights of what's new for this release are outlined below. For a more complete list, please see: http://sf.net/project/shownotes.php?release_id=?????? What's new since 2.1 -------------------- In brief (for PEPs, see http://www.python.org/peps/): - type/class unification (PEP 252 and 253) - iterators (PEP 234) and generators (PEP 255) - nested scopes standard (PEP 227) - int overflows return longs (PEP 237) - new operator // to future-proof int division (PEP 238) Andrew Kuchling has written a gentle introduction to the most important changes, titled "What's New in Python 2.2": http://www.amk.ca/python/2.2/ A thorough introduction to the type/class unification is at: http://www.python.org/2.2/descrintro.html Status of the type/class unification ------------------------------------ With a set of changes as large as this, it's unavoidable that after the release we'll find that there are certain things that would work better if we did them a little differently. Also, it is clear that some of the new features (e.g. class and static methods, properties, super, and slots, to mention a few) could use additional syntactic sugar to make their use easier and more intuitive. This will almost certainly require us to make changes in future releases. However, with the release of these features as part of the Python 2.2 release, we are committed to the same standard of release-to-release compatibility that we have used in the past, as explained in PEP 5. When we feel the need to change things, we'll use the PEP system to propose changes, and we'll provide warnings and backwards compatiblity for at least a year -- or more in cases where a year is deemed too short by the user community. In the meantime, we'll work on completing the documentation for these features (both in Python and in the C API) as they are found in Python 2.2. This documentation will clarify the status of individual features. What's new since 2.2c1 ---------------------- (Adapted from the Misc/NEWS file.) Type/class unification and new-style classes - pickle.py, cPickle: allow pickling instances of new-style classes with a custom metaclass. Core and builtins - weakref proxy object: when comparing, unwrap both arguments if both are proxies. Extension modules - binascii.b2a_base64(): fix a potential buffer overrun when encoding very short strings. - cPickle: the obscure "fast" mode caused stack overflows on the Mac. We fixed this by setting the recursion limit much smaller. If the limit is too low (it only affects performance), you can change it by defining PY_CPICKLE_FAST_LIMIT when compiling cPickle.c (or in pyconfig.h). Library - dumbdbm.py: fixed a dumb old bug (the file didn't get synched at close or delete time). - rfc822.py: fixed a bug where the address '<>' was converted to None instead of an empty string (also fixes the email.Utils module). - xmlrpclib.py: version 1.0.0; uses precision for doubles. - test suite: the pickle and cPickle tests were not executing any code when run from the standard regresssion test. Windows - distutils package: fixed broken Windows installers (bdist_wininst). - tempfile.py: prevent mysterious warnings when TemporaryFileWrapper instances are deleted at process exit time. - socket.py: prevent mysterious warnings when socket instances are deleted at process exit time. - posixmodule.c: fix a Windows crash with stat() of a filename ending in backslash. Mac - The Carbon toolbox modules have been upgraded to Universal Headers 3.4, and experimental CoreGraphics and CarbonEvents modules have been added. All only for framework-enabled MacOSX. --Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.python.org/~guido/)

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ANNOUNCE: txObject ATK 1.3.8
by Thomas Hazel 20 Dec '01

20 Dec '01

I'm please to announce the release of txObject ATK 1.3.8. In addition to fixing all known outstanding bugs, this release provides Python developers a more manageable way of building the different txObject ATK layers into the python interpreter. I have also finished method documentation (i.e __doc__) for each txObject ATK Python feature, which folks have been asking. What is it? txObject ATK is a collection of platform-independent C++ & Python Class libraries (GPL) that provides a five-layer framework containing an Object Library, I/O and Timers, Object-Oriented Threads (Native/Home Grown), Inter-Process Communication, and Distributed Object Communication. txObject ATK can be found at either of the following sites: Official Site http://www.txobject.org SourceForge (development & bug tracking) http://txobject.sourceforge.net Enjoy, --Thomas Hazel ( thazel(a)txobject.org )

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ANN: eGenix.com mx BASE Extension Package 2.0.3
by M.-A. Lemburg 20 Dec '01

20 Dec '01

________________________________________________________________________ ANNOUNCING: eGenix.com mx BASE Extension Package for Python Version 2.0.3 Open Source Python extensions providing important and useful services for Python programmers. ________________________________________________________________________ WHAT IS IT ?: The eGenix.com mx BASE Extensions for Python are a collection of professional quality software tools which enhance Python's usability in many important areas such as fast text searching, date/time processing and high speed datatypes. Python is an object-oriented Open Source programming language which runs on all modern platforms (http://www.python.org/). By integrating ease-of-use, clarity in coding, enterprise application connectivity and rapid application design, Python establishes an ideal programming platform for todays IT challenges. The tools have a proven record of being portable across many Unix and Windows platforms. You can write applications which use the tools on Windows and then run them on Unix platforms without change due to the consistent platform independent interfaces. All available packages have proven their stability and usefulness in many mission critical applications and various commercial settings all around the world. ________________________________________________________________________ WHAT'S NEW ? The packages were updated to work and compile with Python 2.2 in addition to all the previous versions (Python 1.5.2, 2.0, 2.1.x). The mxDateTime subpackage was enhanced to support more date/time string formats in the parser. Several other subpackages have received minor fixes to achieve even better portability. eGenix.com mx BASE should compile on all platforms supported by Python and distutils out-of-the-box. As always we are providing precompiled versions of the package for Windows and Linux as well as sources which allow you to install the package on all other supported platforms. ________________________________________________________________________ EGENIX.COM MX BASE PACKAGE OVERVIEW: mxDateTime - Generic Date/Time Types mxDateTime is an extension package that provides three new object types, DateTime, DateTimeDelta and RelativeDateTime, which let you store and handle date/time values in a much more natural way than by using ticks (seconds since 1.1.70 0:00 UTC; the encoding used by the time module). You can add, subtract and even multiply instances, pickle and copy them and convert the results to strings, COM dates, ticks and some other more esoteric values. In addition, there are several convenient constructors and formatters at hand to greatly simplify dealing with dates and times in real-world applications. In addition to providing an easy-to-use Python interface the package also exports a comfortable C API interface for other extensions to build upon. This is especially interesting for database applications which often have to deal with date/time values (the mxODBC package is one example of an extension using this interface). mxTextTools - Fast Text Processing Tools mxTextTools is an extension package for Python that provides several useful functions and types that implement high-performance text manipulation and searching algorithms in addition to a very flexible and extendable state machine, the Tagging Engine, that allows scanning and processing text based on low-level byte-code "programs" written using Python tuples. It gives you access to the speed of C without the need to do any compile and link steps every time you change the parsing description. Applications include parsing structured text, finding and extracting text (either exact or using translation tables) and recombining strings to form new text. mxStack - Fast and Memory-Efficient Stack Type mxStack is an extension package that provides a new object type called Stack. It works much like what you would expect from such a type, having .push() and .pop() methods and focusses on obtaining maximum speed at low memory costs. mxTools - Collection of Additional Builtins mxTools is an extension package that includes a collection of handy functions and objects giving additional functionality in form of new builtins to the Python programmer. The package auto-installs the new functions and objects as builtins upon first import. This means that they become instantely available to all other modules without any further action on your part. Add the line import NewBuiltins to your site.py script and they will be available to all users at your site as if they were installed in the Python interpreter itself. mxProxy - Generic Proxy Wrapper Type mxProxy is an extension package that provides a new type that is suitable to implement Bastion like features without the need to use restricted execution environments. The type's main features are secure data encapsulation (the hidden objects are not accessible from Python since they are stored in internal C structures), customizable attribute lookup methods and a cleanup protocol that helps in breaking circular references prior to object deletion. The latest version adds a very interesting new feature: weak references which help you work with circular references in a way that doesn't cause memory leakage in a Python system. Note that even though Python 2.1+ has its own weak reference implemetation, this package can be used to write applications which also work on Python 1.5.2 and 2.0. mxBeeBase - On-disk B+Tree Based Database Kit mxBeeBase is a high performance construction kit for disk based indexed databases. It offers components which you can plug together to easily build your own custom mid-sized databases (the current size limit is sizeof(long) which gives you an address range of around 2GB on 32-bit platforms). The two basic building blocks in mxBeeBase are storage and index. Storage is implemented as variable record length data storage with integrated data protection features, automatic data recovery and locking for multi process access. Indexes use a high performance optimized B+Tree implementation built on top of Thomas Niemann's Cookbook B+Tree implementation (http://epaperpress.com/). ________________________________________________________________________ WHERE CAN I GET IT ? The download archives and instructions for installing the packages can be found at: http://www.egenix.com/files/python/ ________________________________________________________________________ WHAT DOES IT COST ? The BASE packages come with a Python 2.0 style license, which means that you can use them in both commercial and non-commercial settings without fee or charge. All packages come with full source code. ________________________________________________________________________ WHERE CAN I GET SUPPORT ? Commercial quality support for these packages is available from eGenix.com Software GmbH. Please see http://www.egenix.com/files/python/eGenix-mx-Extensions.html#Support for details about the eGenix support offerings. ________________________________________________________________________ REFERENCE: <P><A HREF="http://www.egenix.com/files/python/">eGenix.com mx BASE Extension Package 2.0.3</A> - eGenix.com mx BASE Extension Package 2.0.3 with precompiled binaries for Windows and Linux. (20-Dec-2001) ________________________________________________________________________ Enjoy, -- Marc-Andre Lemburg CEO eGenix.com Software GmbH ______________________________________________________________________ Company & Consulting: http://www.egenix.com/ Python Software: http://www.egenix.com/files/python/

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