Mailman 3 March 2004 - Python-announce-list

python-dev Summary for 2004-02-01 through 2004-02-29
by brett＠python.org 11 Mar '04

11 Mar '04

Title: python-dev Summary for 2004-02-01 through 2004-02-29 Content-type: text/x-rst python-dev Summary for 2004-02-01 through 2004-02-29 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ This is a summary of traffic on the `python-dev mailing list`_ from February 1, 2004 through February 29, 2004. It is intended to inform the wider Python community of on-going developments on the list. To comment on anything mentioned here, just post to `comp.lang.python`_ (or email python-list(a)python.org which is a gateway to the newsgroup) with a subject line mentioning what you are discussing. All python-dev members are interested in seeing ideas discussed by the community, so don't hesitate to take a stance on something. And if all of this really interests you then get involved and join `python-dev`_! This is the thirty-fifth and -sixth summaries written by Brett Cannon (who can't wait to be at PyCon). To contact me, please send email to brett at python.org ; I do not have the time to keep up on comp.lang.python and thus do not always catch follow-ups posted there. All summaries are archived at http://www.python.org/dev/summary/ . Please note that this summary is written using reStructuredText_ which can be found at http://docutils.sf.net/rst.html . Any unfamiliar punctuation is probably markup for reST_ (otherwise it is probably regular expression syntax or a typo =); you can safely ignore it, although I suggest learning reST; it's simple and is accepted for `PEP markup`_ and gives some perks for the HTML output. Also, because of the wonders of programs that like to reformat text, I cannot guarantee you will be able to run the text version of this summary through Docutils_ as-is unless it is from the `original text file`_. .. _PEP Markup: http://www.python.org/peps/pep-0012.html The in-development version of the documentation for Python can be found at http://www.python.org/dev/doc/devel/ and should be used when looking up any documentation on something mentioned here. PEPs (Python Enhancement Proposals) are located at http://www.python.org/peps/ . To view files in the Python CVS online, go to http://cvs.sourceforge.net/cgi-bin/viewcvs.cgi/python/ . Reported bugs and suggested patches can be found at the SourceForge_ project page. The `Python Software Foundation`_ is the non-profit organization that holds the intellectual property for Python. It also tries to forward the development and use of Python. But the PSF_ cannot do this without donations. You can make a donation at http://python.org/psf/donations.html . Every penny helps so even a small donation (you can donate through PayPal or by check) helps. .. _python-dev: http://www.python.org/dev/ .. _SourceForge: http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=5470 .. _python-dev mailing list: http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-dev .. _comp.lang.python: http://groups.google.com/groups?q=comp.lang.python .. _Docutils: http://docutils.sf.net/ .. _reST: .. _reStructuredText: http://docutils.sf.net/rst.html .. _PSF: .. _Python Software Foundation: http://python.org/psf/ .. contents:: .. _last summary: http://www.python.org/dev/summary/2004-01-01_2004-01-31.html .. _original text file: http://www.python.org/dev/summary/2004-02-01_2004-02-29.ht ===================== Summary Announcements ===================== To continue my slight abuse of this space: I am still looking for a summer job or internship programming somewhere (does not have to be Python). If you happen to have something at your company or know of something somewhere that you think might work for me please email me at brett(a)python.org . Thanks. OK, on from pimping myself out for the summer to pimping PyCon_ (or at least I think that is how the youngsters these days would phrase that sentence =). You can still register for the conference. The talks have been chosen and scheduled; more info at http://pycon.org/dc2004/talks/ . Talks look really great and cover a huge gamut of areas; bigger variety than last year in my opinion. There is going to be a Stackless sprint in Berlin March 10-14. See the announcement email at http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-dev/2004-February/042829.html . .. _PyCon: http://www.pycon.org/ ========= Summaries ========= --------------------------------- Python 2.3 branch open for fixin' --------------------------------- Anthony Baxter, perpetual release manager for the 2.3 branch, announced that CVS commits for 2.3 were open again. He mentioned he thought another release around May or June would probably happen unless a severe bug came up the required immediate patching and release. But Jim Fulton discovered a critical bug. =) It has been fixed in CVS, but no word on if the bug's severity has been judged by Anthony to warrant another release now. Contributing threads: - `release23-maint is reopened for business. <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-dev/2004-February/042400.html>`__ -------------------------------------------------------- Early Spring cleaning for what platforms Python supports -------------------------------------------------------- Skip Montanaro cleaned up the configure.in script for Python and in the process removed old support for unneeded OSs as stated in `PEP 11`_. So SunOS 4 support is gone. There was discussion of making Python 2.4 not support libc 5 since Python does not compile with it. The suggestion was made of having configure.in detect libc 5 and if it found it then refuse to continue. Skip also removed optional universal newline support and antiquated pthread variants from 1997 and before. .. _PEP 11: http://python.org/peps/pep-0011.html Contributing threads: - ` zapped several unsupported bits... <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-dev/2004-February/042427.html>`__ - `PEP-0011 up-to-date <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-dev/2004-February/042435.html>`__ -------------------------------------------------- Compiling in profiling support for the interpreter -------------------------------------------------- Jeremy Hylton discovered his old way of turning on gprof_ profiling support when compiling Python no longer worked. Hye-SHik Chang said he got it working by compiling using ``CC="cc -pg" LDFLAGS="-pg" ./configure``. Martin v. L??wis suggested running configure with `` --without-cxx`` to get around the problem. .. _gprof: http://www.cs.utah.edu/dept/old/texinfo/as/gprof_toc.html Contributing threads: - `building python with profiling support <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-dev/2004-February/042431.html>`__ ----------------------------------- Python and C89 play nicely together ----------------------------------- The question of what version of C Python is required to work with came up. The answer is that C89 is the version of Standard C Python requires. Neither C89 with Amendment 1 (also called C95) nor C99 are required for Python to run (which, in this case, meant wchar.h is not required). Contributing threads: - `*grumble* wchar.h <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-dev/2004-February/042438.html>`__ - `Another big ANSI-fication change... <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-dev/2004-February/042480.html>`__ --------------------------------------- Growing lists just got that much faster --------------------------------------- Raymond Hettinger (along with the help of various other people on his initial patch) managed to come up with a way to speed up allocating space for list items (either from growth of an exisiting list or creation of a new list). While this was being discussed, though, the possibility of 3rd party code messing with the internal values of list items came up. While no specific use-case was found, it was agreed upon that code outside of the Python core should not break the API; there is no guarantee the internals won't change. Raymond has also subsequently done a major clean-up of the entire PyList API that has netted wonderful speed-ups across the board. And in case you are a big fan of list.pop(0) and list.insert(0, x), the collections module's deque object now handles your needs in a much faster fashion. Kudos to him for doing all of this and helping to make sure Guido doesn't get a pie at OSCON 2004 (if you don't catch that reference about the pie, read http://python.org/dev/summary/2003-12-01_2003-12-31.html#pie-thon-competiti… ) Contributing threads: - `Optimization of the Year <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-dev/2004-February/042466.html>`__ --------------------------------------------------- Do we really need mutability for exceptions groups? --------------------------------------------------- The question was raised as to why ``except (TypeError, ValueError):`` is acceptable while ``except [TypeError, ValueError]:`` (in other words why use tuples to group exceptions for an 'except' statement and not allow lists). The question was in relation as to whether it had something to do with a tuple's immutability. Guido said it all had to do with a visual way of grouping tuples and nothing to do with what the underlying container was. If he had it to do over again he would rather change it so that ``except TypeError, ValueError:`` did the same thing as above. That change would alleviate the common error of expecting the above behavior using that syntax but instead getting the exception instance bound to ValueError. But the change is not planned for any time in the future since Guido has no proposal on how to change the syntax to handle the assignment to a local variable for the exception instance. Contributing threads: - `Syntax for "except" <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-dev/2004-February/042473.html>`__ --------------------------- No, you can't subclass Bool --------------------------- Francois Pinard discovered that you can't subclass the Bool type. This led to the question of "why?" To this he received the answer that since Bool only has two instance, True and False, it shouldn't be allowed to be a superclass of anything since that would suggest more instances of Bool could exist. Contributing threads: - `bool does not want to be subclassed? <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-dev/2004-February/042535.html>`__ ------------------------------------- Function decoration and all that jazz ------------------------------------- Bob Ippolito brought up Michael Hudson's function/method syntactic sugar to essentially implement `PEP 318`_ (Michael's patch can be found at http://starship.python.net/crew/mwh/hacks/meth-syntax-sugar-3.diff) as something he **really** wanted for PyObjC_. In case you don't know what the syntax is ``def fxn() [fun, stuff, here]: pass``, which ends up being the same as:: def fxn(): pass fxn = here(stuff(fun(fxn))) Common use cases are for defining class The discussion then drifted in discussing how this syntax could even be used with classes and whether it could somehow supplant some metaclass uses. Talking seemed to lead to it not really being that great of a use case. The order or application also came up. It was suggested that the order be the reversed of that shown above so that it reads the way it would be written by hand instead of in application order. Using 'as' instead of brackets was brought up again; ``def fxn() as fun`` instead of ``def fxn() [fun]``. An argument for this or any other syntax is that using brackets for this overloads the usage of them in Python itself and some feel that is unpythonic. An explicit argument for the brackets, though, is that it is cleaner for multi-line use. There was also the issue with using 'as' in terms of how would one look up its use in the docs? Would someone look up under 'as' or under 'def' naturally? .. _PEP 318: http://python.org/peps/pep-0318.html .. _PyObjC: http://pyobjc.sourceforge.net/ Contributing threads: - `Plea for function/method syntax sugar <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-dev/2004-February/042605.html>`__ - `new syntax for wrapping <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-dev/2004-February/042646.html>`__ - `PEP 318: What Java does <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-dev/2004-February/042750.html>`__ - `other uses for "as" <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-dev/2004-February/042780.html>`__ - `new syntax for wrapping (PEP 318) - Timothy's summary <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-dev/2004-February/042824.html>`__ - `[UPDATED] PEP 318 - Function/Method Decorator Syntax <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-dev/2004-February/042851.html>`__ -------------------------------------- Building Python with the free .NET SDK -------------------------------------- Go to the email to see Garth's latest tool and instructions on building Python using Microsoft's free .NET SDK. Contributing threads: - `Compiling python with the free .NET SDK <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-dev/2004-February/042595.html>`__ ------------------------------------- PEP 326 finished (but still rejected) ------------------------------------- `PEP 326`_ ("A Case for Top and Bottom Values") has its final implementation linked from the PEP. It has been rejected (as with all PEPs that have been pronounced upon, read the PEP for the reasons why), but the PEP's authors will nice enough to go ahead and finish the code for anyone who might want to use it anyway. .. _PEP 326: http://python.org/peps/pep-0326.html Contributing threads: - `PEP 326 <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-dev/2004-February/042672.html>`__ ------------------------------------------------ time.strftime() now checks its argument's bounds ------------------------------------------------ Because of a possible crash from using negative values in the time tuple when passed to time.strftime(), it was decided to bound checks on all values in the time tuple. This will break existing code that naively set all fields to 0 in a passed-in time tuple and thus did not set the values within the proper bounds (year, month, day, and day of year should not be 0). Contributing threads: - `Boundary checks on arguments to time.strftime() <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-dev/2004-February/042675.html>`__ -------------------------------------------- OpenVMS throws a fit over universal newlines -------------------------------------------- For Python 2.4 the option to compile without universal newline support was removed. Well, it turns out that OpenVMS_ doesn't like this. Apparently the OS is not stream-oriented for its filesystem but is records-based and this leads to there being no newlines in a text file unless it is opened as a plain file. Bug #903339 has been opened to deal with this. .. _Bug #903339: http://python.org/sf/903339 .. _OpenVMS: http://www.openvms.org/ -------------------------------------------- Forth-style argument passing for C functions -------------------------------------------- Raymond Hettinger came up with the idea of adding a new function flag called METH_STACK that would call a C function to be called with a pointer to the execution stack and the number of arguments it is being passed. This would allow the function to pop off its arguments on its own and bypass the expense of putting them into a tuple. The overall idea did not seem to win out. But it does turn out that Michael Hudson has a patch that implements a similar idea at http://python.org/sf/876193 . A discussion of whether more specific argument passing like METH_O should be considered. Contributing threads: - `Idea for a fast calling convention <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-dev/2004-February/042807.html>`__

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ANNOUNCE: PyGTK 2.2.0
by Johan Dahlin 11 Mar '04

11 Mar '04

I am pleased to announce version 2.2.0 of the Python bindings for GTK. The new release is available from ftp.gtk.org or ftp.gnome.org and its mirrors: http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/GNOME/sources/pygtk/2.2/pygtk-2.2.0.tar.gz GTK is a toolkit for developing graphical applications that run on POSIX systems such as Linux, Windows and MacOS X (provided that the X server for MacOS X has been installed). It provides a comprehensive set of GUI widgets, can display Unicode bidi text. It links into the Gnome Accessibility Framework through the ATK library. PyGTK provides a convenient wrapper for the GTK library for use in Python programs, and takes care of many of the boring details such as managing memory and type casting. When combined with PyORBit and gnome-python, it can be used to write full featured Gnome applications. Like the GTK library itself PyGTK is licensed under the GNU LGPL, so is suitable for use in both free software and proprietary applications. It is already in use in many applications ranging from small single purpose scripts up to large full features applications. PyGTK now requires GTK >= 2.2 and Python >= 2.2 to build. It includes a number of changes since the last pygtk release; Lorenzo has provided a short summary of changes included, which I've included below. We'd really appreciate testing and bug reports on this release; please take the time out to download and test it to ensure it works for your application[s]. Bug reports, as always, should go to Bugzilla; check out http://pygtk.org/developer.html and http://pygtk.org/feedback.html for links to posting and querying bug reports for PyGTK. Help in fixing or advising on the blockers is also much appreciated. Lorenzo's summarized change list follows: - Better support for gtk.gdk.Pixbuf integration with Numerical arrays (Tim Evans) - Added gtk.gdk.Eventkey.hardware_code (Johan) - Added gtk.binding_entry_remove and gtk.accel_group_connect (Gustavo) - Don't allow reading non readable properties (James) - Better support for Pygtk generation tools (codegen, m4 macros, h2def, Makefile.am ...) (James, Jon Willeke, Xavier, Johan) - Allow None return values in gtk.GenericCellRenderer.start_editing (Johan) - Better and more flexible support for TreeModel and TreeView API: - Implemented gtk.TreeSelection.get_selected_rows - Allow None iter for gtk.GenericTreeModel.iter_n_children (Don Allingham) - Allow None parent for gtk.TreeMode.iter_children (Benjamin Cama) - Allow None iterator values in gtk.TreeModel (John Ehresman) - Implemented the gtk.ListStore.reorder method (Johan) - Swap parent and child argument for gtk.TreeModel.get_parent (Johan) - Allow None arguments for gtk.Widget.modify_* (jkluebs at luebsphoto.com) - Added support for some GTK+ 2.2 APIs (James): - Better support for gtk.Clipboard: set_with_data - Better support for gtk.gdk.Window: set_geometry_hints, peek_children, set_icon_list, for gtk.gdk.Screen: get_setting; and for gtk.Display: get_window_at_pointer - gdk.Pixbuf.get_formats() returns a list of dictionaries - More functions wrapped for GdkDisplay and GdkScreen - Removed gtkgl bindings - And lots of bug fixes: gdk.event_get_axis (Seth), distutils (Alif Wahid), mem leaks, gtk.Menu.popup (Gustavo) A Bonsai link to view the actual checkins follows: http://cvs.gnome.org/bonsai/cvsquery.cgi?treeid=default&branch=HEAD&brancht… -- Johan Dahlin johan(a)gnome.org

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[ANN]: twander 3.146 Released And Available
by Tim Daneliuk 11 Mar '04

11 Mar '04

'twander' Version 3.146 is now released and available for download at: http://www.tundraware.com/Software/twander The last public release was 3.135 Existing users should upgrade as this release contains several bug fixes. This release also introduces these new features: 1) Abilty to toggle automatic refresh on- and off from the keyboard. 2) Ability to force a display refresh after a command is launched. 3) "Shortcut" (alias) references to the built-in variables when composing a command manually. Complete details of all fixes, changes, and new features can be found in the WHATSNEW.txt file included in the distribution. Users are strongly encouraged to join the twander-users mailing list as described in the documentation. What Is 'twander'? ------------------ 'twander' is a macro-programmable Filesystem Browser which runs on both Unix-like systems as well as Win32 systems. It embraces the best ideas of both similar GUI-driven programs (Konqueror, Windows Explorer) as well as text-based interfaces (Midnight Commander, List, Sweep). Or, If You Prefer The "Elevator Pitch" -------------------------------------- 'twander' is: - A better file browser for Unix and Win32. (Tested on FreeBSD, Linux, Win32.) - A way to make browsing the same on all the OSs you use. - A macro-programmable tool that lets *you* define the features. - A GUI navigation front-end for your shell. - A way to "can" workflows for your technically-challenged colleagues. - A way to free yourself from the shackles of the mouse. - A way to significantly speed up your day-to-day workflow. - A Python/Tkinter application - about 3100/1300 lines of code/comments - A RCT (Really Cool Tool) that will have you addicted in a day or two See the web page for more information and a screen shot. Better still, download the tarball and read the documentation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tim Daneliuk tundra(a)tundraware.com

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ANN: ZSI 1.5
by Christopher Blunck 11 Mar '04

11 Mar '04

Howdy all- Just wanted to give a heads up that v1.5 of the Zolera SOAP Infrastructure (ZSI) has just been released. ZSI is the plumbing that makes web services possible with Python. The v1.5 release has several bug fixes in it, and extremely interoperable with other SOAP implementations. For more information, please check out the ZSI documentation located at: http://pywebsvcs.sourceforge.net/zsi.html The download page for ZSI is located at: http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=26590&package_id=3066… Thanks! -c

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View Talks - Buy 'Zen of Python' Tshirt - Free with PyCON by 17th
by Steve Holden 10 Mar '04

10 Mar '04

Dear Python User: View the Talks online and Reserve your Zen of Python Shirt now or get one free if you register for PyCON 2004 by the 17th. Don't miss the most important Python event of the year. PyCON 2004 is only 2 weeks away. If you haven't registered for PyCON, please do so immediately before the regular registration expires March 17th. http://www.pycon.org/dc2004/register We are extending the Free T-Shirt offer to all regular registrants (valued at $20). See the shirts online at http://www.pycon.org/dc2004/shirts.pt We are also taking orders for extra shirts, including shipping to those that cannot attend. Please email zope(a)toenjes.com to reserve your shirts. All requests must be received by March 19. Price will be $20 + $5 shipping and handling. We will ship them sometime around mid-April. Payment instructions from the Python Software Foundation will follow. The Talks schedule is now published and can be viewed at http://www.python.org/pycon/dc2004/schedule.html For more about PyCON... http://www.pycon.org regards Steve Holden Chairman, PyCON DC 2004

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ANN: Python Support in Technology Preview of Squish 1.1
by Harri Porten 10 Mar '04

10 Mar '04

Hamburg, Germany - 2004-03-10 froglogic today announced the availability of a technology preview of Squish 1.1, the new version of the automated GUI testing framework for Qt applications. "After the success of Squish 1.0 we are happy to present an even better version of Squish. The direction and new features of Squish 1.1 have been highly influenced by our customers. We are excited to be able to delver what they have asked for" said Reginald Stadlbauer, froglogic Director of Development. The main new features of Squish 1.1 are: - Python support: Squish has been designed to support multiple scripting languages from day one. In Squish 1.0, support for Tcl was implemented. In Squish 1.1, test scripts can also be written and recorded in the very popular Python scripting language. - Squish Spy: This new tool allows Squish to hook up to a running application to inspect its objects properties and methods by either clicking on objects in the application or by navigating the object tree view. The already existing hook-up mechanism of Squish is used, meaning the Squish Spy is also non-intrusive and doesn't require any modifications to the application to work. - Test script debugger: Instead of just executing a test case, it can be executed in the debugger now as well. This way break points can be set, and the user can step through test scripts. This opens up many possibilities for the future like allowing to execute a test until a break point and recording from there. - Automatic insertion of test verification points: The combination of the Squish Spy and the debugger are the foundation of this new feature. By halting the test script at a specified point and choosing objects and properties in the running application, it is possible to insert test verification points into the test script via the Squish IDE without having to write the code manually. "We conducted a survey among Squish's customers and potential customers to learn about the favorite test scripting language of our users. After Tcl, Python was by far the most popular one. We are very happy that we can offer support for this well designed scripting language now" said Harri Porten, froglogic Director of Marketing. Other smaller improvements include: - Basic ActiveX support: It is possible to send key and mouse events to ActiveX components embedded in Qt applications via QActiveX. - Better control over the squishserver (--stop command) - Additional event compression heuristics have been implemented - Usability improvements in the Squish IDE - Support for 64 bit and FreeBSD platforms - All test result logs contain file and line number information - Better error messages Squish customers and evaluators can now find this technology preview of Squish 1.1 in their download area. For more information about Squish, visit http://www.froglogic.com/squish. If you are interested in evaluating Squish, please contact us at squish(a)froglogic.com. The final version of Squish 1.1 is expected to be released in about one month. About froglogic froglogic Porten & Stadlbauer GbR is a software company offering Qt consultancy services and Qt-based development tools. froglogic was founded by two former Trolltech senior engineers, Reginald Stadlbauer and Harri Porten, who now use their experience and skills to serve the Qt 3rd party market. froglogic is based in Hamburg, Germany. More about froglogic at www.froglogic.com.

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PyCON: Pre-registration ends in one week!
by Guido van Rossum 10 Mar '04

10 Mar '04

In one week (Weds March 17), pre-registration for PyCON will close. Right now, you can register for $250. After that, you will need to register at the door, and the cost will be $300. Save yourself $50! PyCON is a community-oriented conference targeting developers (both those using Python and those working on the Python project). It gives you opportunities to learn about significant advances in the Python development community, to participate in a programming sprint with some of the leading minds in the Open Source community, and to meet fellow developers from around the world. The organizers work to make the conference affordable and accessible to all. DC 2004 will be held March 24-26, 2004 in Washington, D.C. at the GWU Cafritz Conference Center. The keynote speakers are Mitch Kapor, Guido van Rossum, and Bruce Eckel. There will be a four-day development sprint before the conference (March 20-23). We're looking for volunteers to help run PyCON. If you're interested, subscribe to http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/pycon-organizers Don't miss any PyCON announcements! Subscribe to http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/pycon-announce You can discuss PyCON with other interested people by subscribing to http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/pycon-interest The central resource for PyCON DC 2004 is http://www.pycon.org/dc2004/ See you all there!!! --Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.python.org/~guido/)

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ANN: mailing list for Python web client / URL programming
by jjl＠pobox.com 09 Mar '04

09 Mar '04

A new list for discussion of anything related to either web-client software or URL-processing / -fetching software written in Python. This includes, but is not limited to, the software at the wwwsearch.sf.net site. To subscribe, or post messages to the list (wwwsearch-general(a)lists.sourceforge.net), visit the Mailman Info Page: http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wwwsearch-general John

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ANN: SQLObject 0.5.2
by Ian Bicking 09 Mar '04

09 Mar '04

SQLObject 0.5.2 released ------------------------ Homepage: http://sqlobject.org Download: http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/sqlobject/SQLObject-0.5.2.tar.gz? download News: http://sqlobject.org/docs/News.html#sqlobject-0-5-2 What's Changed? --------------- 0.5.2 is a bug fix release, particularly a thread-related bug when using extended selects. All users are recommended to upgrade. What is it? ----------- SQLObject is an object relational mapper. It allows you to easily create an object interface to your database -- tables are classes, rows are instances. Its goals are ease of use and low barrier to entry, while maintaining the ability to customize and extend your classes as your needs grow. -- Ian Bicking | ianb(a)colorstudy.com | http://blog.ianbicking.org

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[ANNOUNCE] e4Graph 1.0a11
by Jacob Levy 09 Mar '04

09 Mar '04

I am pleased to announce the 1.0a11 release of e4Graph, the eleventh Alpha release. This is definitely the final Alpha release for 1.0, the next release is 1.0b1. WHAT IS IT: e4Graph is a C++ library with a Python binding, that allows programs to store graph-like data persistently and to access and manipulate that data efficiently. With e4Graph, you can arrange your data in the most natural form that reflects the relationships between its parts, rather than having to force it into a table-like format. The e4Graph library also allows you to concentrate on the relationships you want to represent, and not on how to store them in a database. You can modify data items, and add and remove connections and relationships between pieces of data on the fly. e4Graph allows you to represent an unlimited number of different connections between pieces of data, and your program can selectively manipulate the data according to the relationships it cares about, not having to know about other connections represented in the data set. The e4Graph package also provides bindings in several other languages, currently Tcl, Python and Java, and allows input/output of object graphs via an XML representation. The e4Graph package is built on top of Metakit 2.4.9.2, and optionally uses Tcl 8.4.4, Python 2.2.3, Java 1.1 or later, and Expat 1.95.7. WHERE TO GET: Downloads: http://sourceforge.net/projects/e4graph/ Homepage: http://www.e4graph.com/e4graph/ Changelog: http://www.e4graph.com/e4graph/changes.txt Installation: http://www.e4graph.com/e4graph/e4install.html WHAT IS NEW: I decided to skip 1.0a10 since Daniel Steffen released AquaTclBI for MacOS 10.x which contained a snapshot of the CVS repository and called that "e4graph 1.0a10". This way we avoid confusion between two different sourcebases; the 1.0a10 code in AquaTclBI contains several bugs that are fixed in this release. This release is mainly a bug-fix release. Several bugs related to vertex movement were fixed, and the semantics of vertex addressing and movement have been normalized. Several uses of uninitialized variables were fixed to eliminate random incorrect behaviors. Made callbacks behave more consistently. A bug where a storage was incorrectly being marked as unstable was fixed. A new timestamp mechanism was added to allow applications to poll for events instead of installing callbacks. Several new permissions were added to allow fine control over what a user program can do with a storage. The semantics of vertex and node detach callbacks were changed to be asynchronous, and the timestamp at which a node or vertex detach is recorded is arbitrarily later than the time at which the action actually occurs. A mechanism was added to allow a user program to control whether vertices are cached, to speed up lookup.

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