Mailman 3 November 2005 - Python-announce-list

FunkLoad 1.3.0 and 1.3.1 are out
by fermigier 10 Nov '05

10 Nov '05

FunkLoad 1.3.0 and 1.3.1 (which fixed a bug in the previous release) are out. FunkLoad 1.3.0 introduces a new http-proxy based recorder for user sessions. It also fixes a couple of outstanding bugs. Grab FunkLoad 1.3.1 on: http://funkload.nuxeo.org/ About FunkLoad: FunkLoad is a open source functional and load web tester, written in Python, whose main use cases are functional and regression testing of web projects, performance testing by loading the web application and monitoring your servers, load testing to expose bugs that do not surface in cursory testing, and stress testing to overwhelm the web application resources and test the application recoverability, and writing web agents by scripting any web repetitive task, like checking if a site is alive.

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Wing IDE for Python 2.0.4 released
by Wingware Announce 10 Nov '05

10 Nov '05

Hi, We're pleased to announce the release of Wing IDE for Python 2.0.4. This is a bugfix release and is a free upgrade for Wing IDE 2.0 users. The release can be downloaded from: http://wingware.com/downloads Highlights of this release include: * Preference for syntax highlighting colors in Python, C/C++, and Java files * Support for Zope 2.8 and gtk 2.8 * Modest improvements in search performance * Template panel is part of default tool set (Wing Pro only) * Over 40 bug fixes This release is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X, and can be compiled from sources on *BSD, Solaris, and other Posix operating systems. A complete list of changes is available here: http://wingware.com/pub/wingide/2.0.4/CHANGELOG.txt For more information see: Product Info: http://wingware.com/products Sales: http://wingware.com/store/purchase Upgrades: http://wingware.com/store/upgrade Sincerely, The Wingware Team

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Flightdeck-UI Online Version 0.3.91 Released
by George Belotsky 10 Nov '05

10 Nov '05

Flightdeck-UI Online version 0.3.91 has been released. This is a minor update to the advanced beta version (0.3.9). Here is the list of changes in the new release. * A bug that caused the analog clock in the demo panel to read incorrectly after Daylight Savings Time ends has been fixed. * A special offset class ("FdUI.logic.Offsets.Localtime") has been added, which automatically adjusts to Daylight Savings Time without the need to restart the panel daemon. The "Offsets" module itself is also new. * The wind speed label in the weather demo panel was too narrow, causing the digital wind display to be cut off in some cases. This has been fixed. The distribution includes detailed installation instructions and two example control panels. The installation is designed to be a very simple process -- please contact the author if you have questions. See the homepage: "http://www.openlight.com/fdui" or download directly from: "http://www.openlight.com/fdui/downloads/fdui-online-0.3.91.tar.gz". What is Flightdeck-UI --------------------- The goal of the Flightdeck-UI project is to apply ideas from aircraft instrumentation design to general purpose user interfaces. The new web service version (Flightdeck-UI Online) retains the plug-in architecture of previous releases. Each plugin, however, may now be monitored at different sampling rates. Multiple data sources (hosts on the Internet, embedded devices, etc.) can be tracked simultaneously. Also, virtually any Unix command that you enter from the shell can be automatically executed by Flightdeck-UI Online, and the results displayed by the system's virtual instruments. Although the web service requires a Flash front end (developed using only the MTASC open source ActionScript compiler; see http://www.mtasc.org/) Flightdeck-UI Online is still primarily written in Python. The author welcomes any ideas and suggestions: please email them directly to "python(a)openlight.com". Best Wishes, George Belotsky.

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ANN: seppo 20051109 - simple embarrassingly parallel python
by Andrew Straw 09 Nov '05

09 Nov '05

I'd like to announce "seppo" - simple embarrassingly parallel python. This should be considered a very alpha version, and was released to the public to gauge interest/reaction. Overview ======== The map function is well-known in Python, allowing a single function to be called on each member of an iterable sequence: map( function, [1,2,3,4] ) The seppo module allows the same functionality, but distributed over several processes: seppo.map_parallel( some_module.function, [1,2,3,4] ) In this case, each iteration may evaluate the function in a different process, possibly in a different computer. The idea is a simple concept and is hopefully natural transition for Python programmers to use the power of multi-processor computers and clusters. For more information, or to download ==================================== Please see: http://www.its.caltech.edu/~astraw/seppo.html

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ANN: rst.el -- renewed emacs support for editing restructuredtext documents
by Martin Blais 09 Nov '05

09 Nov '05

FYI. (This is not Python-specific per-se, but everyone I know using Python has adopted docutils and rest, so this will be of interest to most people on this list using emacs.) emacs support for reStructuredText has been greatly improved and rewritten over the past few weeks. All emacs files have now been grouped in a single package, rst.el, with lots of new features. All the juicy details can be found here: http://docutils.sourceforge.net/docs/user/emacs.html rst.el is part of the docutils repository: http://svn.berlios.de/viewcvs/*checkout*/docutils/trunk/docutils/tools/edit… Note that all the old rest emacs packages (restructuredtext.el, rst-mode.el, rst-html.el) are obsoleted by this new package-- the new package contains all their functionality and more. Delete your old files. cheers,

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ANN: some Subversion tools written in Python
by Martin Blais 09 Nov '05

09 Nov '05

Some tools for Subversion that might be useful for others. http://furius.ca/pubcode/#subversion-tools svn-copy-register Replicates the directory structure and files of <src> into <dest>, performing the necessary additions and deletions to register the changes files in <dest> into Subversion. <dest> is assumed to be a Subversion checkout. Files that exist on both sides are diffed to figure out if there are changes to be copied. svn-import-releases Take a list of directories, each representing a version of some files (like a checkout of a release of some software), and imports each of these sequentially over an existing checkout, registering the new fileset and creating a subversion release for every directory imported.

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ANN: indra -- interfaces for web applications
by Martin Blais 09 Nov '05

09 Nov '05

http://furius.ca/indra/ Indra is a set of simple programming interfaces that were defined with the intention of isolating web application code from specific back-ends. The goal is to be able to write powerful web applications with a clear separation that allows easily retargeting an application to a different backend, without having to rewrite the application code. Motivation When I wrote these interfaces, I was writing my own web application framework, and I worried about writing code that could not be retargeted to another platform in the future. What I decided to do was formalize what the interface between my application's code and the web app framework. To this effect, I had to identify what were the core components that I was using and came up with this set of interfaces. I have since implemented a web framework that implements all the interfaces provides by Indra. The interfaces are relatively low-level, and it would be easy to implement the same set of interfaces on other backends. (Since I thought this might be useful to others, I decided to share it. Here it is.)

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Dr. Dobb's Python-URL! - weekly Python news and links (Nov 9)
by Cameron Laird 09 Nov '05

09 Nov '05

QOTW: "The lesson for me is to spend much less time on Python discussion and much more on unfinished projects. So even if I never use the new syntax, I will have gained something ;-)" - Terry Reedy "In short, this group is a broad church, and those readers with brains the size of planets should remember that they are just as much in a minority as the readers who appear on the list for the first time this week. The vast majority are here to learn and grow, and I think that's the sort of behaviour we should be encouraging." -- Steve Holden The reasons you like Python probably are put into words in at least one of these threads: http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/b41ca4… Tim Golden, ... help make the most of Excel: http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/bcd29b… Spread your expertise around, face-to-face, just outside Dallas. http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python.announce/msg/b7f6f62db23e12… Program generators date from the Carboniferous. Or the age of Cobol. Well, from *some* time in the past, as least. . . . Except that they keep turning up nowadays, in such guises as refinable templating systems: http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/896290… While generators (like program generators, recursion, and many other powerful concepts) are great, they're *best* less often than is commonly realized: http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/af6560… Deprecation of functionalism isn't an idle exercise. The point is not just to *say*, yes, we can live without lambda; Fredrik Lundh, for example, embraces New Python Style's willingness to define and redefine function objects, exactly in contrast to older lambda-oriented codings: http://mail.python.org/pipermail/tkinter-discuss/2005-November/000553.html ======================================================================== Everything Python-related you want is probably one or two clicks away in these pages: Python.org's Python Language Website is the traditional center of Pythonia http://www.python.org Notice especially the master FAQ http://www.python.org/doc/FAQ.html PythonWare complements the digest you're reading with the marvelous daily python url http://www.pythonware.com/daily Mygale is a news-gathering webcrawler that specializes in (new) World-Wide Web articles related to Python. http://www.awaretek.com/nowak/mygale.html While cosmetically similar, Mygale and the Daily Python-URL are utterly different in their technologies and generally in their results. For far, FAR more Python reading than any one mind should absorb, much of it quite interesting, several pages index much of the universe of Pybloggers. http://lowlife.jp/cgi-bin/moin.cgi/PythonProgrammersWeblog http://www.planetpython.org/ http://mechanicalcat.net/pyblagg.html comp.lang.python.announce announces new Python software. Be sure to scan this newsgroup weekly. http://groups.google.com/groups?oi=djq&as_ugroup=comp.lang.python.announce Steve Bethard, Tim Lesher, and Tony Meyer continue the marvelous tradition early borne by Andrew Kuchling, Michael Hudson and Brett Cannon of intelligently summarizing action on the python-dev mailing list once every other week. http://www.python.org/dev/summary/ The Python Package Index catalogues packages. http://www.python.org/pypi/ The somewhat older Vaults of Parnassus ambitiously collects references to all sorts of Python resources. http://www.vex.net/~x/parnassus/ Much of Python's real work takes place on Special-Interest Group mailing lists http://www.python.org/sigs/ Python Success Stories--from air-traffic control to on-line match-making--can inspire you or decision-makers to whom you're subject with a vision of what the language makes practical. http://www.pythonology.com/success The Python Software Foundation (PSF) has replaced the Python Consortium as an independent nexus of activity. It has official responsibility for Python's development and maintenance. http://www.python.org/psf/ Among the ways you can support PSF is with a donation. http://www.python.org/psf/donate.html Kurt B. Kaiser publishes a weekly report on faults and patches. http://www.google.com/groups?as_usubject=weekly%20python%20patch Cetus collects Python hyperlinks. http://www.cetus-links.org/oo_python.html Python FAQTS http://python.faqts.com/ The Cookbook is a collaborative effort to capture useful and interesting recipes. http://aspn.activestate.com/ASPN/Cookbook/Python Among several Python-oriented RSS/RDF feeds available are http://www.python.org/channews.rdf http://bootleg-rss.g-blog.net/pythonware_com_daily.pcgi http://python.de/backend.php For more, see http://www.syndic8.com/feedlist.php?ShowMatch=python&ShowStatus=all The old Python "To-Do List" now lives principally in a SourceForge reincarnation. http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?atid=355470&group_id=5470&func=browse http://python.sourceforge.net/peps/pep-0042.html The online Python Journal is posted at pythonjournal.cognizor.com. editor(a)pythonjournal.com and editor(a)pythonjournal.cognizor.com welcome submission of material that helps people's understanding of Python use, and offer Web presentation of your work. del.icio.us presents an intriguing approach to reference commentary. It already aggregates quite a bit of Python intelligence. http://del.icio.us/tag/python *Py: the Journal of the Python Language* http://www.pyzine.com Archive probing tricks of the trade: http://groups.google.com/groups?oi=djq&as_ugroup=comp.lang.python&num=100 http://groups.google.com/groups?meta=site%3Dgroups%26group%3Dcomp.lang.pyth… Previous - (U)se the (R)esource, (L)uke! - messages are listed here: http://www.ddj.com/topics/pythonurl/ (requires subscription) http://groups-beta.google.com/groups?q=python-url+group:comp.lang.python*&s… http://purl.org/thecliff/python/url.html (dormant) or http://groups.google.com/groups?oi=djq&as_q=+Python-URL!&as_ugroup=comp.lan… There is *not* an RSS for "Python-URL!"--at least not yet. Arguments for and against are occasionally entertained. Suggestions/corrections for next week's posting are always welcome. E-mail to <Python-URL(a)phaseit.net> should get through. To receive a new issue of this posting in e-mail each Monday morning (approximately), ask <claird(a)phaseit.net> to subscribe. Mention "Python-URL!". -- The Python-URL! Team-- Dr. Dobb's Journal (http://www.ddj.com) is pleased to participate in and sponsor the "Python-URL!" project.

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Revised announcement for tonight's Fredericksburg ZPUG
by Gary Poster 09 Nov '05

09 Nov '05

This is a revised announcement for tonight's Fredericksburg ZPUG meeting. Andrew Sawyers is postponing his Squid and Zope presentation until the January ZPUG meeting (January 11, 2006). This is the new agenda: ------ Please join us November 9, 7:30-9:00 PM, for the sixth meeting of the Fredericksburg, VA Zope and Python User Group ("ZPUG"). Using Zope for newspaper publishing! The dangers of object oriented inheritance! Free food! * Allen Schmidt, Sr. Programmer for Fredericksburg.com - the website for the Free Lance-Star - will present on "Using Zope for Newspaper Publishing". * Jim Fulton, CTO of Zope Corporation, will present an abbreviated version of the argument given in Clemens Szyperski's Component Software for why both inheritance and delegation (e.g. acquisition) cause tight coupling and therefore should be avoided except in special circumstances. * We will serve delicious fruit, cheese, and soft drinks.

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PyCon 2006 Call for Tutorials
by A.M. Kuchling 09 Nov '05

09 Nov '05

PyCon 2006 Call for Tutorials ------------------------------------------ Enjoy teaching classes or tutorials? PyCon 2006 is looking for proposals for a pre-conference tutorials day. PyCon 2006 will be held February 24-26 in Addison, Texas (near Dallas). Tutorials will be held on February 23, at the same location. Tutorial sessions will be a half day (3 hours, with a 15-minute break); presenters may request two sessions in order to make up a full day. Tutorials may be on any topic, but obviously should be instructional in nature. Providing take-home materials for attendees is encouraged, and tutorial presenters will receive $50 per student registered for theirsession (with a minimum payment of $500, and a maximum of $1500). Extra consideration will be given to presenters with prior experience teaching classes or giving conference tutorials. Please provide one reference or evidence of such prior experience (sessions taught at OSCON, EuroPython, local user groups, etc.). PyCon attendees will register for tutorials. We reserve the right to cancel tutorials with low attendance; presenters will not be paid for cancelled tutorials. Example tutorial topics can be found at: http://us.pycon.org/TX2006/Tutorials Important Dates =============== * Submission deadline: November 15, 2005 * Acceptance deadline: November 22, 2005 * Cancellation date: January 15, 2006 (for inadequate attendance) Submission Format ================================ Proposals should be 250 to 1000 words long (i.e., one to four pages in manuscript format), containing the following information: * Author name(s) * Contact Information * (Recommended) At least one previous presentation/teaching engagement reference * Summary of proposed presentation * Presentation outline * Intended audience (non-programmers, beginning programmers, advanced users, CPython developers, etc.) E-mail your proposal to <pycon(a)python.org>. ASCII format is preferred (plain or reST), with HTML as a secondary alternative. If you have any questions about submission, please send mail to the conference organizers at pycon(a)python.org.

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