Mailman 3 May 2009 - Python-announce-list

rst2pdf 0.10
by ralsina＠netmanagers.com.ar 15 May '09

15 May '09

It's my pleasure to announce the release of rst2pdf version 0.10. This version includes many bugfixes and some new features compared to the previous 0.9 version. Rst2pdf is a tool to generate PDF files directly from restructured text sources via reportlab. It aims to support the full restructured text feature set, and is very close to that goal, while also including some of the more experimental features, like a source code directive with syntax highlighting and math notation support with LaTeX-like syntax. It supports embedding arbitrary fonts, both True Type and PS Type 1, both raster and vector images (including SVG), page transition effects, multiple, flexible page layouts, cascading styles, and much, much more. You can find more information about rst2pdf in its home page ( http://rst2pdf.googlecode.com), and ask anything you want in the rst2pdf- discuss mailing list (http://groups.google.com/group/rst2pdf-discuss) Here are the changes in this version compared to 0.9: * Issue 87: Table headers can be repeated in each page (thanks to Yasushi Masuda) * Issue 93: Line number support for code blocks (:linenos: true) * Issue 111: Added --no-footnote-backlinks option * Issue 107: Support localized directives/roles (example: sommaire instead of contents) * Issue 112: Fixed crash when processing empty list items * Issue 98: Nobreak support, and set as default for inline-literals so they don't hyphenate. * Slightly better tests * Background colors in text styles work with reportlab 2.3 * Issue 99: Fixed hyphenation in headers/footers (requires wordaxe 0.3.2) * Issue 106: Crash on demo.txt fixed (requires wordxe 0.3.2) * Issue 102: Implemented styles for bulleted and numbered lists * Issue 38: Default headers/footers via options, config file or stylesheet * Issue 88: Implemented much better book-style TOCs * Issue 100: Fixed bug with headers/footers and Reportlab 2.3 * Issue 95: Fixed bug with indented tables * Issue 89: Implemented --version * Issue 84: Fixed bug with relative include paths * Issue 85: Fixed bug with table cell styles * Issue 83: Fixed bug with numeric colors in backColor attribute * Issue 44: Support for stdin and stdout * Issue 79: Added --stylesheet-path option * Issue 80: Send warnings to stderr, not stdout * Issue 66: Implemented "smart quotes" * Issue 77: Work around missing matplotlib * Proper translation of labels (such as "Author", "Version" etc.) using the docutils languages package. (r473) * Fixed problems with wrong or non-existing fonts. (r484) * Page transition effect support for presentations (r423) I hope you enjoy this software!

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[ANN] Introduction to Python course, San Francisco, Jun 2009
by wesley chun 14 May '09

14 May '09

Need to get up-to-speed with Python as quickly as possible? Come join me, Wesley Chun, author of Prentice-Hall's bestseller "Core Python Programming," for a comprehensive intro course coming up this June in beautiful Northern California! Please pass on this note to whomever you think may be interested. I look forward to meeting you and your colleagues! (Comprehensive) Introduction to Python Mon-Wed, 2009 Jun 15-17, 9am-5pm - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (COMPREHENSIVE) INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON Although this course may appear to those new to Python, it is also perfect for those who have tinkered with it and want to "fill in the gaps" and/or want to get more in-depth formal training. It combines the best of both an introduction to the language as well as a "Python Internals" training course. We will immerse you in the world of Python in only a few days, showing you more than just its syntax (which you don't really need a book to learn, right?). Knowing more about how Python works under the covers, including the relationship between data objects and memory management, will make you a much more effective Python programmer coming out of the gate. 3 hands-on labs each day will help hammer the concepts home. Come find out why Google, Yahoo!, Disney, ILM/LucasFilm, VMware, NASA, Ubuntu, YouTube, Slide, and Red Hat all use Python. Users supporting or jumping to Plone, Zope, TurboGears, Pylons, Django, Google App Engine, Jython, IronPython, and Mailman will also benefit! FREE PREVIEW 1: you will find (and can download) a video clip of a live lesson that was delivered recently to get an idea of the lecture style and interactive classroom environment at: http://cyberwebconsulting.com (click "Python Training") FREE PREVIEW 2: Partnering with O'Reilly and Pearson, Safari Books Online has asked me to deliver a 1-hour webcast on Wednesday morning 2009 Apr 29 @ 10:30a PDT/1:30p EDT called "What is Python?" This will be an online seminar based on a session that I've delivered at numerous conferences in the past. It will give you an idea of lecture style as well as an overview of the material covered in the course. Plus the first 10 registrants will receive an autographed copy of "Core Python Programming!" For more information: http://www.safaribooksonline.com/events/WhatIsPython.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - WHERE: near the San Francisco Airport (SFO/San Bruno), CA, USA WEB: http://cyberwebconsulting.com (click "Python Training") FLYER: http://starship.python.net/crew/wesc/flyerPP1jun09.pdf LOCALS: easy freeway (101/280/380) with lots of parking plus public transit (BART and CalTrain) access via the San Bruno stations, easily accessible from all parts of the Bay Area VISITORS: free shuttle to/from the airport, free high-speed internet, free breakfast and regular evening receptions; fully-equipped suites See website for costs, venue info, and registration. Discounts are available for multiple registrations as well as for teachers/students. Hope to see you there! -- wesley - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "Core Python Programming", Prentice Hall, (c)2007,2001 "Python Fundamentals", Prentice Hall, (c)2009 http://corepython.com "Python Web Development with Django", Addison Wesley, (c)2009 http://withdjango.com wesley.j.chun :: wescpy-at-gmail.com python training and technical consulting cyberweb.consulting : silicon valley, ca http://cyberwebconsulting.com

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Python-URL! - weekly Python news and links (May 14)
by Gabriel Genellina 14 May '09

14 May '09

QOTW: "Tail recursion *unifies* message passing and function calling. *This* is the reason tail recursion is cool." - JRM http://funcall.blogspot.com/2009/05/you-knew-id-say-something-part-iii.html First beta of Python 3.1 released http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/t/29d24e950df2bcc6/ Python-coded scripts can do what LINQ does in expressing queries as SQL against a list of rows and columns: http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/msg/8c67d72703979c55 SQLite is quite wonderful. Chaining generators efficiently http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/t/f7503fd51f113976/ Decorating a method is slightly harder than decorating a plain function: http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/t/956ce6027df6f8e4/ heapq.merge() lacks a `key` argument, but it would be very useful: http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/t/52ed18a35654d2b1/ Python syntax as a friendlier alternative to those cryptic functional languages http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/t/5f02a42f22e896f3/ On a third hand, JRM argues that tail recursion would only help Python, despite the decisions of BDFL. http://funcall.blogspot.com/2009/05/you-knew-id-say-something-part-iii.html The right way to use an "else" clause in a try/except/else: http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/t/c599b522d4e59f54/ Simple way of handling and logging errors: http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/t/4a77fa363f247f78/ http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/t/fd85bc9de4a23713/ Experienced Pythonistas comment on a simple program: http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/t/5ac3a909e38c4ee4/ Serving an image in a web application does not necesarily require a file stored on disk: http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/t/721d5e6ab3b1cbd7/ Double-clicking a .py file doesn't work: how to fix file associations on Windows http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/t/8837a113342c63bc/ A long thread, started as a request for comments on PEP 382, now discussing how evil .pth files are, and other issues involving eggs, setuptools, easy _install, distutils and even GNU stow: http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/t/aebfb3311a2f5eb6/ In case you missed it: 'import antigravity' in action! http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/t/9e8d5ebb5423b0af/ ======================================================================== 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 Just beginning with Python? This page is a great place to start: http://wiki.python.org/moin/BeginnersGuide/Programmers The Python Papers aims to publish "the efforts of Python enthusiasts": http://pythonpapers.org/ The Python Magazine is a technical monthly devoted to Python: http://pythonmagazine.com Readers have recommended the "Planet" sites: http://planetpython.org http://planet.python.org comp.lang.python.announce announces new Python software. Be sure to scan this newsgroup weekly. http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python.announce/topics Python411 indexes "podcasts ... to help people learn Python ..." Updates appear more-than-weekly: http://www.awaretek.com/python/index.html 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/donations/ The Summary of Python Tracker Issues is an automatically generated report summarizing new bugs, closed ones, and patch submissions. http://search.gmane.org/?author=status%40bugs.python.org&group=gmane.comp.p… Although unmaintained since 2002, the Cetus collection of Python hyperlinks retains a few gems. 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://code.activestate.com/recipes/langs/python/ Many Python conferences around the world are in preparation. Watch this space for links to them. Among several Python-oriented RSS/RDF feeds available, see: http://www.python.org/channews.rdf 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://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0042/ 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 Enjoy the *Python Magazine*. http://pymag.phparch.com/ *Py: the Journal of the Python Language* http://www.pyzine.com Dr.Dobb's Portal is another source of Python news and articles: http://www.ddj.com/TechSearch/searchResults.jhtml?queryText=python and Python articles regularly appear at IBM DeveloperWorks: http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/search/searchResults.jsp?searchSite=dW&se… Previous - (U)se the (R)esource, (L)uke! - messages are listed here: http://search.gmane.org/?query=python+URL+weekly+news+links&group=gmane.com… http://groups.google.com/groups/search?q=Python-URL!+group%3Acomp.lang.pyth… http://lwn.net/Search/DoSearch?words=python-url&ctype3=yes&cat_25=yes 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!". Write to the same address to unsubscribe. -- The Python-URL! Team-- Phaseit, Inc. (http://phaseit.net) is pleased to participate in and sponsor the "Python-URL!" project. Watch this space for upcoming news about posting archives.

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PyOhio CFP due May 15 (tomorrow)
by Catherine Devlin 14 May '09

14 May '09

A reminder: PyOhio's call for proposals is due May 15 - tomorrow! PyOhio 2009, the second annual Python programming mini-conference for Ohio and surrounding areas, will take place Saturday-Sunday, July 25-26, 2009 at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. A variety of activities are planned, including tutorials, scheduled talks, Lightning Talks, and Open Spaces. PyOhio will be free of charge. PyOhio invites all interested people to submit proposals for scheduled talks and tutorials. PyOhio will accept abstracts on any topics of interest to Python programmers. Standard presentations are expected to last 40 minutes with a 10 minute question-and-answer period. Other talk formats will also be considered, however; please indicate your preferred format in your proposal. Hands-on tutorial sessions are also welcomed. Tutorial instructors should indicate the expected length PyOhio is especially interested in hosting a Beginners' Track for those new to Python or new to programming in general. If your proposal would be suitable for inclusion in the Beginners' Track, please indicate so. Organizers will work with speakers and instructors in the Beginners' Track to help them coordinate their talks/tutorials into a smooth, coherent learning curve for new Python users. All proposals should include abstracts no longer than 500 words in length. Abstracts must include the title, summary of the presentation, the expertise level targeted, and a brief description of the area of Python programming it relates to. All proposals should be emailed to cfp(a)pyohio.org for review. Please submit proposals by May 15, 2009. Accepted speakers will be notified by June 1. You can read more about the conference at http://pyohio.org If you have questions about proposals, please email cfp(a)pyohio.org. You can also contact the PyOhio organizers at pyohio-organizers(a)python.org. -- - Catherine http://catherinedevlin.blogspot.com/ *** PyOhio * July 25-26, 2009 * pyohio.org ***

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Regular Toronto Python Users' Group (PyGTA) meeting Tuesday 19th, 7:15pm
by Mike C. Fletcher 13 May '09

13 May '09

We will be having our regular PyGTA meeting at our regular time (7:15 on the 19th) and place (Linux Caffe) this month. Please note that *next* month (June 2009) we'll be meeting on the 17th (a Wednesday) as our speaker for June is not available on Tuesdays. Linux Caffe is at the corner of Grace and Harbord streets, 1 block South of Christie subway station. Tuesday, May 19th: Software Liability Round Table (Open Discussion) Proposals are afoot in the EU to make companies liable for the software they write. What would you need to accept liability for the software you write? Would you be willing to contribute software to an Open Source project if you could be sued when someone else broke it? What level of warranty would you be willing to give for your software ("Money Back" or "Damages" or "Damages and Loss of Bussiness")? Is liability even a good idea? Would it stifle innovation? Would it be workable for your business? What benefits would you get out of warranties? Is there a service or testing methodology you feel would let you provide warranties better/cheaper/faster than others? Would an exception raised to the user constitute a "money back" event? Or would you have to fail to repair the software? Does "repairing" include making your software work with changing dependencies? What contracts or requirements would you need to be comfortable being a contract software developer? Wednesday, June 17th: Behdad Esfahbod will be presenting on how to use the Cairo rendering library from Python. Cairo is a vector graphics library that allows for targetting multiple graphical back-ends including OpenGL, X-windows, OSX Quartz, Win32, PDF, PNG etceteras. It is used in the Firefox and WebKit engines as well as the GTK library. Note the change in day-of-week! Tuesday, July 21st (tentative): Robert Jackiewicz of the Toronto Plone User's group will be presenting the zc.buildout package. Buildout is a tool for creating redistributable Python applications which is used extensively by the Zope and Plone communities. It is a "recipe" based engine for reproducing a set of modules and application code onto a number of machines. http://www.pygta.org/ Enjoy yourselves, Mike -- ________________________________________________ Mike C. Fletcher Designer, VR Plumber, Coder http://www.vrplumber.com http://blog.vrplumber.com

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ANN Chicago Python User Group May Meeting This Thursday
by Brian Ray 12 May '09

12 May '09

Chicago Python User Group ========================= Calling all Python Programmers in (or near enough) the Windy City!!! (and JAVA Programmers, and those into REST, too) We are having the highest meeting yet!! 25th floor! May 14, 2009 at ThoughtWorks Inc. 200 E Randolph St 25th Floor Chicago, IL RSVP: jcroneme (at) thoughtworks.com Topics: * REST with Jython (45 min) -- Tal Liron * icon-to-speech (10 min) and wsgi<->servlet adaptor (10 min) -- Steve Githens * PyMite Lightening Talks (10 min each until infinity, or until they kick us out) -- Various Artists About ChiPy ----------- ChiPy is a group of Chicago Python Programmers, l33t, and n00bs. Meetings are held monthly at various locations around Chicago. Also, ChiPy is a proud sponsor of many Open Source and Educational efforts in Chicago. Stay tuned to the mailing list for more info. ChiPy website: <http://chipy.org> ChiPy Mailing List: <http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/chicago> ChiPy Announcement *ONLY* Mailing List: <http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/chipy-announce > Python website: <http://python.org>

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ANN: SfePy 2009.2
by Robert Cimrman 12 May '09

12 May '09

I am pleased to announce the release of SfePy 2009.2. SfePy (simple finite elements in Python) is a software, distributed under the BSD license, for solving systems of coupled partial differential equations by the finite element method. The code is based on NumPy and SciPy packages. Mailing lists, issue tracking, git repository: http://sfepy.org Home page: http://sfepy.kme.zcu.cz For more information on this release, see http://sfepy.googlecode.com/svn/web/releases/2009.2_RELEASE_NOTES.txt Best regards, Robert Cimrman

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Toronto PyCamp 2009
by Chris Calloway 11 May '09

11 May '09

For beginners, this ultra-low-cost Python Boot Camp developed by the Triangle Zope and Python Users Group makes you productive so you can get your work done quickly. PyCamp emphasizes the features which make Python a simpler and more efficient language. Following along by example speeds your learning process in a modern high-tech classroom. Become a self-sufficient Python developer in just five days at PyCamp! The University or Toronto Department of Physics brings PyCamp to Toronto, July 13-17, 2009. Register today at http://trizpug.org/boot-camp/pycamp-toronto-2009/ -- Sincerely, Chris Calloway http://www.secoora.org office: 332 Chapman Hall phone: (919) 599-3530 mail: Campus Box #3300, UNC-CH, Chapel Hill, NC 27599

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Jython 2.5.0 Release Candidate 2 out
by Frank Wierzbicki 11 May '09

11 May '09

Minutes after RC1 we had to do an RC2 due to a bug in our build process + JLine. RC2 is here: http://downloads.sourceforge.net/jython/jython_installer-2.5rc2.jar And Moss Prescott pointed out that the URL was wrong for install instructions. The correct url for installation is: http://www.jython.org/Project/installation.html. -Frank

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Jython 2.5.0 Release Candidate 1 is out!
by Frank Wierzbicki 11 May '09

11 May '09

On behalf of the Jython development team, I'm pleased to announce that Jython 2.5rc1 is available for download at http://downloads.sourceforge.net/jython/jython_installer-2.5rc1.jar. See the installation instructions: http://www.jython.org/Project/installation.htm. It contains bug fixes and polish since the last beta. One especially nice bit of polish is that JLine (http://jline.sourceforge.net) is enabled by default now, and so using up and down arrows should work out of the box. If no major bugs are found this release will get re-labeled and released as the production version of 2.5.0. Please try this out and report any bugs that you find: http://bugs.jython.org. -Frank

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