Python-URL! - weekly Python news and links (Jul 30)

QOTW: "If you really want to learn hard-core Python, probably your best bet is: * read everything Tim Peters has ever written in comp.lang.python (this will take a few months), start with "import this" * read everything the PyPy guys have ever written (particularly Christian and Armin) * read and try to beat the more exotic recipes in the Python cookbook * read the papers from the various PyCons on metaclasses and the like, build a couple of dozen metaclasses and descriptors." - Mike C. Fletcher "Why would you want to become a programmer? Programmers smell bad, they have no social life, they get treated like crap by everyone. They can get paid pretty well but then they spend all the money on useless electronic junk so they still live like bums. There is only one reason to be a programmer, which is that the drive to program burns in you like a fire. But in that case don't ask how to become a programmer, because you are already one, so welcome to the ranks ;-)." - Paul Rubin Moving from .net to Python: How to implement Events and Delegates (Observer pattern) http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/c6808e6... How to efficiently access the first, second, etc. lines of a text file http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/800e927... Borrowing from the D language: 123 456 789 == 123456789, and other suggestions. http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/93dc57f... Ways to write an "is_iterable" function, and why there can't be an universal version: http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/c37eea0... Using ClientForm and mechanize to automate web form submissions http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/d544e5a... Started as: Where do they teach Python officially?, later discussing what's good for a programmer to know: http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/fafd2b5... math.pow(3,50)!=3**50 -or- Don't use floating point exponentiation when you actually want an integer operation http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/b2155e8... Closures/Blocks in Python: what is good Ruby code style is not necesarily good for Python. http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/7e3ee98... How get "next month's" name: the orthodox ways, and a tricky one by Carsten Haese: http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/1baa0d2... ======================================================================== 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. 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 enthusiats": 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/groups?oi=djq&as_ugroup=comp.lang.python.announce Python411 indexes "podcasts ... to help people learn Python ..." Updates appear more-than-weekly: http://www.awaretek.com/python/index.html Steve Bethard continues the marvelous tradition early borne by Andrew Kuchling, Michael Hudson, Brett Cannon, Tony Meyer, and Tim Lesher 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 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://aspn.activestate.com/ASPN/Cookbook/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 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://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0042/ The online Python Journal is posted at pythonjournal.cognizor.com. editor@pythonjournal.com and editor@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.pytho... Previous - (U)se the (R)esource, (L)uke! - messages are listed here: http://www.ddj.com/topic/python/ (requires subscription) http://groups-beta.google.com/groups?q=python-url+group:comp.lang.python*&start=0&scoring=d& http://purl.org/thecliff/python/url.html (dormant) or http://groups.google.com/groups?oi=djq&as_q=+Python-URL!&as_ugroup=comp.lang.python 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 should get through. 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