[Baypiggies] Beazley 3rd edition heads up

[w chun]

PER was the 1st "real" reference for Python.  he basically condensed
volumes of the Python library reference into something manageable that
could be taken with oneself for your commute to work. since then, Alex
has come out with the long-anticipated O'Reilly Nutshell book,
probably a little late to capture the market, but still, it's an ORA
Nutshell title.

The 3rd ed of PER hasn't been mentioned before because it was just
released the week of PyCon.  It would've probly gotten some mention at
tomorrow nite's meeting for those who went to PyCon saw the book. 
FWIW, the booksigning on saturday nite, the bookstore had to special
order the book to be direct-shipped from the printer (bypassing normal
distribution channels) to get 40 copies available for David to sign
that evening.  It sold out in 30min.

I had a chance to catch up with David in the halls.  He's a great guy,
and it's true that he hadn't had plans to rev the book for the longest
time, but recent changes in his career have given him the opportunity
to work on and finish this long-anticipated update.  Be aware,
however, that altho the artwork resembles the previous two editions,
NewRiders has actually been acquired by PeachPit and merged into the
massive Pearson family, which also includes imprints such as Prentice
Hall and Addison Wesley.  The 3rd ed of PER is published by Sams, an
imprint whose editorial staff I haven't been very fond of over the
years.  Still, the source material is probably very good, and they
couldn't have "messed it up *that* badly."

cheers,
-wesley