Reviewlet of XML Processing With Python by S.McGrath

[Jason Cunliffe]

Steven

I appreciate your review of Sean McGrath's book as I am 'reading' it right
now, but have not yet dived in interactively at the interpreter to try it
out. So your precise documentation of copy-editing errors is a real service.
The publisher and Sean McGrath surely should buy you some nice lunch! Here
follows my take on it...

One basic but serious point which is still bothering me: the PYX notation
itself.
It is simple and useful, but ugly - surely it could/should  be simpler. Why
do we need all these "-\n" everywhere?

It seems like these should really be factored out.
It would reduce the visual noise which is too high for a 'concise' notation.
Do we really need anything..at all ?
Cannot the -\n be implied by using linebreaks alone?
This would be much the way Python itself brilliantly factors out excessive
brackets ({[+]}) by means of indentation.
To my [newbie] eyes the PYX notation seems especially noisy when you see it
in the C3 Pyxie XML viewer application. These -\n seem completely redundant.
Perhaps this does not matter as they help programs to pipe XML smoothly
between each other. But I don't understand for example why this:

(Person
-\n
(Familyname
-McGrath
)FamilyName
-\n
)Person

would not be better like this:

(Person
-
(Familyname
-McGrath
)FamilyName
-
)Person

or maybe even like this:

(Person
(Familyname
-McGrath
)FamilyName
)Person

My point is to follow the less is more idea behind Pyxie further.

I am actually on my 2 nd pass through the book. First time was the overall
'fast scan' reading mode when one receives a book one has been looking
forwards to and need to get a quick sense of what's there and what to return
to. I also browsed the CDROM, fired up the C3-XML wxPython viewer adn other
goodies. But since I was not immediately needing to include XML Python work,
I then put the book aside.

My first impression was that it was nice to look at, contained a sympathetic
beginner's tutorial in Python, had a useful CDROM and last but not least
indicated a very nice good approach in his Chapter 8: Event-Driven XML
Processing.

My 2nd impression now as I am reading through it [half-way carefully, plus
jumping around to see where he is going..]
is that it is an excellent adn friendly  beginner's python book and vary
good XML intro[very good for readers like me].
I find his writing style is very kind and the presentation and logic as he
assembles his tools and sharpens his understanding are not only helpful to
gaining speed for XML processing, but simultaneously let one into the
process of programming python: how to read the code, how to add features,
why to change the manner of doing things, etc.

It is the logical flow of he book which I like very much. And although there
is much repetition of source code adn snippets thereof, most of it aids the
narrative continuity. Normally I consider such repetition in computer books
to be gratuitous fluff, and I can well understand experienced programmers
might feel this way. For They already have the habits of reading source and
know where to look, what to experiment with. But beginners do not, and can
benefit quickly from a series of sessions sitting next to an accomplished
programmer who has a well defined purpose in mind.

This is a book for people like 'books' and not a mere convenient printout on
paper dump of some document. It handles like a book and I hope it grows like
a good book should. It needs a corrected 2nd edition with perhaps some
revision of the policy for including full source code examples. At present
the broken down examples are valuable, but the full printed source is of
limited value. It encourages one to really 'read the source code' but
assumes a skillset in doing so , which the rest of the book does not.

In other words, the small step-by-step incremental examples are good because
they who on how to read and think in python chunks. But the verbatim full
printed source assumes one already knows this. If so.. we really don't need
it - its on the CDROM. If you are going to include full printed source, you
better have 'added value'. For example: us some delicate graphic adn
typographic devices to markup the full source to allow and encourage people
to indeed 'read the source' but annotate it to provide resume and overview
of what is going on. Perhaps very light bracket lines in the margin with fin
print labeling the sections, perhaps numbering or highlighting of key parts
of the code referenced elsewhere in the text in detail, perhaps small
sidebar commentary where appropriate. This is something one can NOT do
readily on CDROM, but which the printed page is very good for.

Sean McGrath's publisher should really try to persuade him to do a Learn
Programming with Python Language' book, in the same style but covering
better the scope of python.

I like the design of the book - it has nice clear type and layout, paper is
bright and feels good, reference indexes adn easy to follow and Sean
McGrath's humor come through in titles and headings, plus an easy honest
style. Screen shots are good to include but they can be  50% size. More
diagrams would be appreciated, during 2nd half of the book.

This book has helped me already very much. It has given me extra general
confidence about Python in addition its obvious XML toolset. I am very glad
it is print. I look forwards to others by Sean McGrath and hopefully a 2nd
edition of this also.

cheers
- Jason

________________________________________________________________
Jason CUNLIFFE = NOMADICS.(Interactive Art and Technology).Design Director

Steven <IAMsvore at mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:8p8itf$s96$1 at nntp9.atl.mindspring.net...
> A new article has been posted, about Sean McGrath's XML Processing With
> Python.
>
> http://www.themestream.com/gspd_browse/browse/view_article.gsp?c_id=165854
>
> "This is not a normal book review. In fact, I'm leery of calling it a
review
> at all. In reality, these are my notes taken while reading & working
through
> examples in XML Processing With Python By Sean McGrath. As such, they may
> not make complete sense if you're not also looking at the book. My intent
> here is not to write the traditional "here's why you should buy this book"
> review, but to give you it's flavor and, after you've purchased it, help
you
> over some of the bumps in the road...."
>
>
> -Steven ... remove "IAM" to reply
> http://Mumble.EditThisPage.com
>
>
>