Python Cookbook (was Re: good books)

[Alex Martelli]

Gregor Lingl wrote:
        ...
> Percy Tambunan schrieb:
>> what is a good book in python, If i can only afford to buy just one book?
        ...
> ... or perhaps we should stick with online ressources until we
> can see what martellibot will be giving to us

Thanks!  I think you might like to have a look at what martellibot
HAS given to you together with David Ascher, Guido van Rossum, Tim
Peters, Fred Drake, Mark Lutz, Greg Wilson, Donn Cave, Aaron Watters,
Fredrik Lundh, Andy McKay, Paul Prescod, Jeremy Hylton, Mark Hammond,
Paul Dubois, David Beazley AND another 100+ contributors (sorry folks
if I'm not listing you all...!!!) in the Python Cookbook, which I
believe has already been officially launched at OSCON.


The above list meets the order in which we all are first met in the
book, by the way.  I and David are on the cover, Guido wrote a
Foreword, and each of these 3 plus all of the others above wrote
a chapter-introduction each.  The 100+ authors wrote recipes which
David and I, with some help from chapter intros' authors, selected
and edited and completed with recipes addressing some issues that
had not been covered in online submissions.


Have a look at the sample online chapter:

http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/pythoncook/chapter/ch01.pdf

(780KB).  Just 17 recipes, and somewhat of a mixed bag since
Chapter 1 is where we put idioms &c that didn't really fit in
other, more task-focused chapters, but still interesting, I think.


This is really the book the Python community wrote.  And the Python
community comprises an awful LOT of very bright people.  I hope I
and David were up to the anything-but-easy task of keeping the many
individual "voices" distinct and recognizable, while editing and
smoothing things enough to make the book just as readable, and at
least as useful, as if it had a single author rather than many
dozens of them.  I think we made it, but, it's YOUR opinion that
counts, of course, not mine -- so, have a look, and let us know!


Alex