Python-URL! - weekly Python news and links (Aug 25)

[Cameron Laird]

[Original draft by Gabriel Genellina.]

QOTW:  "Python is a programming language, not an ice cream shop." -
Steven
D'Aprano, 2011-08-10, on providing the language with just "more
choices"


   Comparing the relative speed of `i += 1` and `i = i + 1`
       http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/db68a23685eb03a9/

   Efficiently split and process a large string:
       http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/f9122961559e747b/

   Fastest way to do string concatenation:
       http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/f65e05cd3a230290/

   An unexpected interaction between function scope and class
namespace:
       http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/9c4435d56fdec152/

   The GIL, once again:
       http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-dev/2011-August/112813.html

   Three language proposals:
       allow line breaks at operators (very long thread!):
       http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/a80ffc70aeea2116/
       repeat the right hand side value of assignment statements, as
needed:
       http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/6cf460dc9d6262d1/
       issue warnings when builtin names are hidden:
       http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/1b2dd8552aabf033/

   How to generate and send mails: a step by step tutorial
       http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/e0793c1007361398/

   Best practices when dealing with unknown exceptions:
       http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/d8da925e6fa03ec6/

   When using extended slicing, behavior of negative stop values is
not fully
   intuitive:
       http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/29193779abef5bfb/

   It's not easy to check a folder for write access on Windows:
       http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/122a47fce5571322/

   Advice on how long a function should be:
       http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/97076160ebf0f392/

   It is relatively easy to confuse the import machinery and make
import fail:
       http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/d3199d1e000b135d/

   Non-local variables and exec/eval: a clarification
       http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/9f46a4b59f525f59/

   An original idea: pure-python templates using the AST
       http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/827f4345d4ad5672/


========================================================================
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

   Just beginning with Python?  This page is a great place to start:
       http://wiki.python.org/moin/BeginnersGuide/Programmers

   Planet Python:  you want to visit there:
       http://planet.python.org
   But don't confuse it with Planet SciPy:
       http://planet.scipy.org
   And don't confuse *that* with SciPyTip, a high-quality daily (!)
tip
   for the numerically-inclined:
       http://twitter.com/SciPyTip

   Python Insider is the official blog of the Python core development
   team:
       http://pyfound.blogspot.com/2011/03/python-dev-launches-python-insider-blog.html

   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/
   Keep up with the PSF at "Python Software Foundation News":
       http://pyfound.blogspot.com

   The Python Papers aims to publish "the efforts of Python
enthusiasts":
       http://pythonpapers.org/

   Doug Hellman's "Module of the week" is essential reading:
       http://www.doughellmann.com/PyMOTW/

   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/

   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 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.python.devel&sort=date

   nullege is an interesting search Web application, with the
intelligence
   to distinguish between Python code and comments.  It provides what
   appear to be relevant results, and demands neither Java nor CSS be
   enabled:
       http://www.nullege.com

   Although unmaintained since 2002, the Cetus collection of Python
   hyperlinks retains a few gems.
       http://www.cetus-links.org/oo_python.html

   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

   At least one of the Python magazines is explicitly multilingual:
       http://www.python.org/ar/

   PythonWare complemented the digest you're reading with the
   marvelous daily python url.  While it's now ... dormant, it still
   has plenty of interesting reading.
        http://www.pythonware.com/daily

   Python articles regularly appear at IBM DeveloperWorks:
       http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/search/searchResults.jsp?searchSite=dW&searchScope=dW&encodedQuery=python&rankprofile=8

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