Dr. Dobb's Python-URL!

     python-dev Summary for 2003-08-16 through 2003-08-31
     Date: Fri Sep 12 22:03:47 EST 2003
     Lines: 256
     Reply-To: brett@python.org

     ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
     This is a summary of traffic on the `python-dev mailing list`_ from
     August 16, 2003 through August 31, 2003.  It is intended to inform the
     wider Python community of on-going developments on the list.  To comment
     on anything mentioned here, just post to python-list@python.org or
     `comp.lang.python`_ with a subject line mentioning what you are
     discussing. All python-dev members are interested in seeing ideas
     discussed by the community, so don't hesitate to take a stance on
     something.  And if all of this really interests you then get involved
     and join `python-dev`_!

     This is the twenty-fourth summary written by Brett Cannon (a year's
     worth of summaries by yours truly now under his belt; does this mean I
     am certifiably insane?).



QOTW:  "Python seems to encourage and reward incremental effort, and it leads
one to explore extensions and improvements to programs because the language
makes it relatively easy to see how to do the extensions."  -- Ron Stephens

"When writing programs in Python, write Python programs" -- Jeff Epler's
advice to those forcing themselves to write code using idioms learned in
other languages

"Oh come on, now, just because Java does it..."  -- Dave Benjamin's snappy
comeback to Bob Grailer's facetiously offered name for an inverse yield
statement called "suck".


Discussion
----------
    Alex Martelli, Simon Burton, and Richie Hindle unleash their
    Pythons to crush the latest internet worm:
        <http://groups.google.com/groups?th=ca04531642584030>
        <http://groups.google.com/groups?th=ce63bf1338b0ef8a>
        <http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=mailman.1063988666.28932.python-list@python.org>

    David Eppstein shows how to use zip to quickly retrieve an
    arbitrary column in a table stored as a list of lists:
        <http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=eppstein-87EA1B.13431116092003@news.service.uci.edu>

    Rudy Shockaert coaches Bill Blancett on developing a script to send
    email with attachements using smtplib and the email module:
        <http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=4fd6e92.0309190518.3b226735@posting.google.com>

    Dave Brueck and Skip Montanaro provide expert advice on threadsafe
    access to global variables:
        <http://groups.google.com/groups?th=b44a9fcebc90a01d>

    A dozen pythonistias share real world experience about the
    relative merits and applicability of Zope, Twisted, Python CGI,
    Jython, Webware, and Medusa.
        <http://groups.google.com/groups?th=903e379430bffdfd>

    Duncan Booth provides a masterfully simple explaination of Python's
    "global mutex" (the so-called GIL) and its implications for
    multi-threaded applications.
        <http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=Xns93FA744C65C2Bduncanrcpcouk@127.0.0.1>

    Stefan Franke succinctly demonstrates a fast way to filter sets.
        <http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=bka5e3%24qito9%241@ID-105404.news.uni-berlin.de>

    Along with all its usual benefits, the latest semi-monthly
    python-dev summary includes interesting personal commentary
    and traffic analysis from summarizer Brett Cannon.
	<http://groups.google.com/groups?th=db2820f9a9e1e89f>

    Bob Findlay offers an on-line course in Python programming:
        <http://www.icanprogram.com/pythonlinux.html>

    This week's language change suggestions:
    * mutable strings
    * repeat/while control structure for mid-loop termination testing
    * an inverse yield statement similar to threading.Event.wait()

Releases
--------
    ClientFrom 0.1.8b - module for client side HTML form handling
        (parsing, filling-in, and returning data to the server).
        <http://wwwsearch.sourceforge.net/ClientForm/>

    pyTerra - module for querying Microsoft's TerraServer to download
        cartographic images.
        <http://hobu.biz/software/pyTerra>
    
    imgSeek 0.8.2 - photo collection manager and viewer
        <http://imgseek.sourceforge.net/net/>

    Vision Egg 0.9.9 - high level interface to OpenGL for tapping into
        the capabilities of graphic cards.
        <http://www.visionegg.org/>

    SpamBayes 1.0a6 - source code for the world class spam filter.
        <http://spambayes.org/download.html>

    Soprano 0.04 - windows GUI app for querying hosts for information
        about local groups, users, and other data.
        <http://sourceforge.net/projects/soprano/>

    PythonCard 0.7.2 - GUI construction kit for building cross-platform
        desktop applications on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.
        <http://pythoncard.sourceforge.net/>

    Twisted 1.0.7 - an event-driven networking framework for server and
        client applications.
        <http://www.twistedmatrix.com>

    XMLFilter 1.1 - provides XML parsing even if the target system lacks
        a working xml.sax package.
        <http://www.shearersoftware.com/software/developers/xmlfilter/>

========================================================================
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
    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.

    comp.lang.python.announce announces new Python software.  Be
    sure to scan this newly-revitalized newsgroup at least weekly.
        http://groups.google.com/groups?oi=djq&as_ugroup=comp.lang.python.announce

    Brett Cannon continues the marvelous tradition established by 
    Andrew Kuchling and Michael Hudson of 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/

    The Python Business Forum "further[s] the interests of companies
    that base their business on ... Python."
	http://www.python-in-business.org

    The Python Software Foundation has replaced the Python Consortium
    as an independent nexus of activity
        http://www.python.org/psf/

    Cetus does much of the same
        http://www.cetus-links.org/oo_python.html

    Python FAQTS
        http://python.faqts.com/

    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://python.sourceforge.net/peps/pep-0042.html
     
    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.

    *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.python.*

Previous - (U)se the (R)esource, (L)uke! - messages are listed here:
  http://www.ddj.com/topics/pythonurl/         
  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


Suggestions/corrections for next week's posting are always welcome.
E-mail to <Python-URL@phaseit.net> should get through.

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