From gslindstrom at gmail.com Mon Jun 8 01:57:47 2009 From: gslindstrom at gmail.com (Greg Lindstrom) Date: Sun, 7 Jun 2009 18:57:47 -0500 Subject: [PyAR2] pyArkansas 2010 Message-ID: Hello Chenyi, I hope all is going well for you. We are starting plans for another Python conference this fall and hope that your department would be willing to host us once again. If so, can we start talking about when would be a good Saturday (if I recall, we need to work around the football schedule)? I'd like to bring in 4 speakers this year and would like to start getting an idea of who is available. We are thinking either October or Early November, if possible. If you are able to host us and can provide a student administrator to help us out we will make sure they get some $$ for their effort. Thanks for your time, --greg -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gslindstrom at gmail.com Tue Jun 9 00:51:11 2009 From: gslindstrom at gmail.com (Greg Lindstrom) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 17:51:11 -0500 Subject: [PyAR2] pyArkansas Date Message-ID: Hello Everyone, I have contacted Dr. Hu (Chair of the CS Department at UCA) and he has graciously agreed to host pyArkansas 2009 this fall. A HUGE part of our success last year was having UCA get behind us and provide classrooms and computers for our classes. I'd like to start thinking about when to schedule the event. We looked at it a while ago, but it's time to settle on a Saturday so I can start getting fund requests send out (start thinkinfg about who you know that might be able to help out). My goal is to bring in 4 speakers for morning sessions and then have presentations and open space in the afternoon. Chad (Conway Chamber of Commerce) has offered space at the Chamber for evening sessions/sprints. Looking at the UCA football schedule (we have to avoid home game weekends) shows: Sat9/19Western KentuckyBowling Green, Ky. 6 p.m. Sat9/26Glenville StateConway, Ark. 6 p.m. Sat10/3Missouri S&T (Hall of Fame/Family Day)Conway, Ark. 6 p.m. Sat10/10Northwestern State*Natchitoches, La. 7 p.m. Sat10/17Stephen F. Austin* (SLC-TV)Conway, Ark. 6 p.m. Sat10/24Nicholls* (Homecoming)Conway, Ark. 6 p.m. Sat10/31Southeastern Louisiana*Hammond, La. 2 p.m. Sat11/7Texas State* (SLC-TV)Conway, Ark. 6 p.m. Sat11/14Sam Houston State*Huntsville, Texas 2 p.m. Sat11/21McNeese State*Lake Charles, La. 7 p.m. We could go later this year (even November?). What do you think? More later, --greg -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cbc at unc.edu Tue Jun 9 02:51:21 2009 From: cbc at unc.edu (Chris Calloway) Date: Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:51:21 -0400 Subject: [PyAR2] TriZPUG BootCamps for July 2009: Python in Toronto and Plone in Chapel Hill Message-ID: <4A2DB209.7070605@unc.edu> Triangle Zope and Python Users Group (TriZPUG, http://trizpug.org) extends an invitation to you to attend one of our annual, week-long, ultra-low cost BootCamps. PyCamp is the original Python BootCamp developed by a user group for user groups. This year PyCamp is July 13-17 at the University of Toronto, sponsored by the Department of Physics and Scryent. For beginners, PyCamp makes you productive so you can get your work done quickly. PyCamp emphasizes the features which make Python a simpler and more efficient language. Following along by example speeds your learning process in a modern high-tech classroom. Become a self-sufficient Python developer in just five days at PyCamp! http://pycamp.org The fifth annual Plone BootCamp takes place July 20-24 at the University of North Carolina, sponsored by Carolina Cardiovascular Biology Center. Learn the essentials you need to build your Plone site and deploy it. This course is the most popular in the Plone world--for a good reason: it teaches you practical skills in a friendly, hands-on format. Updated for Plone 3.1 and 3.2, while still offering the core skills required for all versions of Plone. http://plonebootcamps.com/courses/unc4 http://trizpug.org/boot-camp/pbc5/ Come to the third annual Advanced Plone BootCamp, July 27-30 at the University of North Carolina, sponsored by the Carolina Cardiovascular Biology Center. Interestedin building a site using the best practices of Plone 3? Want to advance your skills in scripting and developing for Plone? This course covers the new technologies in Plone 3.1 and 3.2 intended for site integrators and developers: our new portlet infrastructure, viewlets, versioning, and a friendly introduction to Zope 3 component architecture. Now, updated for Plone 3.2 and 3.3 betas! http://plonebootcamps.com/courses/unc4-adv http://trizpug.org/boot-camp/pbc5/ -- Sincerely, Chris Calloway http://www.secoora.org office: 332 Chapman Hall phone: (919) 599-3530 mail: Campus Box #3300, UNC-CH, Chapel Hill, NC 27599 From srilyk at gmail.com Tue Jun 9 15:17:17 2009 From: srilyk at gmail.com (Wayne) Date: Tue, 9 Jun 2009 08:17:17 -0500 Subject: [PyAR2] [PyAR2-organizers] pyArkansas Date In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <333efb450906090617h54bbb10cjf511d1fd3b188ac8@mail.gmail.com> 2009/6/8 Greg Lindstrom > Hello Everyone, > > I have contacted Dr. Hu (Chair of the CS Department at UCA) and he has > graciously agreed to host pyArkansas 2009 this fall. A HUGE part of our > success last year was having UCA get behind us and provide classrooms and > computers for our classes. I'll second that - having access to computers to try out what we're learning is always a great thing. > Looking at the UCA football schedule (we have to avoid home game weekends) > shows: > > Sat9/19 Western KentuckyBowling Green, Ky. 6 p.m. > Sat9/26 Glenville StateConway, Ark. 6 p.m. > Sat10/3Missouri S&T (Hall of Fame/Family Day) Conway, Ark. 6 p.m. > Sat10/10Northwestern State* Natchitoches, La. 7 p.m. > Sat10/17Stephen F. Austin* (SLC-TV) Conway, Ark. 6 p.m. > Sat10/24 Homecoming > Conway, Ark. 6 p.m. > Sat10/31Southeastern Louisiana* Hammond, La. 2 p.m. > Sat11/7Texas State* (SLC-TV) Conway, Ark. 6 p.m. > Sat11/14Sam Houston State* Huntsville, Texas 2 p.m. > Sat11/21McNeese State* Lake Charles, La. 7 p.m. > > We could go later this year (even November?). What do you think? I think the football schedule is perfect for me - October 3 is the only weekend that I have a conflict that I know about, but my wife and girls have birthdays other weeks. I'm sure we also want to avoid Halloween? I don't know if that would prevent conflicts or create them. I expect many of us have kids we'll be taking Trick-or-Treating. I think I'll put my vote in for November 14th. -Wayne -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From paul.hermeneutic at gmail.com Tue Jun 9 17:02:24 2009 From: paul.hermeneutic at gmail.com (paul.hermeneutic at gmail.com) Date: Tue, 9 Jun 2009 10:02:24 -0500 Subject: [PyAR2] pyArkansas Date Message-ID: <4a89b8680906090802u10b3c880y24ee81441410050e@mail.gmail.com> UCA Football 2009 Fri 9/4 Hawaii Honolulu, Hawaii 12 a.m. CT Sat 9/19 Western Kentucky Bowling Green, Ky. 6 p.m. Sat 9/26 HOME Sat 10/3 HOME Sat 10/10 Northwestern State* Natchitoches, La. 7 p.m. Sat 10/17 HOME Sat 10/24 HOME Sat 10/31 Southeastern Louisiana* Hammond, La. 2 p.m. Sat 11/7 HOME Sat 11/14 Sam Houston State* Huntsville, Texas 2 p.m. Sat 11/21 McNeese State* Lake Charles, La. 7 p.m. Sat 11/28 HOME From cpfiles at gmail.com Wed Jun 10 12:48:29 2009 From: cpfiles at gmail.com (Chad Files) Date: Wed, 10 Jun 2009 05:48:29 -0500 Subject: [PyAR2] [PyAR2-organizers] pyArkansas Date In-Reply-To: <333efb450906090617h54bbb10cjf511d1fd3b188ac8@mail.gmail.com> References: <333efb450906090617h54bbb10cjf511d1fd3b188ac8@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <9735eb9b0906100348x4bcf88e1m6ed69967c375ba27@mail.gmail.com> On Tue, Jun 9, 2009 at 8:17 AM, Wayne wrote: > I think I'll put my vote in for November 14th. I will second that. From gslindstrom at gmail.com Sat Jun 27 15:25:25 2009 From: gslindstrom at gmail.com (Greg Lindstrom) Date: Sat, 27 Jun 2009 08:25:25 -0500 Subject: [PyAR2] Setting a day for PyArkansas 2009 Message-ID: Hello everyone, I'd like to pick out day for the pyArkansas (do we want to call it Arkansas.py, or something else?) conference this year. Most people who responded liked the idea of moving the date to November, with November 14 being the favorite, so I'm "nominating" it. This way we do not step on the Texas conference (in fact, I think I will go to it!). Dr. Hu, is this date available for us? If so, we would like to accept your offer to host at UCA again (and again, thank you!!). If no one objects, I'd like us to start thinking about the format. Last year we had tutorials in the morning (Intro to Python, Python Standard Library, and System Administration) and shorter "talks" in the afternoon. One room was left open for "open space", where people who show up can sign up to talk about anything they want. I like the classes and would like to have 4 this year. We need at least 1 "Intro to Python" class, but I think we may want 2; one for complete newbies (we are again inviting high school students to come) and the other for people who already have programming experience. The question with both is do we present Python 2.x or 3.0 (as you know, 3.0 is not backwards compatible with 2.x, there are nowhere near the libraries written for it, but it is the future). Other classes requested are Database, Django (web framework), SQLAlchemy, and GIS. Last year we Had a group from Oklahoma that said they would have come if we would have had a GIS class (we had a 1-hour talk). Last year I gave a talk on pyGame and received word from the gentleman who wrote pyGame that he would be willing to come give a class. Someone talked to me about having a "mini" programming contest (aimed at newbies)? And Chad Russel offered the use of the Chamber of Commerce for an evening session, if we would like to do something then (a sprint? Maybe one to put our we site together??). Again, if there are no objections, I'd like to start contacting potential teachers to see if they are available to give classes. We cover the cost of their travel and hotel. Last year we also gave a modest stipend to each teacher as well as an "Arkansas" gift. So, here's what we need to do. - Settle on a date. November 14th is on the table. - Start raising $$. We have $500.00 pledged from the Conway Advertising and Promotion (A&P) board that I plan to use for fliers to be mailed to high schools. - We need a web site. I'm hoping that Jeff Rush (Dallas users group) will help us out, again. (Jeff? Are you listening??) - We need a letter to mail (I'll do that) and a flier. Is anyone on the list able to make something that we can send out? I'll check with Chad Russel (Conway Chamber of Commerce) to see if there is a print shop in Conway willing to help out. Otherwise, I have friends who run a print shop that may be able to help. - Comments on classes and talks. Python 2.x or 3.0? - EVERYONE needs to think about who we can ask for funding. Acxiom, NovaSys (my employer), HP, etc. We will have a cover letter and flier in a month or so, but we need to have human contacts. too. - Does anyone want to handle swag (give-aways). It's a matter of asking and then organizing the swag bags. A great way for someone new to conference organizing a way to get involved. If you want to help but don't know what you can do, drop me a line. There's plenty of work; from small tasks to long-term items. We'll find something for you to do. Would there be interest in meeting on IRC next week to start discussing this? I'll see if we can use an existing channel, or we could start our own. If there is interest, I'll find out and post instructions (for those of you who haven't used IRC). All ideas are open for discussion. This is our conference, so what do you want to see? Thanks, --greg -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From paul.hermeneutic at gmail.com Sun Jun 28 17:52:19 2009 From: paul.hermeneutic at gmail.com (paul.hermeneutic at gmail.com) Date: Sun, 28 Jun 2009 10:52:19 -0500 Subject: [PyAR2] 2.x or 3.x? Message-ID: <4a89b8680906280852m3d75daa6g681613c439a33ab2@mail.gmail.com> We should prepare people to write in Python 2.x and use 2to3. Teaching only 3.x leaves the new developer without many tools. It also leaves them less able to understand existing code. There will be a time to start with 3.x. Not yet. From pythonlarry at gmail.com Sun Jun 28 19:51:03 2009 From: pythonlarry at gmail.com (Larry Hale) Date: Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:51:03 -0500 Subject: [PyAR2] 2.x or 3.x? In-Reply-To: <4a89b8680906280852m3d75daa6g681613c439a33ab2@mail.gmail.com> References: <4a89b8680906280852m3d75daa6g681613c439a33ab2@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <2b9469390906281051m7cfcfcbdy8aed59b5d1d2f347@mail.gmail.com> I would concur that explaining what works in a pre-3.0 world would be beneficial. For most paradigms that I find I use most frequently (but perhaps I'm a boring coder :), my code works with either version; could a class show ways and means that work with both standards, pointing out the edge cases where there's a difference of significance? I'd be partial to: Showing what differences there are between 2.x and 3.x; in my searchings, I have found blurbs and articles that touch on some changes, but I've not seen much (from a coder's point of view) that's odd, or that I even _must_ pay attention to. I know I'm missing "it", but am not sure what "it" is. :) For current coders working from pre-3.0, segueing from the above points, lead nicely into a discussion of 2to3: what it does, what it can't, the "gotchas", things to manually re-check, etc. 3.x-only coding: In Brief, assume one has never coded in Python before, ever. What should one know, how "should" one code in this New World Order. Just my 5 cents. (Inflation) Cheers, -Larry On Sun, Jun 28, 2009 at 10:52 AM, wrote: > We should prepare people to write in Python 2.x and use 2to3. > > Teaching only 3.x leaves the new developer without many tools. It > also leaves them less able to understand existing code. > > There will be a time to start with 3.x. Not yet. > _______________________________________________ > PyAR2 mailing list > PyAR2 at python.org > http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/pyar2 > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From paul.hermeneutic at gmail.com Sun Jun 28 20:36:10 2009 From: paul.hermeneutic at gmail.com (paul.hermeneutic at gmail.com) Date: Sun, 28 Jun 2009 13:36:10 -0500 Subject: [PyAR2] 2.x or 3.x? In-Reply-To: <2b9469390906281051m7cfcfcbdy8aed59b5d1d2f347@mail.gmail.com> References: <4a89b8680906280852m3d75daa6g681613c439a33ab2@mail.gmail.com> <2b9469390906281051m7cfcfcbdy8aed59b5d1d2f347@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <4a89b8680906281136i4a7b8a2ejc2923652e474c0a3@mail.gmail.com> If this is a introductory class, then we should not cover the details of differences between Python 2.x and 3.x other than a cursory overview. These details are needed by developers of 2to3 and other refactoring tools, not the introductory level developer. They might also be of interest to someone making a decision to start a project using Python 2.x, 3.x, Lua, Perl, Ruby, etc. That person should likewise probably not be an introductory level developer Our goal should be to get the participant to a point where they can express their application intent. We need more working applications, not more bit twiddlers. Which result should be sought? 10 developers who know that you have to use "()" on the print statement or 10 working applications written in Python? transportation tracking with GIS systems membership registration and billing system system utilization monitoring recipe and shopping database ... If I thought that working in 2.5 limited application expression, I would be all for starting with 3.x. However, the sense I have is that 3.x, while providing some improvements, would limit the developer more than 2.x given the number of packages that now support 3.x with full confidence. Are there 3.x capabilities that are an order of magnitued better than in 2.x? Please tell me. My 2 cents. (I am still on the gold standard, so we do not have inflation caused by the printing of more green pieces of paper. :-) Inflation is not higher prices. Inflation is the situation caused by printing more pieces of paper than there exists real value. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/inflation) Kindest regards, Paul Watson From srilyk at gmail.com Mon Jun 29 03:54:01 2009 From: srilyk at gmail.com (Wayne) Date: Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:54:01 -0500 Subject: [PyAR2] [PyAR2-organizers] Setting a day for PyArkansas 2009 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <333efb450906281854w3103b8c3vbc047d6da9bd150e@mail.gmail.com> 2009/6/27 Greg Lindstrom > Hello everyone, > > I'd like to pick out day for the pyArkansas (do we want to call it > Arkansas.py, or something else?) conference this year. Most people who > responded liked the idea of moving the date to November, with November 14 > being the favorite, so I'm "nominating" it. I'll second the motion! > If no one objects, I'd like us to start thinking about the format. Last > year we had tutorials in the morning (Intro to Python, Python Standard > Library, and System Administration) and shorter "talks" in the afternoon. > One room was left open for "open space", where people who show up can sign > up to talk about anything they want. I'd like to give a shorter talk about GUI frameworks, with a focus on Tkinter, aimed at folks with little to no experience. Do we talk to you about that, Greg? > The question with both is do we present Python 2.x or 3.0 (as you know, 3.0 > is not backwards compatible with 2.x, there are nowhere near the libraries > written for it, but it is the future). I think we should present 2.x (preferably 2.6), with a few mentions about "this is how 3k is different". Mainly with the print function. Most folks on the tutor mailing list suggest holding off on 3.0 for a while, mainly because 1) There are few tutorials focused on 3.0, 2) It will be a while before all of your favourite tools are migrated to 3.0, and 3) most existing code is written in 2.x I think probably next year we should offer one on 3.0, but this year I don't see a real need (but there should definitely be about 1-3 minutes of the talk devoted to 3.0 - what it is and some of the differences. > Other classes requested are Database, Django (web framework), SQLAlchemy, > and GIS. Last year we Had a group from Oklahoma that said they would have > come if we would have had a GIS class (we had a 1-hour talk). I don't know if anyone in the GIS dept at UCA uses python, but it would probably be worth asking (if only to generate some more interest!) > Last year I gave a talk on pyGame and received word from the gentleman who > wrote pyGame that he would be willing to come give a class. I would be pretty excited about that! I know my biggest problem last year was not having enough time to go to all the classes I wanted! Sounds like the lineup this year could be similar. > Someone talked to me about having a "mini" programming contest (aimed at > newbies)? That sounds like a really cool idea. I know Tom Winters, who's coaching our CS Programming Team has some python/pygame experience. I could shoot him an email and ask for some ideas. > Again, if there are no objections, I'd like to start contacting potential > teachers to see if they are available to give classes. We cover the cost of > their travel and hotel. Last year we also gave a modest stipend to each > teacher as well as an "Arkansas" gift. I can't remember if we did - I don't think so - but we should definitely get them some "Arkansas Traveler" certificates - AFAIK they're free at the Capitol Building. Would there be interest in meeting on IRC next week to start discussing > this? I'd be interested. -Wayne -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: