Dr. Dobb's Python-URL! - weekly Python news and links (Oct 2)

[Raymond Hettinger]

QOTW:  "the DOM API is designed for consultants, not for humans or
computers" -- Fredrik Lundh giving solace to a confused DOM API user

QOTW:  "Python enjoys making tradeoffs that drive *someone* crazy 
<wink>" -- Michael Hudson's signature line attributed to Tim Peters


Discussion
----------
    Alex Martelli shows the classic example for the "for-else"
    construct:
        <http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=AyCcb.164837%24R32.5292095@news2.tin.it>

    Peter Hansen presents a simple solution to intercepting outgoing 
    SMTP traffic like some anti-virus programs do:
	<http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=3F7B1305.5579D5FB@engcorp.com>

    Descriptors puzzle Denis S. Otkidach; at first, Michael Hudson judges
    his example a bug; then, Alex provides an external link to a clear
    explanation; then Michael concludes all is in order and finds out that
    the answer was already in the official docs.  Moral:  the new docs are
    more complete than ever.
	<http://groups.google.com/groups?threadm=mailman.1065036005.21807.python-list@python.org>

    Alex Martelli demonstrates the basics of extending a class and
    answers related questions about local variable scope and encapsulation:
        <http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=OLxeb.148140%24hE5.5036439@news1.tin.it>

    Oren Tirosh neatly solves the problem of validating keyword argument
    dictionaries:
        <http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=mailman.1064832220.26073.python-list@python.org>

    Shu-Hsien Sheu innocently asks when try/except is preferred to
    if/then.  The ensuing conversation nicely covers the most common
    use cases, good program design, and Python's unique approach to
    the subject:
	<http://groups.google.com/groups?threadm=mailman.1064330017.10730.python-list@python.org>

    Raymond Hettinger (yours truly) invites comments on PEP-322, reverse
    iteration methods:
	<http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=95rcb.2002%24yU5.1775@nwrdny01.gnilink.net>
	<http://www.python.org/peps/pep-0322.html>

    Stephen Horne initiates threads discussing PEP-284 (integer for-loops)
    and PEP-315 (Enhanced while loops):
	<http://groups.google.com/groups?threadm=5j4vmvgnr5v68f6lupbpgt0mop6l7ps2sn@4ax.com>
	<http://www.python.org/peps/pep-0284.html>
        <http://groups.google.com/groups?threadm=oalumvopu9afuhno85tbp2erl52rk9hht1@4ax.com>
	<http://www.python.org/peps/pep-0315.html>

    Skip Montanaro's concept glossary was built by the community through
    a wiki and then added to the tutorial.  See the results at:
	<http://www.python.org/dev/doc/devel/tut/node16.html>

    This week's language change suggestions:
    * adding an iterreverse() method to list, tuples, xrange, and strings

Releases
--------
    Python 2.3.2c1 - release candidate for Python 2.3.2.  Expect the
    final release this week at:
	<http://www.python.org/2.3.2/>

    ZODB 3.2b2 - last new work and bugfixes before the ZODB 3.2 final 
    release:
	<http://www.zope.org/Products/ZODB3.2>

    wxPyPlot 1.2 -an enhanced derivative of wxPlotCanvas for lightweight
    plotting in wxPython:
	<http://www.cyberus.ca/~g_will/wxPython/wxpyplot.html>

    DocIndexer 0.5.1.1 - toolkit (written in Python) for indexing and
    searching document directories:
	< http://www.methods.co.nz/docindexer/>

    IbPy 0.2 - third-party implementation of the API used for accessing
    the Interactive Brokers on-line trading system:
	<http://ibpy.sourceforge.net/>

    SciParam 1.0.1 - Python package to easily add additional quality
    control for entering scientific parameters in wxPython-based user
    interfaces.
	<See http://great-er.intevation.org/sciparam/>

    pylint 0.2 - source code checker for Python code:
	<http://www.logilab.org/projects/pylint>

    texd 0.4 - daemon form of PyTeX, a tool script generated
	typesetting use TeX:
        <http://cvs.sourceforge.net/cgi-bin/viewcvs.cgi/texd/>


========================================================================
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 at pythonjournal.com and editor at 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:
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or
  http://groups.google.com/groups?oi=djq&as_q=+Python-URL!&as_ugroup=comp.lang.python


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