what would you like to see in a 2nd edition Nutshell?

JoeG invalid at bar-s.com
Thu Dec 30 11:29:36 EST 2004


I use your book a lot so another version would be helpful.  I know I'll
buy a copy.  Heck, I'd pay you money just to have access to the draft
while you write it.

One suggestion I have is to include chapters that expand on test based
development and lazy functions.  Maybe you could go into some of the
concepts and methods used in the Zope3 project.  That would be useful
to me because I've been reading a lot about  it but still can't seem to
grok any of it.  It's really hard to learn new concepts from books - no
matter how well written.  I usually need to read several different
sources from different authors to get a decent picture.

That gives me an idea for a perfect book.  Take a single short subject
- say doctest.  Get three or four experts to independently write
chapter.  Then combine the chapters into a section.  That way I could
buy one book and get the different perspectives I need to really
understand the subject.

You could keep the books small and inexpensive.  Twenty bucks and 100
to 200 pages.  It would keep the book projects small and specific and
with four people working separately, they could be cranked out quickly.
Combine them all together and you've got a library.

Well anyway, it's probably beyond the scope of your update but I'd like
to see someone do it. Unlike a lot of authors, I can understand most of
what you write.

I've been working with Python for about a year and I still feel like a
beginner.  That probably gives me a different perspective than most of
the people you'll hear from.  I disagree with your Tkinter vs. wxPython
decision.  I tried a number of programs written with Tkinter and really
didn't like the interface.  The program I helped develop is Windows
based and I knew that a program with the Tkinter interface would never
work as a cross platform environment.  Out existing customers just
wouldn't accept it.   I can't see anyone using Tkinter for new mass
market development.  If you've already got an application written with
it you might want to continue using it but for new projects, wxPython
seems to have some BIG advantages.

wxPython takes on more of the native platform's interface.  I say seems
to because I haven't actually written any code with it.

These are just my opinions.  I've been programming for  over twenty
years now so I do have some perspective on the market even if I don't
have much expertise with Linux or Python development.

Good luck with your update.  Let me know when it's published and I'll
buy a copy.




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