Dr. Dobb's Python-URL! - weekly Python news and links (Nov 6)

[Cameron Laird]

QOTW:  "- don't use SAX unless your document is huge
- don't use DOM unless someone is putting a gun to your head" - Istvan Albert

"I wouldn't fret too much about a sharp remark from Fredrik Lundh. 
They're pretty much all that way. ;) It looks like you already did the
right thing - read past the insults, and gleaned the useful information
that he included in between.  It takes a little training to get used to
him, but if you can look past the nasty bite, he's really a valuable
resource." - Steven Bethard


    Alex Martelli and Bengt Richter rely on the galilean property
    and set function to compute whether a list is duplicate-free:
        http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/4b1da706b9f9e622/

    You needn't just pine for syntax from other languages missing
    in Python, such as Perl's "start..end"; if you're Peter Otten,
    you can add it to Python:
        http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/506412e06dfea965/

    Python as podcast!  You might have *thought* you knew about
    the language, but it's a big Python world.
        http://www.awaretek.com/python/index.html

    Similarly, yes, Python can do what strtok() does in C, although
    it's expressed more readably:
        http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/5e71a1da4f5934dc/
        
    Larry Bates demonstrates how simple use of ConfigParser can be:
        http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/321ec0512ed8c926/

    With the new-style object model, type() is a stylish indirection:
        http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/f0fbfae9a69580a3/

    Enthusiastic Alex accuses Van Roy and Hariri of having written
    the 21st century SICP, and more.  Much more.  With references. 
    Yet he (and Magnus Lycka and others) remain faithful:
        http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/77c2035ee4150c11/

    Python's a great general-purpose language.  It can address
    storage devices directly:
        http://groups.google.com/group/comp.os.linux.misc/browse_thread/thread/28eb92576280d3f0/
    it can operate at high level, and 'most everything in between.


========================================================================
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
    marvelous 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.

    For far, FAR more Python reading than any one mind should
    absorb, much of it quite interesting, several pages index
    much of the universe of Pybloggers.
	http://lowlife.jp/cgi-bin/moin.cgi/PythonProgrammersWeblog
        http://www.planetpython.org/
        http://mechanicalcat.net/pyblagg.html

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

    Steve Bethard, Tim Lesher, and Tony Meyer continue the marvelous
    tradition early borne by Andrew Kuchling, Michael Hudson and Brett
    Cannon of intelligently 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/

    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 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/donate.html

    Kurt B. Kaiser publishes a weekly report on faults and patches.
        http://www.google.com/groups?as_usubject=weekly%20python%20patch
       
    Cetus collects Python hyperlinks.
        http://www.cetus-links.org/oo_python.html

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

    The Cookbook is a collaborative effort to capture useful and
    interesting recipes.
	http://aspn.activestate.com/ASPN/Cookbook/Python

    Among several Python-oriented RSS/RDF feeds available are
	http://www.python.org/channews.rdf
	http://bootleg-rss.g-blog.net/pythonware_com_daily.pcgi
	http://python.de/backend.php
    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://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.

    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

    *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/ (requires subscription)
  http://groups-beta.google.com/groups?q=python-url+group:comp.lang.python*&start=0&scoring=d&
  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
There is *not* an RSS for "Python-URL!"--at least not yet.  Arguments
for and against are occasionally entertained.


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

To receive a new issue of this posting in e-mail each Monday morning
(approximately), ask <claird at phaseit.net> to subscribe.  Mention
"Python-URL!".


-- The Python-URL! Team--

Dr. Dobb's Journal (http://www.ddj.com) is pleased to participate in and
sponsor the "Python-URL!" project.