Hijack! Different book: (was: Opinions about this new Python book?

[kyosohma at gmail.com]

On Aug 15, 12:52 pm, Dennis Lee Bieber <wlfr... at ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> On Wed, 15 Aug 2007 08:32:30 -0700, kyoso... at gmail.com declaimed the
> following in comp.lang.python:
>
> > More on the subject...the writer is very conversational in tone and it
> > makes for a light read in the first 1 1/2 chapters that I've
> > completed. I've noticed a couple of sentence errors, but nothing in
> > the code.
>
>         Hopefully it isn't quite as annoying as some of what I've found in
> the Turbogears book that recently arrived from Amazon. (Rapid Web
> Applications with TurboGears)
>
>         I've so far found a couple of pages where editing rewrites of
> paragraphs left redundancies. Example -- section 4.3:
>
> second paragraph
>
> """
> ... We set up some variables, and then create a new /Bookmark/ object
> with the exact same syntax we used earlier in the chapter when we
> created our first bookmark through /tg-admin shell/.
> """
>
> sentence/sample code/next paragraph
>
> """
> This method sets up a few variables, and then creates a new /Bookmark/
> object using the exact same syntax we used earlier in the chapter when
> we created out first bookmark through /tg-admin shell/. ...
> """
>
>         That's the most blatant, so far, but I've found a few other examples
> where a paragraph below a code sample basically restates the paragraph
> above it; and the paragraph above seems confusing because it reads as if
> it is commenting on prior material, not following material.
>
> It's as if the book had been first written using, say, "describe, show
> code", then edited by someone favoring "show code, explain" style... And
> the two versions were then merged by a third person... Hmmm, there are
> three authors...
>
> --
>         Wulfraed        Dennis Lee Bieber               KD6MOG
>         wlfr... at ix.netcom.com             wulfr... at bestiaria.com
>                 HTTP://wlfraed.home.netcom.com/
>         (Bestiaria Support Staff:               web-a... at bestiaria.com)
>                 HTTP://www.bestiaria.com/

I have this book, but I haven't read it. However, I think the user
reviews on Amazon complained quite a bit about the TurboGears book's
writing and how it was pretty lousy. Even the code was broken. I look
forward to seeing just how truly awful it is.

As for this book, "Python Power!", I haven't noticed anything like
what you describe. An example issue I've noticed is stuff like this
sentence:

"There are a few catches and caveats work mentioning, however"

Obviously, "work" should be "worth". There are instances like that
where a real editor should have caught it, but a Word Processor
wouldn't.

Mike