Create our own python source repository

[qwweeeit]

Hi all,
beeing almost a newbie, I am trying to learn from experts.
For that reason I am collecting examples of Python sources (and
Pythonic way of programming...) on a CD, ready to be searched.
By now, I extracted from web (using wget) all the examples of Cookbook
Python (35 Mb!). After some polishing and merging I obtained 20 files
(one for each Category), which sum up to 12 Mb).
To this source repository, I want also add my own scripts. But since my
programming habits are not very Pythonic, I should prefer to include
more meaningful examples.
In the web there is plenty of such material, but I need the advice of
experts to address me in the right direction...
Bye.

[Rob Cowie]

I'm not entirely sure what the point of your exercise is - if you have
access to the net, ,why do you want to collate code examples? They are
frequently updated in the cookbook so an offline repository would
quickly become out of date.

However.... you've aroused my interest in something related. We all
know Python is significantly easier for novice programmers to grasp
than, say, Java - I too am a newbie who started at uni with java and
wished I hadn't.

Tutorials are great, self paced learning is great, BUT, for the
complete beginner a well structured, offline course with examples,
exercises, tips etc. would be a brilliant resource. Python would fit
the bill as a demonstration language to teach Object Orientation, flow
control statements, other common constructs etc. A quick canvas of some
IT teachers I know indicates support for such a thing - perhaps even in
secondary shools (pre-uni).

What does everyone think it would take to start such a project, and
distribute it? or has it been done already?

[qwweeeit]

Hi Rob,
thank you for your reply. I am further commenting on your doubts ("I'm
not entirely sure what the point of your exercise is") and on your
proposal of a project for more structured tutorials.

About the second item, I fully agree with you. I should be even more
drastic: for a certain argument I'd prefer an application fully
explained (also if not covering all the features) to a more general
tutorial with only brief and unrelated code snippets.
Unfortunately, that's not the way things are normally done, because it
is much harder to build a useful application and fully comment it (also
from the theoretical point of view, like, for example, OO or database
management)

As far as the 1st item is concerned, I know that Cookbook Python is
frequently updated, but for my purposes also a "freezed" situation is
OK, and "grepping" is much more useful than "googling" over the web.
For that reason I want also add to the repository "my" examples of
Python scripts, to build on already known tools.
To give an example, the other day I wanted to use "writelines()" to
save a list to a file. Having already used such a file method, but not
remembering where and when, I was obliged to consult the Library
Reference for the sintax and for the type of list instead of merely
cutting and pasting from my code...
Bye.

[datacide]

Hello,

I use MoinMoin (a python wiki) desktop edition to collect and sort code
snippets and classes.
It runs standalone (comes with its own webserver) and does the job just
fine.

regards
dc

[qwweeeit]

Hi datacide,
before, the good part...: thank you for your replay. Your suggestion
has opened me a new worldl: an alternative method to get web
resources.
Now the bad part: your is an example of "guru's suggestion", that is a
few words from which the poor newbye can't exctract much. It is much
more useful is you give also some web directions to get the tool and
install it (if it is not straightforwad...).
Of course the top would be to give a short example of what you mean by
"collect and sort code snippets and classes).
My method is much ruder: to merge the various htmls and get rid of the
spurious parts...
(I am making the same mistake, that is ...few words, but I'm not a
guru!).
Bye.

[Michele Simionato]

qwwee:

for a certain argument I'd prefer an application fully
explained (also if not covering all the features) to a more general
tutorial with only brief and unrelated code snippets.
Unfortunately, that's not the way things are normally done, because it
is much harder to build a useful application and fully comment it

A part the Cookbook, I know of at least two Python books taking the
approach you describe:

1. Dive into Python (Pilgrim)
2. Programming Python (Lutz)

Dive into Python is free (and even translated in Italian on
www.python.it, IIRC)

Michele Simionato

[Brian van den Broek]

Michele Simionato said unto the world upon 21/06/2005 07:58:

qwwee:

for a certain argument I'd prefer an application fully
explained (also if not covering all the features) to a more general
tutorial with only brief and unrelated code snippets.
Unfortunately, that's not the way things are normally done, because it
is much harder to build a useful application and fully comment it

A part the Cookbook, I know of at least two Python books taking the
approach you describe:

1. Dive into Python (Pilgrim)
2. Programming Python (Lutz)

Dive into Python is free (and even translated in Italian on
www.python.it, IIRC)

Michele Simionato

Not free, but:

Practical Python, published by the same press as the Pilgrim, steps
through incremental approaches to large (by book standards)
applications. From the author's site:

"Hetland devotes the second half of the book to project development,
taking great care to choose a series of ten increasingly complex
applications that are of timely and wide-ranging interest to
burgeoning and expert developers alike. Project focus includes
automated document conversion, newsgroup administration, graphical PDF
document generation, remote document maintenance, the creation of a
peer-to-peer system with XML-RPC, database integration, and GUI and
game development.
"
http://hetland.org/writing/practical-python/

best,

Brian vdB

[gene tani]

Practical Python is quite a good book. And to re-iterate again, teh
humongous tutorial list which has Hetland's Instant python among
others:

http://www.awaretek.com/tutorials.html

Brian van den Broek wrote:

Michele Simionato said unto the world upon 21/06/2005 07:58:

qwwee:

for a certain argument I'd prefer an application fully
explained (also if not covering all the features) to a more general
tutorial with only brief and unrelated code snippets.
Unfortunately, that's not the way things are normally done, because it
is much harder to build a useful application and fully comment it

A part the Cookbook, I know of at least two Python books taking the
approach you describe:

1. Dive into Python (Pilgrim)
2. Programming Python (Lutz)

Dive into Python is free (and even translated in Italian on
www.python.it, IIRC)

Michele Simionato

Not free, but:

Practical Python, published by the same press as the Pilgrim, steps
through incremental approaches to large (by book standards)
applications. From the author's site:

"Hetland devotes the second half of the book to project development,
taking great care to choose a series of ten increasingly complex
applications that are of timely and wide-ranging interest to
burgeoning and expert developers alike. Project focus includes
automated document conversion, newsgroup administration, graphical PDF
document generation, remote document maintenance, the creation of a
peer-to-peer system with XML-RPC, database integration, and GUI and
game development.
"
http://hetland.org/writing/practical-python/

best,

Brian vdB