Byte of Python revived

The 1.20 version of ‘A Byte of Python’ is finally out – this new release has been long overdue – more than 9 months since the last release. This is the revival of the snake charmer ;)

This new version is a rewrite of the book and I’ve improved the explanations of most of the examples and added some new examples as well.

I took most time to rewrite my DocBook setup and to write new scripts to handle the generation of the various output formats. I tried to make it a platform-independent thing by using the Java-based DocBook tools but it was simply too slow and cumbersome. xsltproc simply rocks!

Okay, getting back on track… I will be formally announcing the mailing list for the book tonight (after I reach home).

I will be writing some new chapters for the book on topics such as databases, wxPython, new style classes, and hopefully chapters on advanced topics such as metaclasses and decorators as well. It’s gonna take time and patience and lot of feedback from you guys to help me accomplish this.

I haven’t planned on how to go about all this yet. However, you can join the mailing list if you want to give your suggestions, criticisms and comments.

Sidenote: I’m really groggy now, I slept at 5 am after making many edits to the book and then doing the xsltproc dance and uploading all the stuff to ByteOfPython.info and the Ibiblio mirror.