On 3/7/07, [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > This might be a stupid idea... but I might be willing to work with someone > who understands Python web development to work on a better intro tutorial. > The current tutorials are rather cryptic and hard to understand, as they > assume you know what a lot of things are that they are talking about. I was > thinking about taking a rough tutorial on how to make something in Python > (say a simple webpage?) and then ask questions as I go along about the many > things that are not explained... then modify the tutorial to include > explanations and new code samples to make it easier to understand.
If you can make a list of what questions you have after reading tutorials (and include the tutorials' URLs, which may be scattered on several sites), that will help us to see what's missing. "Python web programming" is too big a topic to address in a few tutorials. The best one can do is an overview of the different types of frameworks. You have to focus on one type at a time. The types I can think of offhand are: CGI: 'os.environ' for input, 'print' for output. Some of the minimal mod_python frameworks are close to this. Not used much in large applications (one hopes). file-based: Apache finds a controller file and passes it to a Python framework. This is how PHP works. PSP and Webware do this in Python, but they're not used much for recent applications. class-based: The controllers are arranged in Python class hierarchies rather than files. The relationship between the "/foo" vs the "/foo/bar" controllers is not inheritance but a framework-specific mechanism. In Quixote the parent contains a reference to the child. In TurboGears, CherryPy maintains a tree of controllers. In Pylons, Routes dispatches to an arbitrarily controller. Paste has its config file and some basic dispatching support, but it's too low level to call it "class-based". Twisted frameworks are class-based, but Twisted is so unique you have to learn it separately. Zope/Plone is more object-based than class-based, using an object database and web interface to build the site. It also needs to be studied separately. Django I don't know well enough to say where it belongs, though I assume it's class-based. > BTW, Mike, what's this Python site of yours? I was talking about the Pylons site, http://pylonshq.com/ . > Ever noticed how most documentation sites have some kind of copyright or > copyleft attached to it? Other than the rare Creative Commons site, I have > yet to see any documentation sites dedicated to a kind of "public domain" > documentation -- you know, something with no strings attached - completely > free for all -- akin to the free source licenses for code (MIT, BSD, public > domain). I really would like to have something like this for programmers -- > a site with tutorials, documentations, and quick function references, etc.... > Who knows, perhaps all the people working on the various Python web > frameworks would like to convert over their documentation to this and allow > others to add to it. There's some preliminary discussion about a central site documenting all the frameworks and utility packages and everything else related to Python web programming, but that's a way off. Even if it did exist, each project would have to agree to participate. There would be the usual disagreements about the best content management system and whether it does what each project needs. All the Python-related documentation I've seen has been freely redistributable and derivable, so I don't see a problem with the licenses. You're confusing several different kinds of licenses. Public domain content has no copyright at all, so there's no license involved. That's different from the "really free" licenses (MIT, BSD). By copyleft I assume you mean one of the GNU licenses, which have more restrictions.and are written in four-page legalese. (The restrictions are meant to benefit the consumer and the public, but they are restrictions nonetheless, and can cause problems in a variety of situations.) Most Python libraries have a "really free" license following Python's lead, so they can be used anywhere Python is without hassle. MIT, BSD, and GPL are software licenses, so they don't necessarily work well for book-like content. E.g., modifying source code has quite different ramifications to the user than modifying text. -- Mike Orr <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> -- Mike Orr <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> _______________________________________________ Paste-users mailing list [email protected] http://webwareforpython.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/paste-users
