I apologize for going dark for so long after mentioning the idea on the list. I finally have enough information that I really feel like I have something to report. Unfortunately, that means a big update. So, I apologize for that as well.
I have been talking with contacts at O'Reilly and they are quite enthusiastic about the project. We have been working on a few pieces of the puzzle from a technical point of view to determine how we could edit both the code and discussion parts of the recipes collectively. Since the details have not been fully worked out, they are not yet willing to open up what we have been playing with to the world at large. I may be optimistic (which might be a first for me), but I think it's quite possible we will have something that multiple people can work with in the not too distant future. The current approach is based on (a private) github repo. But, this should prove up the ability for many of us to work on recipes collaboratively. We are also playing with a wiki approach to simplify keeping the files in a format that is easy for O'Reilly to publish. I've also had a conversation with Nat and Tom. They are currently wrapping up the next edition of Programming Perl, so they not enthusiastic about adding to the pile at this moment. After some discussion, they understand we are not looking to "take away" the cookbook as a community. Nat is planning to look into the logistics of how this would impact a next edition of the Cookbook. All in all, I'm hoping we will be able to start working on this soon. It's going slower than I had hoped. But, it also hasn't turned into a big disaster like I sort of expected. There have also been several potential spin-offs of this idea that I've discussed at length. I see the following potential goals to pursue: * Provide updated information on some subset of the current Cookbook recipes. This includes the idea that Nat and Tom might use some of our ideas and input in their next update of the book * A community project that can help spread the fundamentals of Perl coding to junior members of our PM groups. * Possibility of building other cookbooks targeted at other areas of Perl usage besides the core information contained in the main Perl Cookbook. The last is one of those ideas where I really think the community could provide a completely new benefit while relieving the main Perl Cookbook from the burden of covering too much. I'll keep the group posted as I learn anything that I can spread around. G. Wade -- There are two ways to write error-free programs; only the third one works. -- Alan Perlis _______________________________________________ Houston mailing list [email protected] http://mail.pm.org/mailman/listinfo/houston Website: http://houston.pm.org/
