"reduce(function, sequence)" returns a single value constructed by calling the binary function function on the first two items of the sequence, then on the result and the next item, and so on. For example, to compute the sum of the numbers 1 through 10:
>>> def add(x,y): return x+y
...
>>> reduce(add, range(1, 11))
55
Jeff gave a presentation on Crunchy (http://crunchy.sourceforge.net/) Talk about a gee whiz app. We poked at it with sticks and xkill ( http://www.xfree86.org/current/xkill.1.html) to figure out how/who had control of the tkinter/wx/gtk windows.
The graphics capabilities brought out some questions about graphing packages available to Python. Jeff recalled a recent blog entry by Fuzzyman a.k.a Michael Foord (http://www.voidspace.org.uk/python/weblog/) about him looking for a graphing package to use with IronPython ( http://www.voidspace.org.uk/python/weblog/arch_d7_2007_06_23.shtml#e753).
A bit of googling and gnuplot ( http://gnuplot.info/) was found.
Next was a question about xml parsers from someone new to Python and while no one was definitive, we suggested that they look at elementtree (http://docs.python.org/lib/module-xml.etree.ElementTree.html) and lxml (http://codespeak.net/lxml/index.html)
The conversation then drifted towards web development. We had a java programmer in the group who has been recently been using Django (http://www.djangoproject.com/) and is becoming enamored with Python. We gabbed about storm (https://storm.canonical.com/) and news about how the TurboGears had started implementing TG2 (http://www.blueskyonmars.com/2007/06/27/turbogears-2-a-reinvention-and-back-to-its-roots/)
as an abstraction on top of Pylons (http://pylonshq.com/). There was also talk of mod_wsgi ( http://www.modwsgi.org/) and how it is different than mod_python (http://www.modpython.org/). Jeff shared a little bit about mod_wsgi's embedded and daemon modes he had picked up from Graham's recent blog entry (http://blog.dscpl.com.au/2007/07/web-hosting-landscape-and-modwsgi.html).
The talk then veered in to lambda (http://docs.python.org/ref/lambdas.html) and the java types whispered "anonymous" <g> This quickly veered in to discussion on how binding (http://docs.python.org/ref/naming.html) operates, which lead to
an impromptu demonstration of passing a function as an argument to a function and how you assign a function to a dictionary element.
>>> def f(x):
... return x*x
...
>>> print f(2)
4
>>> def g(fn,x):
... return apply(fn,[x])
...
>>> g(f,2)
4
>>> d={}
>>> d['foo']=f
>>> print d['foo'](2)
4
As the meeting came to a close, we decided to change the meeting time from the 2nd Thursday of the month to the 1st Wednesday of the month. In the case that a holiday coincides with or is immediately adjacent to that day, the meeting will be held 1 week later on the second Wednesday. There was also a motion to move the meeting location and two locations were put up for consideration:
* Scooter's Java Express @ 120th and Blondo
* Student Union @ UNO's campus, 60th and Dodge
We will investigate these two locations and report back to the list for a vote by early next week.
Brad S. won the Door Prize of "Python in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition". Tom never contacted us to pick it up so he lost out from last month. Sorry Tom.
Thanks and appreciation to Jay and Reboot The User for donating the meeting space and Dundee Media & Technology, Inc. for the pizza and pop.
Well now, that was quite a meeting. We ended up not talking about any of the announced subjects so it was a very good meeting (I like spontaneous talks). Eli made an appearance tonight and for a sysadmin who doesn't "program", Eli has produced some pretty interesting python projects. sipie, Pronounced SY PIE, like "sirius python", sipie is a command-line player for Sirius online Internet streaming
We also talked about using private certs and CA's, the different python based packages and use them with the twisted framework. Eli hammered out the details and did something with twisted that not many knew was possible. Thanks for sharing -- Very Cool.
As with previous meetings, kudos to Jay and Reboot The User for graciously donating the space for the gathering. The new executive conference room is nearing completion -- we will be stylin' then. Also, props to Todd for covering the pizza guy before I got there. Pizza and Pop sponsored by DM&T.
And finally, thanks to O'Reilly (Marsee) for the great door prize. Eli, even won the door prize, "Programming Python" by Mark Lutz.
Mark your calendars early, June 14, and don't miss out on the fun.
We'll be giving away a copy of "Python in a Nutshell", 3rd Edition for a door prize. There will be food and drink and hopefully many more "lightning" talks about projects by local python developers. There is a rumor that we might get a sneak peek (and play) with a beta unit mame based gaming console (think arcade size console).
-Jeff
www.OmahaPython.org
