Linkblog - 11.7.2010 - 6.9.2010

COBOL ON COGS - I am at a loss for words ...

DOS on Dope: The last MVC web framework you'll ever need - I am scared.

Plac - a very nice option parser for command-line tools. The special feature: the parameters are simply determined from the function definitions and the whole thing works from Python 2.3 onwards (with some limitations in syntax, as there were no decorators in Python 2.3 and annotations only exist from Python 3 onwards). Seems to be a good way to build tools that should run on multiple Python versions (because otherwise only getopt remains and that is really very primitive).

Python Datastructures Backed by Redis @ Irrational Exuberance - Redis itself is already very interesting because it is not just a simple key-value store, but structured data (lists, sets) are allowed as values. And with this library, Redis structures are accessible as normal Python data types, making programming with Redis even simpler. Combined with replication in Redis, this could be very interesting in clustered environments.

Schwarz-Gelb agrees on longer nuclear power plant operating times - the stupid talk and back-patting of the bought and turned proletarians disgusts me the most.

zeromq - no idea if I already had it, but hey, repetitions also exist on TV. Interesting about ZeroMQ: it has almost no real build dependencies and is therefore directly installable on many systems. Oh, it's a message queue server with a lean interface and good performance.

No more summer fun?: Weekly market before privatization - Münstersche Zeitung - great, just ruin the highlights of Münster, then it will soon be as boring here as in the hollow heads of the planners ...

Digital Literature: Neal Stephenson and the digital-social Mongols - Golem.de - with Neal Stephenson, the result could even be quite interesting. And if the app for iPhone and iPad is then approved, it would be even cooler.

JazzScheme - huh? Seems to have completely passed me by - there is an IDE for Gambit Scheme that runs on multiple platforms and can create binaries for OS X, Windows, and Linux.

Quicklisp - get started with Common Lisp libraries, quickly - Zach Beane is finally going to address the problem of the rather chaotic library situation for Common Lisp and is building a central repository for libraries with easy installation on various Lisp systems. In principle, something like PyPi or CPAN. Which is generally very interesting - but would be even more interesting if there were somewhere on the site or the group or the GitHub a hint as to how to actually get it running and with which Common Lisp ... (ok, it's still very early development status, but still - the only documentation a screencast? Hello?)

Paver: Easy Scripting for Software Projects - interesting small replacement for Make. Especially in connection with Python projects, it sounds very useful.

Pysistence - just checked if something like this exists or if I should write it myself. Pysistence implements functional persistent data structures for Python. This means that there are no side effects, but rather that each function provides a new version of the data, with common substructures shared across different versions (in order to be able to work efficiently with them both in terms of runtime and space requirements). I definitely need to take a look at this, as in many cases the lack of proper implementations of functional data structures in Python has bothered me.

The Official web2py Book - I'm a Djangonaut, but here's an online web2py book. And it doesn't hurt to look over the horizon.

emscripten - Compile LLVM bytecode to JavaScript, with loop detection etc. It's even usable to compile non-trivial C/C++ code to JavaScript. The author sees, for example, a purpose in porting existing game code to the JavaScript world, so it's quite serious. No indication whether you can boot a Linux kernel on a website with it ...

lambdaj - brings Java anonymous functions and higher-order functions (well, at least approximations of these).

nakkaya's static at master - GitHub - static site generator for websites in Clojure.

Project Aon: Main / Home (browse) - what you might come across on the net. Official online versions of "hyperlinked" stories - namely the Lone Wolf books. Quite well-made "interactive" books. And as websites with links and a notepad as a notepad, quite fun to play through.

Creating ePub files with Pages - the latest iWork 9 version of Pages now includes ePub export. Could be a fairly simple way to create your own eBooks, provided Pages can handle the source of the eBook.

Meliae python memory analysis in Launchpad - sounds very interesting, bookmarked for later problems, could help with one or the other problem. Installation is quite simple via pip install meliae or easy_install meliae, it is also listed on pypi.

Cosina joins Micro Four Thirds system: Digital Photography Review - I've been waiting for this for a while, for one of the independent optical manufacturers to jump on the Micro 4/3 bandwagon. The fact that it's Cosina makes me particularly happy - they have a whole range of optical delights in their lineup. And the Nokton 25/0.95 announced for October is one of them. A highly light-sensitive lens in this form could make the GF1 really fun. However, focusing will then be quite a gamble at full aperture: the lens has no autofocus.

[Cython] ANN: Cython 0.13 released!](http://www.mail-archive.com/cython-dev@codespeak.net/msg09503.html) - There's a new release for Cython (formerly PyRex). And the language for Python extensions is becoming increasingly complete. This makes it much easier to create performance-critical parts of the code because you can work in a very Python-like language.

If anyone wonders where I was - among other places, in Berlin.

where I was too - in Paris.

Due to the boom: Business association wants to shorten vacation - taz.de - Summer slump pusher.

Multiplication is easier when it's complex - too early to read it all now, but it looks interesting.

Virtual internet lady provokes espionage in the USA | tagesschau.de - somehow only one comment fits here. Facepalm. And every comment about the weakest link in the chain is simultaneously strangely fitting and inappropriate.

Emotion Markup Language (EmotionML) 1.0 - wa.., mom..., check calendar - no, it's not April 1st. facepalm.

JEmacs - the Java/Scheme-based Emacs - just for future curiosity blogged.

Scribes - Simple And Powerful Text Editor for GNOME - interesting project, an editor that is expandable in Python. Since I work with Linux at work, I could take a look at it after the vacation.

EU-Kommission plant Umstellung aller Girokonto-Nummern | tagesschau.de - typical bureaucratic action. Most people will continue to make the majority of their transfers within their own country, but then they will have to enter the monsters of IBAN and BIC, just in case a transfer might occur across national borders ...

PEP 380 -- Syntax for Delegating to a Subgenerator - a very interesting point for extending Python. So interesting that Guido could imagine implementing this PEP even now, bypassing the moratorium. Generators in Python are becoming a very pleasant language feature for me - code often becomes much more compact and readable. If only Django were also available for Python 3, I could use some of the new features there. Python 2.7 somewhat alleviates the pain.

saucelabs's monocle at master - GitHub - interesting package for easier programming of asynchronous routines in Python. Particularly interesting: it supports not only Twisted but also Tornado.

Hg-Git Mercurial Plugin - did I already have this? No idea, doesn't matter, it's good, can't hurt to repeat.

Valued Lessons: Monads in Python (with nice syntax!) - very interesting hack that can indeed have practical use. Found at Schockwellenreiter.

PJS4iPad - Project Hosting on Google Code - this is a really cool project: processing.js in a variant for the iPad, which uses HTML5 local storage to save programs locally, so that you can work offline with your own program. Interesting, for example, to doodle a bit while on the go (write small programs that have interesting visual effects). And because it's all a web app, the AppStore restriction does not apply.

0.7 Release - OpenSim - I think I should take a look at the latest version of OpenSim again. The changes sound very interesting - a private Minigrid with HyperGrid connection to other grids would be very interesting. And with current root servers, you could easily do this with general access.

Check out TIDE 2.0 beta - a JavaScript IDE that runs entirely in the browser.

AR.Drone.com – Parrot Wi-Fi quadricopter. Augmented Reality games on iPhone, iPod touch & iPad - poorly blogged, because somehow this thing could really appeal to me. Ok, it needs a WiFi signal that it can receive, but surely you can still have a lot of fun with it.

Python IDE with Django support : JetBrains PyCharm - the JetBrains people (who make IntelliJ) have now built a pure Python IDE based on IntelliJ and it has a lot of interesting features. I should take a look at it, especially since it also includes support for Django and Google App Engine.

Don't Hold It Wrong - because at the moment a large group of tech experts are out there to explain why the iPhone 4 should be so terribly bad: not holding onto the antenna is quite common with mobile phones. As can be seen in this collection of images and texts from instructions of various phones.

Dangers on the Net: Criminal investigators demand reset button for the Internet - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - Netzworld - somehow they should stop reading bad thrillers and believing every nonsense printed in the Blödzeitung, these "naysayers" ...

itod's fluidium at master - GitHub - the foundation of Cruz (social browser), Fluid (site specific browser) and Fake (browser automation ala Automator). Suitable as a basis for RIA as well as a basis for specific browsers for websites or mashups or whatever. However, it's Mac only.

Panasonic DMC-LX5K Support and Service Information - the successor to the LX3 is in the works - and the data looks very good. Hopefully, they have added a lock to the mode dial or designed the detents to be a bit firmer. The extended focal length range and the extra shutter button for filming are already good. The LX3 is currently my favorite always-with-me camera, despite the somewhat annoying mode dial that adjusts itself too easily.

Lightweight Approach to AOP in Python - and while we're on the topic of AOP: there is also a library for Python.

Mobile/firefoxhome - MozillaWiki - fail. Because they couldn't look beyond their ego and only built minimal in-app browsing features. If they had at least implemented the basic features of Mobile Safari (with multiple open pages to switch between), it could be used as a full-fledged replacement for Safari - with simultaneous cross-platform bookmark management. But as they have implemented it, the built-in mini-browser is only a nuisance. It is of course always helpful to access your Firefox bookmarks, but it could have been much more. There are already several alternative browsers in the AppStore, but none that support usable bookmark syncing. And so Firefox Home has starved halfway (and why it didn't come out as a universal app for iPhone and iPad right away, only Mozilla knows).

Building iPhone Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript - for those who don't want to deal with the AppStore and are satisfied with a web app, here's a book about it. Under CC license.

jquery-aop - Project Hosting on Google Code - AOP provides (among other things) easier programmed debugging and is very practical when you want to modify frameworks afterwards, but don't want wild monkey-patching. Since jQuery is my preferred JavaScript tool, I should take a closer look at this.

Union against homeopathy at public expense - rightly so. After all, religion is not covered by public health insurance either.

jessenoller.com - PEP 3148 Accepted: “futures – execute computations asynchronously” - the PEP is a bit too oriented towards the Java world, I would have preferred a leaner and more Python-specific implementation, but at least. Particularly interesting are the considerations to look at concurrency stuff again and sort it out.

Chickenfoot - this is what runs under CoScripter. ChickenFoot is not just some ad-hoc scripting language like in CoScripter, but simply JavaScript with a quite interesting automation library integrated. So as a building block, in my opinion better suited, especially since the scripts remain on the local computer.