Python posts

Filed under: Fun, Games, Windows, Linux, Open Source

Off the clock: Unknown Horizons is a free, open-source RTS for Settlers fans

by Sebastian Anthony Oct 25th 2009

It's Sunday, and we're off the clock. Time for a little open-source RTS fun with Unknown Horizons! Though it claims to be a clone of the Anno series by Sunflowers/Ubisoft, you will probably associate this game more with the Settlers games -- a very popular, age-old series of 2D real-time simulation games.

The premise from their own website: 'The player starts with a ship somewhere amid an archipelago. The goal of the game is to found some cities on the islands and to earn money.' Such a simple concept. But as we all know -- the simple games are often the best and last the test of time.

And, believe it or not, defying most open-source expectations, Unknown Horizons actually plays rather well. If you don't mind hammering away at a very, very nascent user interface, this is a great game to have running in the background while you browse your favorite after-hours websites.

Tags: free, games, open gl, open source, OpenGl, OpenSource, python, sdl, settlers

Filed under: Developer, News, Open Source, web 2.0

Django hits 1.0

by Christina Warren Sep 4th 2008

Django, the open source web framework written in Python, has just hit the 1.0 milestone! My sincere congratulations to the entire Django team and community for all of their hard work.

Django (pronounced Jang-oh), like Ruby on Rails, is part of the new-hotness class of web frameworks that has generated interest amongst lots of web developers. Loosely following the model-view-controller paradigm, Django's goal is to create complex database-driven website quickly and efficiently. Pownce is powered by Django, as are parts of The Washington Post. Web developer Jeff Croft's was built using Django, and was actually what inspired me to give the framework a try.

I spent some time this summer playing with Django and was very impressed with its speed and efficiency and the community behind the project. The project released The Django Book online late last year and there are tons of great resources online for anyone wanting to give it a try.

You can download Django here, you just need Python 2.3 or higher.

Tags: django, python, web-frameworks

Filed under: Photo, Utilities, Linux, Yahoo!, Open Source

Flickrfs and DFO, just in case there is a Flickrpocalypse

by Kristin Shoemaker Apr 19th 2008

Ah, Flickr. How we love you. We loved the idyllic pre-Yahoo! days, and held back our tears with the Yahoo! phase of growth. But even when things seem so good, we wonder what the future holds. Microsoft? AOL? An undead uprising?

Now couple our fears with our stupidity. All those photos we uploaded over the past year or two? The ones housed safely on our hard drive? Yeah, right... the hard drive we, in our infinite wisdom, managed to reformat during a routine upgrade?

Flickr, you are our only hope. You hold our memories safe and secure on a server bank. Somewhere. And it's not that we don't trust you. It's Microsoft, AOL, and zombies we have problems with. Sure, some of us could do a mass download from your servers on to our machines. But for others, there's that Microsoft thing again.

We use Linux, and but for one word, we'd be horribly out of luck.

Tags: Flickr, flickrfs, fuse, how-to, Linux, photos, python

Filed under: Developer, Internet, News, Web services, Google, Open Source, Beta, web 2.0

Google launches App Engine

by Christina Warren Apr 8th 2008

Google has just announced the preview release of Google App Engine, which the company is describing as " an application-hosting tool that developers can use to build scalable web apps on top of Google's infrastructure." Think of it like Amazon's web services, but as a fully integrated solution. With Amazon's services, developers can mix and match the various components with each other or with other solutions -- Google App Engine is a one-stop shop of sorts.

Most appealing, Google App Engine is free. During the preview, there are only spots for the first 10,000 developers who sign up, but Google's information page says that free accounts will be available after the initial preview. Of course, the free accounts do have resource limitations (500MB of storage and 5 million page views a month), but free is free!

Let's get into the details:

Applications can be served from the free appspot.com domain or from an external domain via Google Apps
Python is the only language supported right now -- Google says they look forward to supporting other languages in the future, but for right now -- Python is where it is at
Google's service API is built into App Engine -- so Google Accounts can be easily integrated into an application
During the developer preview users are able to register up to 3 applications
The SDK is available for Mac, Windows and Linux

From our perspective, this news is exciting -- if not for what it offers right now -- but for the potential in the future. Only initially supporting Python is a curious choice (though we are big fans of Django), but the ability for developers to execute scalable apps using Google's resources -- for free -- is extremely exciting.

[via TechCrunch]

Tags: app engine, AppEngine, django, google, python, web apps, WebApps

Filed under: Design, Developer, Text, Windows, E-mail, Freeware

Easy HTML To Any Script Converter

by Ian Smith May 30th 2007

Sometimes the headlines just write themselves. Easy HTML To Any Script Converter deserves an award for most accurately named program - ever! It does just what it says. The basic idea is that you paste in a block of HTML, select a language, hit go, and copy the code into your application. The Converter delivers a block of code for the particular language you selected with all offending characters escaped correctly and the HTML ready to be printed to the users screen.

A large number of languages are supported ranging from C# to PHP to JavaScript to Ruby. The actual conversion process is pretty simple. You can even setup your own conversion routine if your particular coding flavor isn't included with the default languages. Another nice feature is that you can convert a single file or a large list of files automatically, without having to copy and paste anything.

One other feature, which appears to have been added as an after thought, is a simple Email to Javascript conversion tool. Enter your email address and the subject you'd like the email to contain and the tool will generate some illegible code that you can put on your web page. The code should protect your email address from the various harvesting bots often used by spammers, but still allow your visitors to email you without going through a nasty contact form.

Tags: asp, conversion wizard, ConversionWizard, email encoding, EmailEncoding, html, python, ruby

Filed under: Developer, Fun, Internet

How-to: Shoot yourself in the foot, programmatically

by Ryan Carter Oct 7th 2006

I just about laughed my butt off reading this. I'll warn you by saying that you need to be a programmer to even "get" the list of language jokes on this page. Of course you will identify with several different languages than I did most likely, but it is a very funny, very enjoyable site to peruse. My non-programmer wife even enjoyed a few of them because some of them are just funny to read aloud. Don't know what I'm talking about? That's why you have to visit the site, you'll get it. A bit of well-placed programming humor, don't you think?

Tags: C, foot, funny, humor, language, PHP, programming, Python, Ruby, shoot, SQL

Filed under: Developer, Text, News

Python 2.5 released!

by Ryan Carter Sep 20th 2006

The latest version of the Python programming language, version 2.5 final, is ready for download. The Python website states that Python 2.5 is ready for production use and should work great. Python 2.5 has had many changes to make it better, faster, and make programming easier for you. Some of the new things in Python are: It now uses the Buildbot tool; conditional expressions have been updated; absolute and relative package imports are now possible; generators got push, throw, and close methods; min and max now have a keyword parameter; and new modules added to the standard library are ctypes, ElementTree, hashlib, sqlite3 and wsgiref. There are many more new things about Python 2.5, so if you use the language, or have wondered about it, it is all about you right now.

Tags: 2.5, developer, dynamic, final, programming, python, scripting

Filed under: Developer, News, Commercial, Open Source

SAP's tools now feature RadRails and Eclipse

by Ryan Carter Sep 13th 2006

SAP's new download includes a bunch of open-source tools including RadRails, Eclipse, PHP/Ruby/Python code generators, and SAP's scripting tools. This shows the growing trend that large software companies are beginning to realize the huge value of free open-source frameworks and ideas. Eclipse and RadRails are excellent tools to use, even for the wizards at SAP so it only makes sense that they use these tools and bundle them for developers. I have always considered SAP to be somewhat forward thinking, but this proves they see the value in the tools already freely available to developers. They are only making life easier on themselves and keeping developers happy too. Sun, Microsoft, IBM, and others have shown signs of embracing open-source tools, though they haven't quite brought their open-source offerings to their full potential. They haven't quite reached critical mass, but they are on the way.

Tags: open-source, PHP, Python, RadRails, Ruby, SAP

Filed under: Internet, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Windows Mobile, Symbian, Palm, Web services, Open Source, Social Software

Skeletonz: a Python-based, AJAX open source CMS

by David Chartier Aug 4th 2006

Just when you think there are plenty of CMS choices available, we track another one down via eHub: Skeletonz, a simple CMS based on Python and AJAX with a few tricks up its sleeve. Since it's in a 1.0 beta for now, the only way to get it is through SVN, and you'll need Python 2.4, MySQL and MySQLdb. Once you're up and running you'll be greeted with standard features like a template system, plugins and an intuitive editing system, along with built-in spell checking for those times when your content matters more than your English degree.

A wiki is also available, including information on where the project is headed. Check out Skeletonz if you've been looking for something a little different from the CMS industry.

Tags: checking, CMS, open source, OpenSource, OSS, plugins, python, skeletonz, spell

Filed under: Design, Developer, Internet, Utilities, Productivity, Web services, Google, Open Source

Google's Open-Source Code Project Hosting

by Chris Gilmer Jul 31st 2006

Google dropped the word a little while ago about some Open Source Community thingy they were working on, and Greg Stein said that he was just putting the finishing touches on it. Well, it looks like it has been released.

The new service from Google is a hosting environment called Project Hosting, that allows developers to upload and store any open-source project code they have in their arsenal. It also allows those interested, to search and download open source codes in Python, C++, Java, Audio, XML, CSharp, Graphics, and many other formats.

Google Code allows users to create new projects under the new hosting environment, giving it a name, summary, description, assigning it a license, (if it is licensed), and labeling it with keywords. The online description together with the keywords, is how users will find the open source code on the Google Project Hosting website.

When a project is opened, It is displayed with the title, description, licenses, and labels. There are also links to Blogs, and Google Groups info on that particular open source code. A great job from Google to help open up and grow the open source community.

Tags: audio, blog, c, code, csharp, google, google code, google groups, GoogleCode, GoogleGroups, graphics, java, open source, OpenSource, project hosting, ProjectHosting, python, xml

Filed under: Developer

Ten questions for great programmers answered

by Jordan Running Jul 25th 2006

Blogger Jaros?aw Rzeszótko sent ten questions to a bunch of notable programmers and posted their answers on his blog. Though not all of his recipients replied, several big names did, including Linux creator Linus Torvalds, Guido Van Rossum, creator of the Python programming language, James Gosling, creator or Java, and Ruby hackers Dave Thomas and David Heinemeier Hansson. To a programmer like myself, their answers are fascinating. Some of the most interesting answers are to the "How did you learn programming?" and "Next big thing" questions. It's interesting to see that the none of the respondents came up with the same answer to "What do you think is the most important skill every programmer should posses?"

[Via Anarchaia]

Tags: Dave Thomas, DaveThomas, David Heinemeier Hansson, DavidHeinemeierHansson, dhh, Guido Van Rossum, GuidoVanRossum, interview, James Gosling, JamesGosling, java, linux, Linux Torvalds, LinuxTorvalds, programmers, programming, python, rails, ruby

Filed under: Developer, Internet, Photo, Web services

Backing up Flickr photos with Amazon S3

by Jordan Running Mar 22nd 2006

People are slowly but surely figuring out what S3, Amazon's new "Simple Storage Service," is good for. Blogger and developer Matt Croydon has written a quick (25 lines!) Python script that automatically backs up his photos from Flickr to S3. Cool. "After uploading 160 or so photos to Amazon, Croydon writes, "I owe them about a penny." I think that putting raw resources like storage, bandwidth, and infrastructure behind a professional-grade API for bargain-basement prices as Amazon has done is brilliant, and is going to spawn a lot of fascinating projects in the near future.

Tags: amazon, api, backup, flickr, python, s3, storage

Filed under: Design, Fun, Video, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Open Source

Blender 2.41 released

by Victor Agreda, Jr. Jan 27th 2006

The Blender 2.40 release was huge. Seven months in the works, it revealed a ton of new features including better character animation tools, a modifier stack, fluid effects, hair, and physics. The Blender 2.41 release was pretty hot on the heels of 2.40, but it adds a bunch of improvements to something I've been wanting for a long time: the Game Engine. The Blender game engine has endured a checkered past. When Blender first went open source, there were fears the engine wouldn't be licensed, as the original agreement was only for the modeling and animation assets. But it looks like recent releases (including 2.40) have been bolstering the engine's features. Key components in this one involve the materials and shaders within the game engine. Previously, well, they sucked. Now you can program pixel and vertex shaders, and use most of the materials you'd find in Blender. The armature system is back, as is sound support. All this and several killer Python tools to boot. If you've never tried Blender before, this is a great time. Now I wish they'd fix the browser plugin...

Tags: 3d, animation, blender, game engine, GameEngine, python

Filed under: Developer, Microsoft, Open Source

Microsoft releases .NET version of Python

by Jordan Running Jan 5th 2006

Last week Microsoft released IronPython, a version of of the Python open source scripting language designed to interoperate with its .NET libraries on Windows or Mono, an open source .NET implementation for Linux. CNet News.com speculates that Microsoft will soon support IronPython in its Visual Studio development environment. IronPython's source code is available from Microsoft's under their shared source license.

Tags: .net, dynamic, ironpython, microsoft, mono, open source, programming, python, scripting, shared source

Filed under: Office, Open Source

Pylize: Ditch PowerPoint for Python and HTML

by Jordan Running Jan 3rd 2006

Who needs GUIs to create presentations? Not you, if you have Pylize. At least, that's the premise. Pylize is an app written in Python that will take a bit of HTML written by you and turn it into a PowerPoint-style presentation that can be viewed in any web browser. You define your presentation's slides and content in an HTML file, add a bit of style using its built-in CSS classes (or your own), then run Pylize and you'll get back a full-fledged standalone presentation. Interesting project and great for those who really want to get down into the guts of their presentations.

[Via Linux.com]

Tags: html, javascript, powerpoint, presentation, pylize, python

Graveyard Shift - zombie-busting Time Waster

With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet. They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...

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