Python tutorial

[fingal]

Interesting... I wonder why Raymond didn't take a stance in favor of Python or Perl in his book 'Rebel Code'

I am not sure where that list came from but in my opinion it is incomplete. For instance you are missing Donald Knuth, and Guido van Rossum... Those two guys are big and I'd dare to say bigger than Raymond (my subjective opinion)

I know ... lists are subjective things. Alan Cox should also be on that list, and there must be many many others.

[daacosta]

I know ... lists are subjective things. Alan Cox should also be on that list, and there must be many many others.

Don Knuth's website is: http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/

The fact that I read about TeX in Rebel Code made me want to learn about LaTeX and Donald Knuth... I am seriously thinking about buying his book "The Art of Computing Programming" Don is one of the coolest hacker I know about...

Somebody should open a thread about this...

[fingal]

Don Knuth's website is: http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/

The fact that I read about TeX in Rebel Code made me want to learn about LaTeX and Donald Knuth... I am seriously thinking about buying his book "The Art of Computing Programming" Don is one of the coolest hacker I know about...

Somebody should open a thread about this...

It would be an interesting thread. Haven't got time to think about it at the moment: too busy <sob>. I haven't read 'Rebel Code' - is it any good? I can't find a good list of hackers anywhere. Could the thread you suggest include that?

[daacosta]

It would be an interesting thread. Haven't got time to think about it at the moment: too busy <sob>. I haven't read 'Rebel Code' - is it any good? I can't find a good list of hackers anywhere. Could the thread you suggest include that?

Rebel Code was written by Glyn Moody. The book is fantastic as it portrays most of the personalities involved in Linux and open source software... I recommend it...

The catedral and the bazaar by Raymond is also interesting but dense... I didn't care much for Linus' book Just for fun... The Joy of Linux by Michael Hall and Brian Proffitt is tedious... Other books in the subject are just a bore to read...

I am a big fan of Don Knuth but some other people might prefer Ted Tso, Alan Cox, Linus Torvalds, etc. I like Stallman but his radicalism turns me off...

[fingal]

Rebel Code was written by Glyn Moody. The book is fantastic as it portrays most of the personalities involved in Linux and open source software... I recommend it...

The catedral and the bazaar by Raymond is also interesting but dense... I didn't care much for Linus' book Just for fun... The Joy of Linux by Michael Hall and Brian Proffitt is tedious... Other books in the subject are just a bore to read...

I am a big fan of Don Knuth but some other people might prefer Ted Tso, Alan Cox, Linus Torvalds, etc. I like Stallman but his radicalism turns me off...

I'll read Rebel Code then ... I have to start reading again soon (I seem to have dried up in that respect) ... Raymond's writing style is very academic and tedious, but he does make some interesting points sometimes. I have a copy of The Hacker Ethic by Pekka Himanen which isn't bad: not sure you would enjoy that though. I suspect it's not your style.

I prefer a lighter approach to subjects these days: you know? Fun/humour makes things more memorable, and it's good to be playful as well as serious. How about a book called, 'The Joy of Tux'?

As for Stallman's radicalism. Hmmmm: I love radicals, but I'm not sure what the word means. It's not going to become political here, but Linus's dad was a Communist; Stallman is a visionary and in today's world people don't seem to like that. I know what you mean though: Torvalds gets things done, Stallman does the talking. I do the sweeping generalisations.

[daacosta]

I'll read Rebel Code then ... I have to start reading again soon (I seem to have dried up in that respect) ... Raymond's writing style is very academic and tedious, but he does make some interesting points sometimes. I have a copy of The Hacker Ethic by Pekka Himanen which isn't bad: not sure you would enjoy that though. I suspect it's not your style.

I prefer a lighter approach to subjects these days: you know? Fun/humour makes things more memorable, and it's good to be playful as well as serious. How about a book called, 'The Joy of Tux'?

As for Stallman's radicalism. Hmmmm: I love radicals, but I'm not sure what the word means. It's not going to become political here, but Linus's dad was a Communist; Stallman is a visionary and in today's world people don't seem to like that. I know what you mean though: Torvalds gets things done, Stallman does the talking. I do the sweeping generalisations.

Believe it or not there is a book called "The Joy of Linux" which is, in my opinion, a total piece of crap. The guys go on and on and on and on about the following:

1. Distros wars. Which nowadays is stupid because the community will not hate you for using, say, Ubuntu or Xandros or whatever.
2. Vi vs. Emacs war. One picks the editor he/she likes best and that's it... Besides, there is a explosion of alternatives that makes this debate a dinosaurs affair.
3. Windows sux, Linux rulez... Even if that's the case Windows wont go away and we'll have to share files with Windows users at work and elsewhere...

Not to talk about the fact that the book is so out-dated... Their attempt to use sex inuendos (e.g., The penguin on top, who are your million partners, etc.) is juvenile and lame...

Radicalism perse is not bad but Stallman verges on being alienating and I don't like it. See, I am willing to use closed source programs and enjoy them as long as they are good. I am also willing to pay for good software... Am I evil for that?

radicalism
One entry found for radicalism.
Main Entry: rad·i·cal·ism
Pronunciation: 'ra-di-k&-"li-z&m
Function: noun
1 : the quality or state of being radical
2 : the doctrines or principles of radicals

I will look into the hacker ethic...

And yes, a thread about icons in the open source movement would be fantastic but I haven't had the time to make it Not to talk about my tendency to procrastinate...