Volume 1, Edition 1 makes history

The launch of 'The Python Papers'. The Python Papers

Welcome to The Python Papers. This journal, small though it is, represents the careful efforts of a small group of Python enthusiasts who are keen to form a better community in which developers may work.

As Editor-In-Chief, my role is manifold, but my goals are to improve the level of connectedness of Python developers, and in so doing improve my own developer experience.

The entire editorial board has put time into making this publication something which will hopefully lead to a buildup of momentum, fuelled by the enthusiastic involvement of others who find Python as exciting as we do.

The current issue contains one academic, peer-reviewed article, one industry article, and a list of events coming up in Melbourne, Australia. We would like to expand this list significantly. We offer our services in organising, collating and reviewing submitted content such that Python developers around the world may participate in the creation of something bigger than all of us, for the benefit of all of us. It may be a small journal, a little thing really, but all are welcome, and we look forward to getting to know our readers through the written word.

Please download the first edition, and consider both what it is and what it might be.

For those of you looking to publish an academic paper as a part of coursework or for interest's sake alone, we can offer a formal review process which will meet those guidelines while preserving the goals of freedom of information and community spirit.

Those who are using Python in their work may like to consider using the journal as a means of expressing successes or frustrations with either the language itself or specific applications. We may be able to offer code reviews and style guides, and would be happy to hear about and help propagate news of what is happening so that everyone can take an interest.

For those who would like a reliable source of information, The Python Papers presents a unique and current view into the state of Python at large.

To all of you, welcome!
Cheers,
-Tennessee (Editor-In-Chief)

Launch of new online journal

Hi all,

Part of why I have been so silent is that I have been so busy preparing a new electronic journal on the Python programmming language. You can see this new publication at The Python Journal homepage on the publisher's site, or just straight to the first edition .

Yay!

Cheers,
-MP

Python Search Engine

Google have just released the facility to make a custom search engine online, with the greatest of ease. I have just set one up, covering Python, Philosophy and investment. Currently it includes just seven emphasised website, and it would be great to expand this list.


MelbournePhilosopher's SE

Please comment here and I'll add sites accordingly. It would be great to rapidly build a useful resource with great Python sites emphasised for improved searching!

Cheers,
-T

* Regular review points -- consistent and regular examination of holdings and performance

This is an important aspect. Note -- regular reviews do *not* mean regular trades. In fact, most reviews should probably not result in any trades at all. Reasoning about buying and selling should be independent of the reviews. The best time to buy and/or sell may not be on the day you do your review, but will come around whenever the market conditions are right. The purpose of the review isn't to trigger trades, but to keep abreast of the performance of your portfolio so that when the time is right, it is also recognised.

The easiest kind of regular review is the "buy-and-weed" approach. You plant a bunch of shares, and then weed out those which are not growing well, or perhaps which have already bloomed this season and are ready for rotation. Reviewing even a small portfolio can be very time-consuming to do. I find myself monitoring the share price of the companies I am invested in daily, and have also signed myself up to a news scanning service which emails me around 15 articles a day based on the share codes I have set up. Most of these I ignore -- I probably skim read about one article per day as the rest are minor updates and not of major interest.

Having some regular accounting of ones performance and decisions is well worth it. It removed the rose-coloured glasses of hindsight.

When starting out as I am, I found it useful to have a short checklist of perhaps 5 metrics to "grade" each share against. On that checklist could be:
* The share price on the day and at the time of last review
* A Good/Bad estimate of recent company news
* Whether you have considered buying or selling that share, and the price at the time of consideration
* What the share analysis (usually available from your e-broker) was on the day and at time of last review
* How you feel about the share

If it is difficult to do this, consider just a few shares at a time. Make sure you hit each one at least once every 3 months. This, in concert with a daily glance at the share prices, will help you notice changing market conditions.

Unfortunately, I don't know of much good software to help with this endeavour. The best tools are a workbook and writing stick. Compiling your own data in this way may seem tedious in the modern age, but there is no elegant computer solution that I know of. The exercise of manually creating the tables etc will also focus the attention in a way that using an automated application may not, so it's not all downsides.

After a while, see how each of your dot points looks with hindsight.

Cheers,
-MP