Jump Start Your Career in Programming with the O'Reilly Learning Lab -- Learn programming, systems, and networking skills through the O'Reilly Learning Lab. All Learning Lab courses are online, self-paced, and provide the technology environments needed to develop and practice new skills. In addition, every student is assigned a personal O'Reilly instructor for coaching and feedback throughout each course. Completion of selected course sequences earns students a Certificate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Enroll and start today!

History of Programming Languages -- For 50 years, computer programmers have been writing code, and now, there are more than 2,500 documented programming languages. O'Reilly has produced a poster called History of Programming Languages, which plots over 50 programming languages on a multi-layered, color-coded timeline. The poster is available online in PDF format, but while supplies last, U.S. residents can also get a hard copy of the poster free when purchasing two books through oreilly.com.

Save $200 on a Learning Lab Certificate -- Learning programming languages and development techniques has never been easier. Using your web browser and Useractive's Learning Sandbox technology, the Learning Lab gives you hands-on, online training in a creative environment. And now, when you enroll in any of our four certificate series, you'll receive a $200 instant rebate (and a certificate from the University of Illinois upon course completion). Offer extended through May 31st.

O'Reilly Learning Lab: $200 Instant Rebate -- Learning programming languages and development techniques has never been easier. Using your web browser and Useractive's Learning Sandbox technology, the Learning Lab gives you hands-on, online training in a creative environment (and a Certificate from the University of Illinois College of Extended Education upon course completion). Until May 20th, receive a $200 instant rebate when you enroll in any Certificate Series.

Batch-Running Word Macros from the DOS Command Line -- Looking for an easy way to run any Word macro, on any number of files, right from the DOS command line? Andrew Savikas shows how to do just that, using Perl, Python, and Ruby, with code samples for each scripting language. Andrew is the author of Word Hacks.

Save $200 on a Learning Lab Certificate -- Learning programming languages and development techniques has never been easier. Using your web browser and Useractive's Learning Sandbox technology, the Learning Lab gives you hands-on, online training in a creative environment. And for a limited time, when you enroll in any of our four certificate series, you'll receive a $200 instant rebate (and a certificate from the University of Illinois College of Extended Learning upon course completion). Offer expires March 31.

PyCon 2005 -- Anticipated to be the largest gathering of python programmers ever, PyCon is a 100% volunteer-run conference organized by members of the Python community. This year's conference will be held in Washington, D.C. on March 23-25. To check out the program schedule and register, visit the PyCon 2005 homepage.

O'Reilly Learning Lab: $200 Instant Rebate -- Learning programming languages and development techniques has never been easier. Using your web browser and Useractive's Learning Sandbox technology, the Learning Lab gives you hands-on, online training in a creative environment. This month, receive a $200 instant rebate (and a Certificate from the University of Illinois Office of Continuing Education upon course completion) when you enroll in any Certificate Series.

The Youngest "Learning Python" Fan -- How old do you have to be to appreciate O'Reilly's books? Not very. Tim Pietzcker shows us how much his 17-month-old son likes Learning Python, and other readers chime in with similar experiences. The appeal of O'Reilly animals proves to be cross-generational in our latest Letters.

Cameron Laird Wins Frank Willison Award -- At OSCON 2004, the Python community paid tribute to one of its own by bestowing the Frank Willison Award for Contributions to the Python Community on Cameron Laird, vice president of Phaseit. Guido van Rossum and Tim O'Reilly speak to the contributions acknowledged by the award.

O'Reilly Learning Lab: $200 Instant Rebate -- Learning programming languages and development techniques has never been easier. Using your web browser and Useractive's Learning Sandbox technology, the Learning Lab gives you hands-on, online training in a Unix environment. This month, receive a $200 instant rebate (and a Certificate from the University of Illinois upon course completion) when you enroll in any Certificate Series.

Open Source Content Management with Plone -- When you're tired of being asked to make tiny changes to your web sites--changes that users could easily make themselves--it's time to consider a content management system (CMS). If you're a Python or Zope fan, Brad Bollenbach suggests that you try Plone, a powerful and easy-to-use CMS. You'll find O'Reilly's books and articles on Python at python.oreilly.com.

Python Quick Reference -- If you program in Python, this collection of quick refs will save you time and energy. Included here are common file operations, dictionary literals and operations, tuple literals and operations, and object methods. For exhaustive coverage of these commands, see the books from which they were plucked: Python in a Nutshell and Learning Python, 2nd Edition.

SafariU: Create, Customize, and Share Teaching Material -- Looking for a way to truly customize your course textbook and offer students exactly the material you choose to teach, while saving them a good bit of money? Become a SafariU beta tester and check out the new web-based publishing platform from O'Reilly that allows you to create custom textbooks and online syllabi.

Inside Mitch Kapor's World -- Mitch Kapor has had a huge influence on the software world, being the founder of Lotus and a driving force behind 1-2-3. Now his Open Software Applications Foundation is working on Chandler, an open source PIM written in Python. In this O'Reilly Network interview, Mitch talks about his life and career, the OSAF, Chandler, open source, and Python. Mitch will present a Developer's Tour of Chandler at this summer's Open Source Convention.

Installing Python from Source Code -- Have you been wanting to try Python? Chapter 2 of Python in a Nutshell includes a step-by-step guide that shows you where to get the code, and covers installation, configuration, building, testing, and more. Get a free trial to read this and four other O'Reilly books on Safari.

SafariU: Create, Customize, and Share Teaching Material -- Looking for a way to truly customize your course textbook and offer students exactly the material you choose to teach, while saving them a good bit of money? Become a SafariU beta tester and check out the new web-based publishing platform from O'Reilly that allows you to create custom textbooks and online syllabi.

Tightening Python's Grip in Enterprise IT -- In this OE Trends interview, Alex Martelli talks about how Python scripting can extend the integration capabilities of Win32, ASP.NET, Java, and C/C++. Alex is the author of Python Cookbook and Python in a Nutshell.

PyCon 2004 -- Mitch Kapor, founder of the Open Source Application Foundation, will be the keynote speaker at this year's PyCon, a community-oriented conference for developers. PyCon gives you opportunities to learn about advances in Python development, participate in a "programming sprint" with some of the leading minds in open source, and meet fellow developers from around the world. PyCon is March 24-26, 2004 in Washington, D.C. Register today.

When Pythons Attack: Common Mistakes of Python Programmers -- In this article, Mark Lutz chronicles some of the most common programming and coding mistakes made by both new and veteran Python programmers, to help you avoid making them in your own work. Mark is a coauthor of Learning Python, 2nd Edition.

Five Habits for Successful Regular Expressions -- Tony Stubblebine shows how to avoid a lot of trial and error in your regular expression development by adopting these five habits, applicable to nearly any regex implementation. Tony is the author of Regular Expression Pocket Reference.

Guido van Rossum Speaks -- Guido van Rossum, creator of the Python programming language, recently announced that he'll be leaving PythonLabs to work for a California startup. In this interview, Guido talks about the move, recent developments, and Python in general. You'll find O'Reilly's Python books and articles at python.oreilly.com.

How Python Grips the Enterprise, Part 2 -- In the second half of Alex Martelli's interview with Open Enterprise Trends, Alex talks about how commercial developers of any stripe (Java, ASP.NET, Win32, C++) can best get started with the Python scripting language. He also offers practical tips for your own starter project. Alex is the author of the recently released Python in a Nutshell.

Python Success Stories: Eight True Tales of Flexibility, Speed, and Improved Productivity -- The future looks bright for Python. O'Reilly's collection of stories about successful Python-powered projects makes it easy to see why Python isn't just a scripting language; it is being used more and more in projects of all sizes, in all application areas. Download a copy of Python Success Stories (PDF).

Interview: How Python Grips the Enterprise -- In this Open Enterprise Trends interview with Alex Martelli, Alex talks about how Python scripting can make your current application components more easily shareable with other applications. Alex is a coauthor of Python Cookbook.

Python Success Stories (PDF) -- Here are eight true tales of flexibility, speed, and improved productivity, from the people who are putting Python to work at Industrial Light & Magic, United Space Alliance, and Journyx, to name a few.

Python and Apache -- Peter Laurie tests out Python for the first time in an attempt to cover the interface between Apache, Python, and MySQL, with a step-by-step walk through a sample Python script. Peter is a coauthor of Apache: The Definitive Guide, 3rd Edition.

What's New in Python 2.3 -- Is it worth upgrading to Python 2.3, or should you just stick to 2.2 for now? Alex Martelli looks at the changes and improvements in 2.3, reviews its new modules, and explains why you will want a copy of his recently released Python in a Nutshell.

Python in a Nutshell, in the tradition of O'Reilly's "In a Nutshell" series, offers Python programmers one place to look when they need help remembering or deciphering the syntax of this open source language and its many modules. This comprehensive reference guide makes it easy to look up all the most frequently needed information--not just about the Python language itself, but also the most frequently used parts of the standard library and the most important third-party extensions. Sample Chapter 4, The Python Language, is available online.

Introduction to PyObjC -- The PyObjC bridge between Python and Objective-C creates a powerful new environment. In this article, Bill Bumgarner shows you how to bring these worlds together. For a concise introduction to Obj-C, see O'Reilly's Objective-C Pocket Reference.

Book Review: Python Cookbook -- In this UnixReview.com article, Cameron Laird writes, "Python Cookbook is superb. Demonstrably so, in fact." Read why this book "deserves a different, more objective style of review." And get your Python Cookbook here.

Get into Gear -- O'Reilly gear, that is. Now you can wear the Perl camel, the python, the Linux bucking bronco, and more. Check it all out at our new online store at ThinkGeek.

Beginning Python for Bioinformatics--Patrick O'Brien introduces Python as a language well suited to the task of processing biological information. "Practical Tools for Innovation" is the theme of this year's Bioinformatics Technology Conference.

New Safari Titles--Search, annotate, and read your favorite O'Reilly books on Safari Tech Books Online. New Safari titles include: XML Schema, XML in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition, Writing Excel Macros with VBA, 2nd Edition, XPath and XPointer, Learning Java, 2nd Edition, PC Hardware in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition, Python Cookbook, and XSL-FO.

Making the Python Cookbook--Putting together such a collective work presented some unique challenges. We recently spoke to the book's two editors about the community effort involved in creating the Python Cookbook.

Building GUI Applications with PythonCard and PyCrust--In this article, Patrick O'Brien explains how PythonCard and PyCrust, the graphical Python shell, ease GUI development. Learn more about Python in action at OSCON's Python Tutorials.

Cooking with Python--From the unexpected exception to the fun programming tip, here's a sampling of Python recipes straight out of the Python Cookbook.

Getting Loopy with Python and Perl--How do Python's loop constructs stack up to Perl's? Find out in this article by Aahz, one of the featured speakers at this month's Open Source Convention.

Wrapping Web Service APIs: PyGoogle--If all you want to do is use a Web Service and there is a Python wrapper for that API, the argument over SOAP vs. XML-RPC vs. REST may be irrelevant, says Stephen Figgins in this week's Python News.

Jython Tips for Python Programmers--Noel Rappin brings you ten tips on using Jython, from how to create Java objects to how to access Java methods and fields. Noel is a coauthor of Jython Essentials.

Python Software Foundation Announces Python Version 2.2.1--The first bug-fix release for Python 2.2 is now available and includes over 100 enhancements. For a partial list of these fixes, see the release notes.

Tips for Scripting Java with Jython--Here are 11 tips on Jython that can save some serious time for Java programmers, from Noel Rappin, coauthor of Jython Essentials.

The IPC10 Python Gathering--Mark Lutz takes Python's pulse as he reports from the Tenth International Python Conference. Mark is the author of O'Reilly's Programming Python, 2nd Edition.