Customer Reviews

Web Programming in Python: Techniques for Integrating Linux, Apache, and MySQL

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is surprising in its breadth of coverage (Python basics,
Python advanced topics, MySQL, Apache/CGI and net infrastructure) and
the depth of coverage of each. It is a great single reference for
coming up to speed on each aspect such that you could actually
implement a medium-sized web application based largely on
just what is in the book. For those that are already familiar with
any of these topics, that chapter can easily be skipped. This book
is not for the complete beginner though as it would be impossible
to cover so much ground if it were written with the Dummies mindset.
Overall, it does a very good job explaining subtle points that an
experienced programmer would want to know as they attempted to
implement a first application with these technologies. Good job.

This books was a major disappointment. The ideas seem pretty solid, but the book no longer matches the code that is available online. The downloads are a mess. The book says to install slither using the instructions in the download, but there are no instructions in the download. Two users posted requests over a year ago for these instructions and the requests were totally ignored. In fact not much has happened over the past year. It really seems as if the authors have moved on. Slither seems to be dead.

On another note - this book is very academic. For example, there is a couple of pages of discussion about the different theorectical ways to design databases. But my needs are so simple, that I already knew I was going to use MySQL, so I just did not care about this discussion. Unfortunately there are lots of discussions like that in this book. So if you just wanna get something done fast, this might not be the book for you.

This book had the right idea and its basic outline was well thought out. But when I tried some of the examples I found too many errors. There is no web site support for the errors in the code examples, or exercises by the author or publisher. So you are on your own.
In all fairness, the book contains a good presentation to Python, Linux and MySQL, and a good basic explanation of the Internet, Apache and CGI. However, I think most of us learn best by trying out the exercises after reading the theory, and it is here where the book is weak. Because there are too few complete exercises, many errors, no errata, and lack of web support I cannot recommend this book. Also, some of the exercises require the "Slither" libraries, which do not seem to be supported any longer. Furthermore, I haven't been able to find a place to download the code in this book.

This book covers everything about getting a web application together. If you accept the Python Way, (a wise idea I think) you could look at the book as an attempted successor to Lincoln Stein's original compendium about how to serve web applications from top to bottom.

If you're a person who knows something about programming in general but not enough about programming for the web in specific, this book is just the thing to help you identify and fill in the gaps.

I do have a complaint that the writing could have been a bit smoother and the editing a bit more careful.

A far more serious flaw, though, is the authors' failure to keep the software framework on which the book is based up-to-date. The upshot is that while the book is very informative, it's unfortunately quite a slog getting the examples working.

While I recommend the book for its explanatory power, unfortunately it doesn't provide a direct path to getting your project online. If the framework were better maintained and documented, this could still turn out to be the only book you need.

I don't know of any better book for those who need a quick start on serious applications using the Linux platform. It was written from the trenches, by experts in the subject who are not afraid of getting their hands dirty. The authors demonstrate a deep understanding of the details and have managed to keep a practical perspective. I haven't tested the code examples (bugs?), but the framework is extremely easy to use and very clever. I wish more books on Business Management and new technologies were written like this...

Talk about a sleeper! This book may be one of the best kept secrets in the world of Web programming books. It could be described as Web programming with Python and Open Source tools. In the hands of most authors, this much breadth would produce a multi-volume set of books complete with material that could readily be found elsewhere. The reader is fortunate that it was written and edited by educators who know how to present the pertinent and relevant details of the OS, the Shell, the Python language, Apache, SQL. Lesser books give you the world but require the reader to determine what is relevant and how to use the features described. The manuscript is original and efficient; definitely not a regurgitation of material available on the Web. The advanced sections pertaining to the development of an application server are rich with good programming methodologies. However, some chapters may be exceedingly routine for intermediate and/or advanced server-side programmers. The book could be described as a "LAMP" developer guide for novices (where the P stands for Python not Perl).

A previous reviewer cited some typos. In an effort to keep that comment in perspective, I believe the number of errors for this amount of breadth + depth is very low.

There's lots to like in this book. It takes you on a grand tour of a lot of techniques you may need to know if you want build a Web application.
Unfortunately some of the chapters are a mess: take for example Introduction to Internetworking and HTTP. There is far too much handwaving here. I'd like to know how logical ANDing a mask and an address produces two numbers. It doesnt. You'll lead your readers astray if you say that the mask is a special address. The explanation of the protocol stack could remain a mystery to many people.
This is why I gave up a long time ago with the book, but right now I am rediscovering the good chapters, like the chapter on MySQL.

While this book is quite dated by computer technology standards, about 2/3 of it is just as relevant as when it first came out. The topics include:

-- The Python language itself. While I wouldn't suggest this is the ideal book for someone who's never used Python before, if you have just a bit of Python programming experience there's a lot of material you don't typically find in a "generic" Python tutorial such as heavy emphasis on the system programming libraries, and the somewhat more advanced Python techniques that are typically used for large-scale programming.
-- A bit about Linux and networking, and Apache. The sections here on basic shell usage are more than adequate for, e.g., someone transitioning to Windows who isn't that familiar with the command line. The networking section is good background and describes the use of helpful debugging tools such as wget, although the sections on, e.g., setting up your own DNS or DHCP servers aren't really applicable to most home installations today where the typically a wireless router or router/modem takes care of most of these details. The Apache information is good, although a few bits are outdated. Basically, the software involved has improved so much since 2001 that the finer details are often no longer needed to get your home network going.
-- CGI programming with Python. This is where the rubber meets the road... everything in this section is as relevant today as it was originally, and it provides clear instruction and examples on how your Python program gets control when someone clicks on a link on a web page and then what you're supposed to do about it! (The authors provide a quick HTML refresher in this area, although here too it's probably best if this isn't the very first time you've been exposed to, e.g., HTML forms.)
-- Database programming with MySQL. Again, just as relevant today as even. Like the comprehensive Python tutorial, there's a lot of meat in here for those who have lightweight backgrounds in databases. (And also like the Python tutorial, it's probably not the best standalone information on them, but if you've at least played around a bit in Access or MySQL or similar previously, you'll be fine.)
-- Web programming "techniques." This is the start of, "let's build an application framework!," and begins by discussing common themes that any web app faces -- parsing forms, string substitution, debugging broken code (that's running on some remote web server you can't directly touch!), maintaining state information, etc. They build a bunch of modules to make these chores easier, which they intend to be reusable for many web apps.
-- The Slither Application Development Framework. And here, in the last 1/3 of the book, they go on to develop a complete web app back end framework. There's some discussion about how -- at least historically -- pretty much any good Python web app programmer over time ended up doing this on his own, and this has led to there being many (dozens!) of Python app frameworks available today. Over time these have evolved, so, well... to put it nicely, Slither looks to be fine, but it's best to read about it from a historical context and learn from the authors' trials and tribulations rather than thinking you're going to actually deploy a Slither-based web app today. As others have pointed out, the full source code doesn't appear to be maintained anymore and with contemporary versions of Apache and Python the old version is somewhat broken. So read and learn about Slither, but when you're actually for your own production framework, either build your own (the whole point of the book is to teach you how to do this!), or if you don't have the time, use one of the many currently-maintained frameworks (I kinda like Django, but there are many to choose from... if you want something small and well-documented like Slither, try Aweful from Holden's book.)

This book is often under ten bucks used, which is a really good deal. I suppose if you're just looking for "how to I solve this specific problem?" (a "recipe"-type book), this tome isn't for you (that means you, "I already know I'll be using MySQL, so I don't care for the discussion of different database types"-man!), but if you're really looking for a deeper understanding of how Python, Apache, and the web all fit together, this book is excellent if a bit dated.

One other comment: The (much newer) "Python Web Programming" by Holden follows a very similar development to this book and serves as an excellent pairing. Thiruvathukal/Christopher/Shafaee tend to be a little bit more "low level" at times (they're working on Linux boxes whereas I suspect Holden spends most of his time on Windows), so you see more networking details and command line usage, but Holden also fills in some of the higher-level details that T/C/S don't mention. Specifically, Holden provides enough information about socket programming to make it clear that you can completely ignore Apache and write your own "raw" (web or other) servers and clients (and has examples of doing so), whereas for T/C/S, everything goes through Apache. Both good books, just slightly different emphasis in each one.

Chapters 1-6 did not contain enough examples to get into thr mindset of the book. In particular, I would have like information better leading into the heart of the book in Chapter 8 and beyond.

Chapter 7, on the other hand, is an excellent introduction to the world of web programming.

Then, in Chapter 8 and beyond, not enough of a coding and understanding base has been built to follow the design considerations of the tools into the Slither and other tools.

In general, the information freely available on the Net for Python makes it look like the perfect tool for open source Web programming. However, the relative lack of intermediate documentation (ex. object-oeiented programming at more than a basic level) means that most actual Web sites are built in PHP, Java, or other languages not nearly as elegant. This book continues that tradition by including tools that aren't sufficiently explained to the point that I know either to: (a) use the tool, and don't reinvent the wheel; (b) these tools work, but you need to add to them for a robust application; or (c) nobody's done that (well) yet, so get going!

Still, Chapter 7 alone saved me weeks in development.

My biggest complaint is that I was anticipating learning the details of web-based MySQL database programming in Python. There's lots of infomation on MySQL programming - in MySQL. Also, as I do not own the web server - I pay a few dollars a month for that - I (a) can't configure the web server; (b) don't need to configure the web server; (c) need techniques that will work, having access to MySQL and Python, without having root access to the web server.

One of the best books around on web programming. A must-read for any programmer trying to build e-commerce applications.