MySQL for Python Book + Future Plans

It has been a while since I last posted something on this blog. I have been busy working on my thesis (+100 pages already!) and a secret Canvas related project. I will probably have more to tell about the latter in a few weeks. :)

Anyhow I guess it's a good idea to write something just so my (possible) readers know this blog ain't dead yet. First I'll plug a Packt book (MySQL for Python) a bit and then share my thoughts about the future of the blog. I would appreciate some feedback on that especially.

MySQL for Python

The friendly folks at Packt asked me to mention about this new book of theirs. I'm not much of a database guy myself but I can see "MySQL for Python" may come in handy for people that are.

It appears to cover a wide range of issues. Just looking at the table of contents and the sample chapter gives me a slight headache. I'm so happy I don't have to deal with relational databases directly anymore. :)

Considering I do quite a bit of JavaScript development these days and learning yet another library doesn't hurt (a lot), I'll be taking a look at "Learning Ext JS 3.2" later this year. I know 3.3 has been released already but I reckon there isn't that big of a difference between 3.2 and 3.3. Sencha's examples look way cool anyway.

Future Plans

Let's see. So far I have blogged a bit over a year. I also got into microblogging some months ago. In a sense these ways complement each other.

The blog has changed quite a bit since its inception and it's still looking for some sort of stable state. Originally the idea was just to share some random thoughts with some random people. I have listed my main "achievements" so far next:

• Two series: test driven interpreter with Python and HTML5 Canvas gradients.
• Various book reviews (Packt books).
• A few linkdumps.
• A lot of miscellaneous information (coding tips and tricks, whatnot).

Even if all posts haven't been top quality I have managed to learn quite a bit in the process. Particularly posts dealing with coding forced me to think a little bit harder than usually. If you want to explain something, you really have to understand it!

This list brings me to a few questions:

1. Has this blog been useful? If so, how?
2. How to make it better? What would you change?
3. Which sort of posts should I write? Do you prefer more technical information, rants or something else entirely?
4. How often should I publish? Should I aim to post little snippets often or chunkier bits but with less frantic pace?

If you have any answers, I'm willing to discuss and listen. :)

Considering future posts there are a few directions I could go to. There are three major subjects I could tap into: RightJS, HTML5 Canvas development and open source (history, dynamics, success).

I guess the former two might deserve some form of series while discussion on open source should probably remain on article level. Each of these subjects probably would deserve a book of its own...

Conclusion

So just to recap:

1. Check out the "MySQL for Python" book in case you are a Python peep that likes or has to deal with databases.
2. Provide feedback on the direction of this blog. If you don't want to share your thoughts about the blog publicly, feel free to throw me an email (bebraw at gmail dot com).