Speaking at the Lansing Day of .NET on Saturday

If you’re going to be at the Lansing Day of .NET this Saturday, stop by and catch my Anatomy of an IronPython Application presentation. I’ve completely rewritten the talk so if you’ve seen it before, this new version will be covering completely different topics including testing and mocking. I’ll also be giving away a copy of IronPython in Action, courtesy of Manning Publications, at the end of my talk.

Note to Self 11 – Patterns in Python, Process is Everything, Selenium

• While studying a particular portion of IronPython in Action, I came across a footnote to a blog post entitled Patterns in Python. By the end of the post, I found myself mentally tweaking a lot of my code. Though quite old (the page was posted February of 2003), the content remains quite relevant.
• I’m fortunate to be working on a project where everyone involved is committed to being agile (note the lack of a capital “A”). We’ve done enough things right that the items I would do differently are very minor. With that said, the imbalance in hours spent by each team member seems to be causing a problem…
• Another interesting observation – the project that I feel very fortunate to be working on is not using the technology of my choice. It’s a Java project. In fact, almost every facet of the project requires some specific technology in which I almost know nothing, yet the development process makes the experience a joy.
• Configuring my Selenium tests to work with Selenium RC and IE8 has not been an easy task. Some things I learned along the way…
  • Easiest way to create a new Selenium test is to use the Selenium IDE plugin for FireFox. It records everything you click and do and allows you to convert the recording to C#, Java, Python, PHP or Ruby. From there, further customizations are a snap.
  • Selenium RC allows you to run your Selenium tests in browsers other than FireFox, such as IE, Chrome and Safari.
  • Before running your tests in one of these “other” browsers, you’ll need to start the Selenium Server. Selenium Server comes parceled with the Selenium RC download and can be started from the command line with “java -jar selenium-server.jar”.
  • To run my Selenium tests with IE8, I had to use the *iexploreproxy option even though I’m not using a proxy. Otherwise I kept getting redirected to a phantom file supposedly hidden away in my user directory.

Book Review: IronPython in Action

IronPython in Action (IPIA) gets the distinction of being the first book published on IronPython. As the first book, it has the responsibility of giving developers their first impression of IronPython. IPIA does exactly that by taking numerous shallow dives into various technologies and techniques. To be clear, this book is aimed at professional developers preferably with either .NET or Python experience. Pythonistas will find the book offers quick introductions to a number of Microsoft technologies such as Windows Forms, WPF and ASP.NET. .NET developers will get the chance to see technologies they’re already familiar with expressed in a completely new fashion.

IPIA avoids the trap of simply being a brochure of Microsoft technologies using “IronPython” in place of “C#” and “VB.NET”. Instead, the authors mix in chapters on development techniques ranging from the familiar - such as unit testing and mocking – to the more exotic such as metaprogramming. As .NET developers wind their way through the book, they’ll begin to appreciate the differences between the static and dynamic worlds – a crucial step toward wide ranging acceptance.

If you’re curious about what IronPython can do for you, IronPython in Action is well worth your time.