E-Scribe : a programmer’s blog

About Me

PBX I'm Paul Bissex. I build web applications using open source software, especially Django. Started my career doing graphic design for newspapers and magazines in the '90s. Then wrote tech commentary and reviews for Wired, Salon, Chicago Tribune, and others you never heard of. Then I built operations software at a photography school. Then I helped big media serve 40 million pages a day. Then I worked on a translation services API doing millions of dollars of business. Now I'm building the core platform of a global startup accelerator. Feel free to email me.

Book

I co-wrote "Python Web Development with Django". It was the first book to cover the long-awaited Django 1.0. Published by Addison-Wesley and still in print!

Colophon

Built using Django, served with gunicorn and nginx. The database is SQLite. Hosted on a FreeBSD VPS at Johncompanies.com. Comment-spam protection by Akismet.

Pile o'Tags

ajax apple blogs browsers business design django ebay engineering fp fun google hardware haskell intellectual property interface iphone javascript linux media mercurial mobile open source os x oscon oscon2007 palm php programming python rails rants reading risks ruby site spam textmate the well tips tools ubuntu unix vcs web development web frameworks webservers wmassdevs writing

Stuff I Use

bitbucket, Django, Emacs, FreeBSD, Git, jQuery, LaunchBar, Markdown, Mercurial, OS X, Python, Review Board, S3, SQLite, Sublime Text, Ubuntu Linux

Spam Report

At least 236509 pieces of comment spam killed since 2008, mostly via Akismet.

Everything on Rails

Ruby on Rails has inspired a lot of admiring imitators. In theory you can keep on using Python, Perl, PHP, Java, or C# while reaping the benefits of the Rails model. Ruby fanatics will tell you that the language's intrisic qualities are part of the bargain, which may be true, but all this activity is not just faddishness -- Rails is essentially doing evangelism for a structured style of rapid development that is unfamiliar to many people.

Since it seems that all one needs to attempts a Rails clone is a programming language and a webserver, I'm really looking forward to Javascript, Forth, Postscript, and Cobol on Rails!

Wednesday, July 27th, 2005
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Some related posts: The Zend Framework • Ruby on Rails 1.0 • TrimPath Junction: a pure Javascript clone of Rails • Locomotive: Rails for OS X • Controller freaks • YAPWF: TurboGears • Django progress • Django, Rails, and PHP • Railing • Cake
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