In the past, I used ssh almost solely for remote administration of a couple of boxes, which were well within my physical control (in the server room at work, the one at my desk at home, etc.). However, I’ve started using my laptop more and a number of services/tools that I want to use (Gitorious, Bazaar, Git, Launchpad, etc.) build on top of ssh. So I figured it was finally time to up my game on that front.
This has been a long time in the making.
I was sitting down last week looking at (yet another) problem where I needed to parse some data and bust it up into a tree, so that I could walk it and generate some specialized output. Generally, my need for doing this has been smallish, very specialized, and I know exactly what I want, so cranking out the code by hand is pretty painless. In this case, however, I need to parse some C, which isn’t all the friendly to parse without a compiler front-end. Which then lead me to think about ANTLR.
So, I started sending emails out announcing my intention to start a group… and it turns out that a Python Users Group just started down in Greenbelt called BACON-PIG. Looks like some major Python players are involved in the group, and Greenbelt is not that far from where I’m at (maybe 30 minutes). So I’m going to give the group a whirl and see how things go! If you’re near the area, consider attending!
So, I’ve always been jealous of ChiPy and BayPIGgies, and their endless stream of awesome Python talks. My first reaction was to move. :-) But that isn’t going to work out to well with my current work… so I opted for choice two: create a Python Users Group. I haven’t gotten us on the schedule at the library yet, but I’m prodding for interest from the community. So, if you’re in the Baltimore-Washington DC area, and are interested, drop me a line and let me know. I’d like to get a list of at least 10 names, and then schedule it in at Howard County Central Library. Check out their website for the exact location, but it’s in Columbia across the street from Columbia Mall. As soon as I get enough folks (and I should be close), I’ll reserve the room, and hopefully we can have our first meeting after the holidays!
