O'Reilly User Group Program
NEWSLETTER
July 19, 2002


SPREAD THE WORD TO YOUR MEMBERS...

HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK:

BOOK NEWS
-Python Cookbook
-Office X for Macintosh: The Missing Manual
-Learning Java, 2nd Edition
-Practical VoIP Using Vocal

CONFERENCE NEWS
-Single day passes are now available at OSCON
-O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference Registration is Open
-Put up a Conference Banner--Get a Free Book

NEWS
-User Groups Can Be Job Springboards
-What's New With Regular Expressions
-Efficient String Manipulations With Stringbuilder
-An Angel for Open Source
-Lisa Nyman Discusses Open Source In Government
-Linux In Government
-Ten MySQL Best Practices
-ColdFusion MX On Mac OS X, Part 2
-2002 MDJ Power 25
-3-D Data Visualization On Mac OS X
-The Aqua Designer's Toolbox

ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM YOUR PEERS
-The Summer Slam: Java meets .NET


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BOOK NEWS
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REVIEW COPIES ARE AVAILABLE, email me for a copy.
If you need your books by a certain date, please allow at least three
weeks for shipping.  Please send me copies of your newsletters.

Don't forget, your members get 20% off any O'Reilly book they purchase
direct from O'Reilly. Just use code DSUG when ordering.

Press releases are available on our press page:
http://press.oreilly.com/

PYTHON COOKBOOK
Order Number: 1673
This book is a collection of problems, solutions, and practical
examples for Python programmers, written by Python programmers. It
contains over two hundred recipes for text manipulation, object
oriented programming, XML processing, system administration, and much
more. This book is a treasure trove of useful code for both novices and
advanced practitioners, with contributions from such Python luminaries
as Guido Van Rossum, Tim Peters, Paul Prescod, and Mark Hammond.
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/pythoncook/

Chapter 1, "Python Shortcuts," is available online:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/pythoncook/chapter/index.html


OFFICE X FOR MACINTOSH: THE MISSING MANUAL
Order Number: 3323
The four programs of Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and
Entourage have been completely overhauled for Mac OS X. "Office X for
Macintosh: The Missing Manual" tackles each with depth, clarity, and
humor. This essential guide was written by a dream team of Macintosh
experts: Tonya Engst, co-editor of the popular TidBITS Macintosh
newsletter; David Reynolds, former executive editor of "MacAddict" (now
working at Apple); and Nan Barber, "Macworld" contributor and coauthor
of "Office 2001 for Macintosh: The Missing Manual."
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/offxtmm/

Chapter 2, "Editing in Word," is available online:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/offxtmm/chapter/index.html


LEARNING JAVA, 2ND EDITION
Order Number: 2858
This book has been expanded and updated for Java 2 Standard Edition SDK
1.4. It comprehensively addresses important topics such as web
applications, servlets, and XML that are increasingly driving
enterprise applications. This edition provides full coverage of all
Java 1.4 language features including assertions and exception chaining
as well as new APIs such as regular expressions and NIO, the new I/O
package. New Swing features and components are described along with
updated coverage of the JavaBeans component architecture using the open
source NetBeans IDE the latest information about Applets and the Java
Plug-in for all major web browsers.
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/learnjava2/

Chapter 23, "XML," is available online:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/learnjava2/chapter/ch23.html


PRACTICAL VOIP USING VOCAL
Order Number: 0782
While many books describe the theory behind Voice over IP, only this
one describes how such a phone system was actually built, and how you
too can acquire the source code, install it onto a system, connect
phones, and make calls. Because VOCAL is open source, you can look
"under the hood" to discover how the system works and how common
problems are being worked out in the development environment.
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/voip/

Chapter 7, "Session Initiation Protocol and Related Protocols" is
available online:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/voip/chapter/index.html


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CONFERENCE NEWS
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SINGLE DAY PASSES ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR $400 AT THE 
O'REILLY OPEN SOURCE CONVENTION--JULY 24, 25, OR 26.
The walk-in fee will be waived.
To register:
http://conferences.oreillynet.com/cs/os2002/create/ord_os02

O'Reilly Open Source Convention
Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina
July 22-26, 2002--San Diego, CA
Check out the speakers, key notes, sessions, and other events:
http://conferences.oreilly.com/oscon/


O'REILLY MAC OS X CONFERENCE REGISTRATION IS OPEN
Registration is open for the first-ever O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference.
Designed to foster discovery and community between Mac OS X users and
groups just coming aboard this state-of-the-art operating system, the
conference takes place at the Westin Santa Clara in Santa Clara, CA
from September 30 to October 3, 2002
http://conferences.oreilly.com/macosxcon/

EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT
User Group members who register before August 9, 2002 get a double
discount. Use code DSUG when you register, and you'll get 20% off the
"Early Bird" price.
http://conferences.oreillynet.com/cs/macosx2002/create/ord_mac02

PUT UP A CONFERENCE BANNER, GET A FREE BOOK
We are looking for user groups to display our conference banners on
their web sites. If you send me the link to your user group site with
our O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference banner, I will send you the O'Reilly
book of your choice.

Mac OS X Conference Banners:
http://conferences.oreillynet.com/pub/w/19/banner_ads.html


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NEWS FROM O'REILLY & BEYOND
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GENERAL NEWS
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USER GROUPS CAN BE JOB SPRINGBOARDS
Joining a user group is a good way to network, gain expertise. 
This article was originally ran in "The Dallas Morning News" on May 12,
2002.
http://classifieds.dallasnews.com/employment/it/t1usersgroup_12emp.ART.fa52.html


WHAT'S NEW WITH REGULAR EXPRESSIONS
When it came time to update "Mastering Regular Expressions," Jeffrey
Friedl was shocked to find out how much had really changed. This
article touches on some of the high-level changes between the first and
second edition of the book.
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2002/07/15/regexp.html


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.NET
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EFFICIENT STRING MANIPULATIONS WITH STRINGBUILDER
In .NET programming, string manipulation with the String class is
problematic, but there is an alternative--the StringBuilder class.
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/dotnet/2002/07/15/string.html

Budi Kurniawan is coauthor of "VB.NET Core Classes in a Nutshell."
Order Number: 2572
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/vbdotnetcore/


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OPEN SOURCE
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AN ANGEL FOR OPEN SOURCE
Richard Koman talks to Pam Samuelson, a U.C. Berkeley law professor,
about the new high-tech clinic she co-founded to assist open source
developers with legal and legislative assistance.
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2002/07/22/pam.html


LISA NYMAN DISCUSSES OPEN SOURCE IN GOVERNMENT
Sam Williams interviews Lisa Nyman, co-creator of QuickFacts, a Web
service that uses Perl, Apache, and MySQL to enable visitors to track
down national census data using a single pull-down menu.
http://linux.oreillynet.com/pub/a/linux/2002/07/15/nyman_interview.html


LINUX IN GOVERNMENT
Sam Williams looks at the impact of open source software in
government--both inside and outside the U.S.
http://linux.oreillynet.com/pub/a/linux/2002/07/16/linux_in_govt.html

For more on this timely topic, don't miss the "Open Source in
Government Panel" at this month's OSCON:
http://linux.oreillynet.com/pub/a/linux/2002/07/16/linux_in_govt.html


TEN MYSQL BEST PRACTICES
Help for the security, maintenance, and performance of a MySQL
installation.
http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2002/07/11/MySQLtips.html


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WEB DEVELOPMENT
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COLDFUSION MX ON MAC OS X, PART 2
In Part 2 of this series, Dick Applebaum digs deeper into ColdFusion
MX. First he shows you a simple example of ColdFusion code. Then he
outlines ColdFusion's role in various web scenarios. The article
concludes with a step-by-step preparation list for Part 3 that covers
the actual installation on Mac OS X.
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/javascript/2002/07/03/coldfusion_two.html


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MAC
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2002 MDJ POWER 25
Tim O'Reilly, David Pogue, Adam Engst, and Sal Soghoian are among this
year's Mac-industry notables making the MDJ Power 25 list.
http://www.macjournals.com/pages/gcsf/mdj_power_25_2002.html

All four will speak at September's O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference.
http://conferences.oreilly.com/macosxcon/


3-D DATA VISUALIZATION ON MAC OS X
Visualization is the process of transforming and mapping data into
graphic primitives. In this tutorial Michael Norton shows you how to
use VTK and Tcl to create 3-D data visualization on Mac OS X.
http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2002/06/28/data_visualization.html

THE AQUA DESIGNER'S TOOLBOX
Carpenters, engineers, baristas--they all have their favorite tools.
Graphic designers are no different. Whether you're new to the Mac
platform, or interested in expanding your toolset, here's an overview
of select design tools for Mac OS X.
http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2002/07/16/aqua_design.html


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ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM YOUR PEERS
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Pittsburgh, PA--
THE SUMMER SLAM: JAVA MEETS .NET

You may be a devout Java programmer or you may be committed to
Microsoft's .NET framework or you may be an XMLer caught in the middle.
Why can't we all just get along? For this one day in August we can.
This year we've decided to combine the PittJUG and PGHDOTNET Summer
Socials. All Java, .NET, and XML enthusiasts are welcome. This will be 
a
great opportunity to learn more about the benefits and challenges of
each technology through informal conversations with your peers. One
thing is guaranteed...there will be lively conversation and cool
refreshments.  Join us at Fatheads on the SouthSide. The party starts
4pm on August 22nd and lasts until you leave.  


Until next time,

Marsee