A few years ago I wrote a book called Data Munging with Perl. Many reviewers were kind enough to say very nice things about it.
One reviewer who was particularly nice was Gregory Wilson who said things like
I write Python differently having read this book, and expect that the average Java or C# programmer would learn a lot from it as well. It is well written, informative, thought provoking, and will be as relevant five years from now as it is today. In short, what are you waiting for? Go and buy a copy.
Another thing that he did was to write to the publisher and suggest that the book would work just as well in other languages. In particular he suggested that a version targetting Python would be very useful. The publisher was convinced and asked me if I’d be interested in writing a Python version. I agreed and as I know little or nothing about Python we got a co-author on board (who did know Python).
Things didn’t work out though. The co-author didn’t have enough time to devote to the project and eventually the project was cancelled. It’s a bit of a shame, particularly as I was hoping that seeing my code translated into Python was going to be a great way for me to pick up the language.
Then this week I see details of a new book called Data Crunching – Solve Everyday Problems using Java, Python. And it’s written by Gregory Wilson. It seems he decided that he’d go away and fill the gap in the market himself.
I’ve taken a quick look at the extracts on the web site and it looks like it’s an interesting book. I’ll have to get a copy and take a closer look.
I hope my book at least gets a mention in the bibliography.
Update: I saw a copy of this book in Foyles recently. After flicking through it I discovered that my book isn’t mentioned anywhere. Not even in the bibliography. Which, to be honest, I consider a bit rude.