Installing Python, Django, and DB2 on Ubuntu 11.04

Note: This is the Python version of the Ruby guide I just published. In this brief tutorial I’ll show you how to create a complete Python and Django setup for DB2 on Ubuntu. By following my step-by-step instructions, you’ll be able to install the following components: Python easy_install Django DB2 Express-C 9.7.4 The official Python driver, dbi module, and Django adapter for DB2 Installing Python and...

DB2 support for Django 1.2 is here

The latest release of the IBM Adapter for Django now supports Django 1.2. Aside from enabling you to use the most recent version of Django, this release adds a few new goodies into the mix, that I’m sure many will appreciate. For example, IBM’s adapter (through the underlying DBI wrapper) now uses persistent connections, which are especially helpful when dealing with Django – as it lacks connection...

Enabling support for DB2 and Python/Django/SQLAlchemy on Mac OS X Snow Leopard

This article is obsolete. Please refer to the following articles for up do date instructions: Ruby/Rails and DB2 | Python/Django and DB2. Thank you! This is the Python version of a post I made about Ruby a few days ago. Now that Mac OS X 10.6 is out, it’s time to leave the world of 32 bit computing behind. The pre-installed Python interpreter will run in 64 bit mode by default, so you may need to pay attention...

Startup for sale on eBay (and it’s a great deal)

One of the best programmers I know is selling a web application on eBay, that he’s been developing and running for the past three years. Given the starting price and considering what one lucky person or company will walk away with, I must say, it’s an amazing deal. I’m writing about his auction here so that I can help it get the proper exposure it deserves and because I think it’s an...

The DB2 adapter now supports Django 1.1

This article is obsolete. Please refer to the following articles for up do date instructions: Ruby/Rails and DB2 | Python/Django and DB2. Thank you! I’m glad to announce that the API team has just released version 1.0.2 of the adapter for Django. And on my birthday to boot, what a nice present. This version extends its support to the recently released Django 1.1, as well as incorporating the feedback that was...

Serving Django Static Files through Apache

Django’s development server is capable of serving static (media) files thanks to the view django.views.static.serve. Popular web servers like Apache, Lighttpd or NGINX are much faster though, and as such should be used in production mode. Our goal is to bypass Django and let Apache (or other valid alternatives) directly serve static files like images, videos, CSS, JavaScript files, and so on, for us. Generally...

DB2 Express-C 9.7 and the Django adapter released

This is a great day for those of us who love DB2, as DB2 Express-C 9.7 has just been released. As mentioned before, this is the best DB2 ever, and an extremely important release. To learn more about what’s new in this release, please check out the recording of our latest webinar: If you run Linux, Unix or Windows, download it while it’s hot. DB2 9.7 on the Cloud Another great aspect of this release...

Of labels and limits

In an attempt to satisfy our need for identity and belonging, we desperately try to wear as many labels as possible, and to a certain extent labels are a necessity. When people ask you what you do for a living, it’s far easier to reply “I’m a computer programmer” than to try and explain the plurality and complexity of the exact criteria of your job. The problem with labels is that they can...

DB2 support for Django is coming

This article is obsolete. Please refer to the following articles for up do date instructions: Ruby/Rails and DB2 | Python/Django and DB2. Thank you! Online Surveys & Market Research A few weeks after DB2 Express-C for Mac OS X was announced, I’m here to let you in on another great scoop. DB2 support for the Django web framework is going to be available soon to the community, under the...

Merb, Rails Myths, Language Popularity and other Zenbits

Zenbits are posts which include a variety of interesting subjects that I’d like to talk about briefly, without writing a post for each of them. Merb: A few days ago Merb 1.0 was released. Congratulations to Ezra Zygmuntowicz on this important milestone, the Merb community and Engine Yard (who finances the project). Merb 1.0 wasn’t even out yet when some people had already started commenting on the...

Take this survey and win a free ticket for the Professional Ruby Conference

Addison Wesley will hold their first Professional Ruby Conference in Boston, Massachusetts between November 17 and 20, 2008. This conference, for which Obie Fernandez is the Technical Chair, is highly educational and boasts some of the best speakers from the Ruby and Rails communities. The organizers were kind enough to invite me, offering me a complimentary pass for the Professional Ruby Conference. I won’t...

Django turns 1.0

A couple of weeks ago Django 1.0 was finally released. In the software world version numbers can be rather arbitrary, but this announcement electrified the usually quiet community. Hiding behind the 1.0 label there are thousands of bug fixes, code refactoring of crucial components, compatibility with Jython 2.5, and the addition of impressive features such as GeoDjango which adds GIS capabilities to the...

Django’s tipping point

Django seems to have reached its tipping point, that critical mass which will enable its momentum to skyrocket. Getting here took a while though; partially because of a lack of hype and partially due to Rails’ very prominent presence in the market. Now this well deserving framework has finally begun to be widely adopted and considered as a valid alternative to Rails, for agile web development. Why do I care...

Losing my blog title (oh no, I’ve said too much…)

Keen observers amongst my readers may have noticed that I’ve subtly renamed my blog. It used to be “Zen and the Art of Ruby Programming” and now it just reads “Zen and the Art of Programming”. Perhaps you also noticed that my Ruby logo has been replaced with a cuter one created for the Snakes and Rubies conference, which was held about two years ago at DePaul University (by the way, I...

Rails is the best thing that ever happened to Python

Rails has been a blessing and a curse for the Ruby community. It brought sudden popularity to the language with all the consequences, good and bad, that usually result from exponential growth. On one hand, it gave many developers the chance to appreciate the design of the Ruby language based on its own merit. On the other hand though, it’s been a cash cow that’s changed the community forever by...

IBM releases DB2 adapter for SQLAlchemy

This article is obsolete. Please refer to the following articles for up do date instructions: Ruby/Rails and DB2 | Python/Django and DB2. Thank you! A while ago I informally announced IBM’s intention to develop an SQLAlchemy adapter for DB2 and Informix IDS. Today, I’m happy to inform you that we have a first working release for DB2 on Linux, Unix and Windows (LUW). Support for Informix IDS is next...

Installing Django with PostgreSQL on Ubuntu

This how-to is essentially the same as my previous one, only this time I’ve provided step-by-step instructions for installing Django with PostgreSQL on Ubuntu 7.10. First and foremost, we are going to install Django from its svn repository, as opposed to obtaining the 0.96 release archive. The reason for this is that the trunk version implements a few new features. The development code is also rather stable...

How to install Django with MySQL on Mac OS X

Installing Django on Mac OS X Leopard is supposed to be very straightforward, but if you are new to it, you may encounter a few puzzling questions and, in the case of MySQL, even a couple of headaches. I’m writing about this for the benefit of those of you who may attempt and struggle with this feat. MacPorts is not required for this how-to. First and foremost, we are going to install Django from its svn...

Holy Shmoly, Ruby 1.9 smokes Python away!

Alright the title of this post is a tad sensational sounding, I know, and it’s in part aimed at messing with my many Pythonista friends. We Rubyists have been teased for a long time, due to the slowness of the main Ruby interpreter. Well, it looks like with Ruby 1.9, it’ll be payback time. Just out of curiosity I decided to run a single benchmark (you can hardly call it that) to see how Ruby 1.9 had...

Ruby, Python, Haskell and Objective-C Feed Survey

Having little time to follow the blogosphere and its crazy rhythms of publication is not a good enough excuse for not being up to date. This rings particularly true for me as a technical evangelist at IBM, and as someone who is deeply passionate about the development and the information technology world. The biggest challenge is to quickly and efficiently divide the wheat from the chaff or, in other words, filter...