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Educating the Open-source Community With Showmedo

Although as important as the software it supports, education and documentation are relatively neglected in the Open-source world. Coders love to code, and explaining how best to use or improve the software tends to be deferred or even sidelined.

At Showmedo we believe the community can play a vital role here and also say thanks for the tools and software that make our lives easier. If you have a piece of software you love or a programming langugage you are enthusiastic about, why not make a screencast showing others how to use it? All the stuff you wish you'd been told, the tips, tricks, insights that would have saved you time and frustration.

Screencasting is easier than you think, and we're happy to help you. You can email us for advice or just use some of the how-to screencasts on the site. This screencasting learning-path is a good place to start.

Name: [16797] Tim Bower
Member: 8 months
Authored: 8 videos
Description: Assistant Professor Computer Systems Technology Kansas State University at Salina `Tim Bower <http://www.sal.ksu.edu/faculty/tim/>`_ My blog: `Open Source on the Prairie <http://prairiepy.blogspot.com/>`_ ...

[1548] Code Review of multi-party graphical chat client (2/4)

in series: Python Network Programming

video tutorial by Tim Bower

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(Showmedo is undergoing major changes. To report any problems viewing the videos please email us and include browser and OS specifics. Cheers - Kyran.)

In this video I review the source code for the multi-party graphical chat client. This a multi-threaded wxPython program.

I show how to when to use the wx.CallAfter() function, which is called by a different thread than the wxPython graphics thread to generate a wxPython event and send an optional message to alert the graphical program of some external event.

A sub-class of threading.Thread is used to invoke the thread that does the network communication. We also use a little bit of locking with the threading.Lock() object to coordinate a shared queue (a list) between the two thread.

We also show how to establish a client side socket connection to a server.

More discussion about this program and more Python network programming topics can be found on my Network Programming Study Guide

Here is a link to the specific page in the Study Guide where all the source code can be downloaded from.

wxpython threads sockets python networkprogramming guiprogramming.

Got any questions?

Get answers in the ShowMeDo Learners Google Group.

Video statistics:

Video's rank shown in the most popular listing
Video plays: 121 (since July 30th)
Plays in last week: 5
Published: 6 months ago

Thank-yous, questions and comments

If this video tutorial was helpful please take some time to say thank-you to the authors for their hard work. Feel free to ask questions. Let the author know why their video tutorial was useful - what are you learning about? Did the video tutorial save you time? Would you like to see more?

You may also want to see our ShowMeDo Google Group to speak to our active users and authors.

3. rafapi Sat, 18 Jul 2009 13:19

Really nice and useful. I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the series.

2. gasto Thu, 16 Jul 2009 23:47

Thanks, great tutorial. Looking forward to the rest of the series.

Kyran Dale Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:52

Nice code walkthrough. For intermediate+ Pythonistas there are some useful code-pointers, but even beginners should appreciate seeing the skeleton of a client-server app. Thread-locking is a pretty vital area these days, so v. nice to see the basics covered. Personally I picked up a lot in a very short space of time. Little things like the thread-lock being specified in seconds, not milliseconds stand out. Anyway, these sort of code walkthroughs are a great way to learn and offer fascinating insights into the various ways we approach programming problems.

Kudos and Thanks for Tim

Three low cost microphones for screencasting

very informative. someone suggested usb mic, but no reason. now it is clear. and the sound samples mean i have lived the difference. very nice.

sharon 11 days ago

Three low cost microphones for screencasting

A useful intro to the topic of microphones. I've used both types but never gave it much thought that 3.5mm jack microphones could generate background noise.

Also, have you considered in-built webcam microphones. I use a Logitech Pro Quickcam Pro 9000 for example, which has a built-in microphone. Screencast software (Jing in my case) select this microphone as the default, even if I have a headset with 3.5 mm jack on.

anonymous 58 days ago

Three low cost microphones for screencasting

Interesting

anonymous 59 days ago

The structure of arguments passed to Unix commands

your video are great

anonymous 2 months ago

Three low cost microphones for screencasting

Fine job Quick, concise, useful. The proven conclusion that the USB mic was measurably better, even in the inexpensive model, is valuable to me. Thankyou

anonymous 2 months ago

Filtering Data Vertically with Cut and Awk

Good job to introduce people with basic aspects of cut and awk commands. Looking forward to new tutorials.

anonymous 2 months ago

Three low cost microphones for screencasting

Thanks for the comparison. I could barely discern this differences you noted in the recordings, but I accept that you hear them! :)

anonymous 3 months ago

Filtering Data Vertically with Cut and Awk

please make more on this subject

anonymous 3 months ago

Three low cost microphones for screencasting

Thanks: very clear and useful.

anonymous 3 months ago

Three low cost microphones for screencasting

well made for the target audience. thank you

anonymous 3 months ago

The structure of arguments passed to Unix commands

Thanks for the great screencasts.

anonymous 4 months ago

Three low cost microphones for screencasting

Clear, concise and straight to the point. Excellent.

anonymous 4 months ago

Three low cost microphones for screencasting

It's nice when someone shares their experience. It's a way to build a better world. Thanks

anonymous 4 months ago

Three low cost microphones for screencasting

Very informative video - thanks! BTW, I majored in aerospace engineering at one of K-State's rivals - good ol' KU Jayhawkers.

anonymous 4 months ago

Three low cost microphones for screencasting

This is helpful for me, thanks for making this video.

anonymous 4 months ago

Three low cost microphones for screencasting

Very helpful. I have a Snowflake USB from Blue Microphone that works well. The headset microphones just didn't work for me. Sounded like Sylvester with all of the P, S, and succotash a mouth can produced.

anonymous 4 months ago

Three low cost microphones for screencasting

Thanks for the ShowMeDo video on microphones.

anonymous 4 months ago

Three low cost microphones for screencasting

A good idea to consider this for future ShowMeDoers, a useful contribution, and a clear and well-paced delivery. Thank you.

anonymous 4 months ago

Three low cost microphones for screencasting

Great experiment. Will make sure I use my USB mic for recording.

anonymous 4 months ago

Three low cost microphones for screencasting

very interesting, I am ready to start a few of these myself and appreciate the input.

anonymous 5 months ago

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