In a great demonstration that not only do great minds think alike, they can also subconsciously syncronise to attack the same problem, Luca Beltrame and I started work on our own tutorials about writing Plasma applets using Python at exactly the same time and day this weekend. We've coordinated ourselves and now there are 3 new tutorials about programming Plasma applets with Python up on techbase. The first tutorial by myself is an introduction to the whole work cycle of creating an applet. Luca continues in the second tutorial with how to use Plasma widgets in an applet.

I landed the Python script engine for Plasma in KDE trunk about a week ago and already and the keen and excitable among us have been franticly trying to get it all set up and installed. rgreening said it best on IRC "I've been wanting this sooooooooooooooooooooooooo bad". Now that's what I call an endorsement. ;-) So if you are running KDE trunk out of subversion and you want to have a go at the Python support then you can have a look at this wiki page which I hastily wrote which describes what needs to be installed and in which order:

(Warning, rant ahead)

Just a small announcement. Development version 1.1 of my little network routing configuration utility is up on my website for your testing pleasure. There is no new functionality. I've just ported it from KDE 3 and C++ to KDE4 and Python, saving it from ravages of bit-rot. It's a neat little utility and it would be a shame to let it get lost on the migration to KDE 4. It is also in Python now which should make the code a lot more accessible for contributors.

After the kdebindings meeting about a month ago in Berlin, I had a 8-ish hour long trip back on the train from Berlin to Nijmegen. Deutsche Bahn's trains are rather civilised and have power on board for all your laptop charging needs (provided you can get close enough to the seats with the tables *and* the power outlets). Anyway, after getting some preliminary Python coding working inside KDE 4's systemsettings (thanks go to rdale for his help), I had a go at trying to fix up the PyKDE class documentation to more closely match the C++ KDE API docs.

Thank $DEITY for feature freezes. It's only after the bulk of the KDE libraries are frozen that bindings people can come into action and franticly update everything before the RCs and the final release of a shiny new version of KDE. It's not much time and it only takes a last minute update to one of the C++ headers in the KDE break the bindings build. (That is the risk you run when you use almost every part of an API). But I can report that Python support is ready for 4.1. yippie! \o/

Jim Bublitz has been industriously working on getting the Python bindings for KDE 4 into shape. Part of that work is documentation of course and for that Jim has put together a very handy documentation viewer which combines reference docs with code samples and example code all in one easy to navigate package. One of the classic documentation problems for GUIs which are as customisable as Qt/KDE, is that everyone can, and often does, have their own visual style configured for their desktop.

Python language bindings for KDE's libraries, PyKDE4, has landed in KDE's subversion repository. Jim Bublitz has been working behind the behind the scenes on PyKDE4 for quite some time, and now PyKDE4 is stable enough to enter its new home in subversion. The last of big sweeping changes to the code, like licensing notices and module layout for example, have been done and PyKDE4 is in good shape for those who want to get in there, port their applications or create new ones and help shake any bugs out.

In between porting some of my older KDE 3 C++ over to Python and Qt/KDE 4, and also fixing some bugs in Guidance, I've had a little play around with QtJambi. QtJambi is Trolltech's new bindings generator and bindings for using Qt4 on Java. Or to be more accurate I should say that the bindings are for the Java Virtual Machine, and not just for programs written in the Java language. One of the interesting features about VMs is that they don't have to be tied to a single programming language. You can run all sorts of different languages on the Java VM or the .NET / Mono VM. Now, one of the not just interesting, but really /cool/ features of VMs is you usually don't need huge slabs of binding code if you want one language to call code written in another, provide both languages are running on the VM itself. To put it simply: you can use QtJambi with a whole swag of different languages that run on the Java VM. Here is a little example of the Qt analog clock example written some other weird and wacky language: (anyone know which?)

So some money come my way and I finally caved in and bought myself a laptop, after having talked on and off about the idea to Deb for the last couple of years. I bought an Acer Aspire 5612, which is to say 15.4" widescreen, 1Gb ram, 120Gb HDD, Intel Duo Core with the matching set of Intel chips and Intel 945 graphics. All for about 850 euro. The price was right, the specs were right, and best of all is that the drivers for everything are good *and* FOSS. Being able to buy it off the shelf, literally, in a real shop, is also handy, especially if you are impatient. I've got Kubuntu Edgy running on it plus that other OS that came with it, (for Deb who wants it for her work).