Python Pocket Reference: Errata Page

UPDATE: The first two typos mentioned below have been fixed in the second printing of the book (which is dated 3/99). For more details, also see O'Reilly's errata page for this book.

Here are two known typos in the first batch received from the printers (dated October 1998). These were posted here on 11/98.

1. There are 4 missing apostrophes on the back cover. This is apparently a printing glitch, as they were present in the files sent to the printer.
   
   
2. Page 11, first sentence under "Lists" header:
   Change "Mutable (unchangeable)" to "Mutable (changeable)". Lists are changeable, like all other mutable objects.
   
   [Discussion: Typos are a fact of life in the publishing business (this one wasn't even part of the original material). Luckily, this typo should be fairly obvious to most readers, given that (1) this section describes operations that change lists in-place, (2) "immutable" is called "unchangeable" in the prior section, and (3) most readers will know some Python already (the reference is more memory jogger than learning tool). Still, it's frustrating enough to motivate me to write this paragraph :-).]

And here are a few more recently uncovered typos; they will also be fixed in subsequent reprints of the book.

1. Page 43, paragraph under "Functions" heading
   Change "since strings are mutable" to "since strings are immutable". [Alas, this is another mutable/immutable terminology glitch; strings are properly described as immutable on page 9.]
   
   
2. Page 64: module name "marshall" should be "marshal"
   
   
3. Page 65, last 2 lines
   In Python 1.5.2 and later, you need to pass a 'c' as a second argument to anydbm.open, if you want to get the behavior that used to occur when no second argument was passed (create the file if it doesn't yet exist, else simply open it in input/output mode). This isn't a typo per se (mode flags are mentioned), but it should be a new note. This only applies to dbm files, not shelves.
   
   
4. Miscellaneous font teaks
   Not errors, but worth fixing in the next reprint:
   
   
   • Page 69: it looks like the "r, return" paragraph header is in bold font; should be non-bold.
     
     
   • Page 16: in table 10, the word "String" in row 1, column 2 should be normal font (not a literal).
     
     
   • Page 25: in table 13, the "module __main__" entry in row 4, column 3 should be in normal font (not a literal).

Back to the Pocket Reference page
Back to my homepage

Books

Code

Blog

Python

Author

Train

Find

©M.Lutz