Beyond The Book
Dave says they'll be shipping Pragmatic Project Automation sometime next week. Your local bookstore and Amazon should have it a week or so after that. I'm really proud of this book and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it.
A quick search through my text file journal shows that I started writing on February 25th. This was the first time the tool chain had been used to create a book. In that time, a total of 18 adept and patient reviewers were involved in the pre-publication review process, not counting the careful eyes of Dave and Andy. One very detailed editor went through every page with a fine-toothed comb. And I maintained my training and speaking schedules, and somehow managed to take three extended weekends to charge my batteries. Not too shabby. Indeed, this experience has taught me many things, not the least of which is that as an author this process works for you, not against you.
So now that the book is done, you might be wondering what I've been doing with all of my free time. (I've certainly not been blogging much here.) It has been a busy summer for sure, but with Dave's help I've also been cooking up one more goodie. I'm happy to announce that the new Pragmatic Automation site is now live and anxiously awaiting the company of your favorite RSS reader.
Pragmatic Automation isn't just a static site about the book, its source code, and (ahem) any errata. The book's home page has all that info. Instead, this new site picks up where the book left off. I'll be actively posting up-to-date news and articles related to all sorts of automation to help you and your project. Where will I get all this automation fodder, you ask? Well, I'll keep my ear to the ground and report on what I hear. (Oh, and I have a few no-assembly-required-comes-with-software entries already in the can as a surprise a bit later.) But the best stuff will undoubtedly come from you. You're in the trenches on some wonderful project and you're probably already using automation to make your life easier. So help your fellow programmers get off the treadmill by sharing your automation news, story, tool, tip, or trick. Please suggest content!