Re: [julia-users] Reviewing a Julia programming book for Packt
I have reviewed the first five chapters and have chapter 6 in hand, which I'll be reviewing as well Dan On Thursday, January 1, 2015 11:39:11 AM UTC-5, Samuel Colvin wrote: > > I'll email Malcolm and let him know about this. > > He's active with the meet up group and does seem knowledgeable. > > I site initially agreed to help review the book then declined when I found > how terrible there email+word-doc reviewing workflow was. I subsequently > discovered they had sent me chapters before they were ready without telling > Malcolm. They then emailed me again on there second spree with the email > above. I've also heard bad things about them from other bits of the > publishing industry. > > All seems like a bit of a mess unfortunately.
Re: [julia-users] Reviewing a Julia programming book for Packt
I'll email Malcolm and let him know about this. He's active with the meet up group and does seem knowledgeable. I site initially agreed to help review the book then declined when I found how terrible there email+word-doc reviewing workflow was. I subsequently discovered they had sent me chapters before they were ready without telling Malcolm. They then emailed me again on there second spree with the email above. I've also heard bad things about them from other bits of the publishing industry. All seems like a bit of a mess unfortunately.
Re: [julia-users] Reviewing a Julia programming book for Packt
FWIW, since I agreed to help review the book, I've yet to hear from Packt again. Perhaps they saw this thread and decided to postpone? :) -Jacob On Thu, Dec 11, 2014 at 2:20 PM, cdm wrote: > > i will vote with my green paper and let the "market" decide ... > > here is some competition in the book space: > > LJTHW (aka: 'the g–ddamn book') > http://chrisvoncsefalvay.com/2014/12/11/A-change-of-seasons.html > > > awesome. > > cdm > > > On Friday, December 5, 2014 9:23:29 AM UTC-8, Iain Dunning wrote: >> >> > > I don't think such a book should exist (yet). > > > >
Re: [julia-users] Reviewing a Julia programming book for Packt
i will vote with my green paper and let the "market" decide ... here is some competition in the book space: LJTHW (aka: 'the g–ddamn book') http://chrisvoncsefalvay.com/2014/12/11/A-change-of-seasons.html awesome. cdm On Friday, December 5, 2014 9:23:29 AM UTC-8, Iain Dunning wrote: > > I don't think such a book should exist (yet).
Re: [julia-users] Reviewing a Julia programming book for Packt
Interesting. I'll have to check out these links. Started on one of the presentations. Glad to know that he's fairly involved in the London Julia community. Would love to meet some time. I feel like the process of getting reviewers might be more effective if he reached out directly. Malcolm, this is an invite: if you read this, email me, let's chat :-) On Mon, Dec 8, 2014 at 7:49 PM, John Myles White wrote: > I've met Malcolm and like him quite a lot. I didn't realize he was writing > this specific book. > > -- John > > On Dec 8, 2014, at 4:42 PM, Avik Sengupta wrote: > > Yes, Malcom runs the London Julia user group. > > On Monday, 8 December 2014 23:25:43 UTC, cdm wrote: >> >> >> see also: >> >> http://datasciencelondon.org/julia-language-shooting-star- >> or-a-flash-in-the-pan-by-malcolm-sherrington/ >> >> https://skillsmatter.com/legacy_profile/malcolm-sherrington#overview >> >> >> ... and the meetup group: >> >> http://www.meetup.com/London-Julia-User-Group >> >> which seems to get good reviews. >> >> cdm >> >> >> >> On Monday, December 8, 2014 2:32:36 PM UTC-8, Ivar Nesje wrote: >>> >>> By the way, I think his github presence is at >>> https://github.com/sherrinm (not much to see). >> >> >
Re: [julia-users] Reviewing a Julia programming book for Packt
I've met Malcolm and like him quite a lot. I didn't realize he was writing this specific book. -- John On Dec 8, 2014, at 4:42 PM, Avik Sengupta wrote: > Yes, Malcom runs the London Julia user group. > > On Monday, 8 December 2014 23:25:43 UTC, cdm wrote: > > see also: > > http://datasciencelondon.org/julia-language-shooting-star-or-a-flash-in-the-pan-by-malcolm-sherrington/ > > https://skillsmatter.com/legacy_profile/malcolm-sherrington#overview > > > ... and the meetup group: > > http://www.meetup.com/London-Julia-User-Group > > which seems to get good reviews. > > cdm > > > > On Monday, December 8, 2014 2:32:36 PM UTC-8, Ivar Nesje wrote: > By the way, I think his github presence is at https://github.com/sherrinm > (not much to see).
Re: [julia-users] Reviewing a Julia programming book for Packt
Yes, Malcom runs the London Julia user group. On Monday, 8 December 2014 23:25:43 UTC, cdm wrote: > > > see also: > > > http://datasciencelondon.org/julia-language-shooting-star-or-a-flash-in-the-pan-by-malcolm-sherrington/ > > https://skillsmatter.com/legacy_profile/malcolm-sherrington#overview > > > ... and the meetup group: > > http://www.meetup.com/London-Julia-User-Group > > which seems to get good reviews. > > cdm > > > > On Monday, December 8, 2014 2:32:36 PM UTC-8, Ivar Nesje wrote: >> >> By the way, I think his github presence is at https://github.com/sherrinm >> (not much to see). > >
Re: [julia-users] Reviewing a Julia programming book for Packt
Thanks cdm, those where much more useful links. I'm just accustomed to search Github, StackOverflow and personal homepages to get an overview of a developer, but as you say, I'll likely get a very wrong impression of many people that way.
Re: [julia-users] Reviewing a Julia programming book for Packt
oh, and this: http://www.meetup.com/Financial-Engineers-Quants-London/members/14596802/ for what it is worth ... i have known a few Quant types that are quite capable of operating "on an island" ... in fact, sometimes their environments require this of them. best, cdm On Monday, December 8, 2014 3:25:43 PM UTC-8, cdm wrote: > > > see also: > > > http://datasciencelondon.org/julia-language-shooting-star-or-a-flash-in-the-pan-by-malcolm-sherrington/ > > https://skillsmatter.com/legacy_profile/malcolm-sherrington#overview > > > ... and the meetup group: > > http://www.meetup.com/London-Julia-User-Group > > which seems to get good reviews. > > cdm > > > > On Monday, December 8, 2014 2:32:36 PM UTC-8, Ivar Nesje wrote: >> >> By the way, I think his github presence is at https://github.com/sherrinm >> (not much to see). > >
Re: [julia-users] Reviewing a Julia programming book for Packt
see also: http://datasciencelondon.org/julia-language-shooting-star-or-a-flash-in-the-pan-by-malcolm-sherrington/ https://skillsmatter.com/legacy_profile/malcolm-sherrington#overview ... and the meetup group: http://www.meetup.com/London-Julia-User-Group which seems to get good reviews. cdm On Monday, December 8, 2014 2:32:36 PM UTC-8, Ivar Nesje wrote: > > By the way, I think his github presence is at https://github.com/sherrinm > (not much to see).
Re: [julia-users] Reviewing a Julia programming book for Packt
By the way, I think his github presence is at https://github.com/sherrinm (not much to see).
Re: [julia-users] Reviewing a Julia programming book for Packt
I find this odd as well. On Mon, Dec 8, 2014 at 4:54 PM, Ivar Nesje wrote: > The book is written by Malcolm Sherrington. He has a very limited online > presence and only two threads on julia-users, and I couldn't find his > github username. I got the two first chapters for review, but they gave me > short deadlines and I felt so bad about missing their imposed 3 day > deadline, that I stopped replying. I didn't have the attention span to > really sit down to try to nest the loose ends, and give more useful > comments than typos and small errors. Maybe it was just that a language > introduction is hard to write, and that it will improve when the basics are > known. > > I'm very curious how someone can write a book about Julia, at this stage, > without discovering anything that would be worth opening an issue on github > to get fixed. I generally find issues and potential improvements everywhere > I look, and frankly that's one of the most fun thing about being part of > the language development at this early stage.
Re: [julia-users] Reviewing a Julia programming book for Packt
The book is written by Malcolm Sherrington. He has a very limited online presence and only two threads on julia-users, and I couldn't find his github username. I got the two first chapters for review, but they gave me short deadlines and I felt so bad about missing their imposed 3 day deadline, that I stopped replying. I didn't have the attention span to really sit down to try to nest the loose ends, and give more useful comments than typos and small errors. Maybe it was just that a language introduction is hard to write, and that it will improve when the basics are known. I'm very curious how someone can write a book about Julia, at this stage, without discovering anything that would be worth opening an issue on github to get fixed. I generally find issues and potential improvements everywhere I look, and frankly that's one of the most fun thing about being part of the language development at this early stage.
Re: [julia-users] Reviewing a Julia programming book for Packt
I got this request too. Not going to reply. I wonder who is writing it. On Sat, Dec 6, 2014 at 4:58 AM, wrote: > Have had the same problem with other open source projects I participate > in, they spam anybody prominent on the ML or github. > > The resulting books seem to contain large parts consisting of the projects > manuals, often verbatim. > > Cheers > Lex > > On Saturday, December 6, 2014 3:45:19 AM UTC+10, Stefan Karpinski wrote: >> >> Yes, as the contact has been so relentlessly spammy, I've started to >> treat it as spam. >> >> On Fri, Dec 5, 2014 at 12:23 PM, Iain Dunning wrote: >> >>> I also refused to review for them, both in this new wave of spam and the >>> previous one, on the basis that I don't think such a book should exist >>> (yet). I also felt that by being a reviewer, I'm authorizing the use of my >>> name for a product I have no control over (they can just ignore what you >>> say). They seem like a bunch of crooks to be honest. >> >> >>
Re: [julia-users] Reviewing a Julia programming book for Packt
Have had the same problem with other open source projects I participate in, they spam anybody prominent on the ML or github. The resulting books seem to contain large parts consisting of the projects manuals, often verbatim. Cheers Lex On Saturday, December 6, 2014 3:45:19 AM UTC+10, Stefan Karpinski wrote: > > Yes, as the contact has been so relentlessly spammy, I've started to treat > it as spam. > > On Fri, Dec 5, 2014 at 12:23 PM, Iain Dunning > wrote: > >> I also refused to review for them, both in this new wave of spam and the >> previous one, on the basis that I don't think such a book should exist >> (yet). I also felt that by being a reviewer, I'm authorizing the use of my >> name for a product I have no control over (they can just ignore what you >> say). They seem like a bunch of crooks to be honest. > > >
Re: [julia-users] Reviewing a Julia programming book for Packt
Yes, as the contact has been so relentlessly spammy, I've started to treat it as spam. On Fri, Dec 5, 2014 at 12:23 PM, Iain Dunning wrote: > I also refused to review for them, both in this new wave of spam and the > previous one, on the basis that I don't think such a book should exist > (yet). I also felt that by being a reviewer, I'm authorizing the use of my > name for a product I have no control over (they can just ignore what you > say). They seem like a bunch of crooks to be honest.
Re: [julia-users] Reviewing a Julia programming book for Packt
I also refused to review for them, both in this new wave of spam and the previous one, on the basis that I don't think such a book should exist (yet). I also felt that by being a reviewer, I'm authorizing the use of my name for a product I have no control over (they can just ignore what you say). They seem like a bunch of crooks to be honest.
Re: [julia-users] Reviewing a Julia programming book for Packt
Sorry to hear that Evan. I'll look out for that. -Jacob On Fri, Dec 5, 2014 at 10:47 AM, cdm wrote: > > gratis or libre ... ? > > On Thursday, December 4, 2014 5:35:52 PM UTC-8, John Myles White wrote: >> >> I hate to say it, but Packt's handling of its Julia publications is >> rather troubling. I received a request to review this book and told them I >> wasn't free, but the truth is that I would prefer that they not pubilsh >> this kind of book at all right now. The blurb refers to several things that >> may not even exist in JuliaStats, including lists, factors and ANOVA's. I >> think the whole thing is premature. >> >> -- John >> >
Re: [julia-users] Reviewing a Julia programming book for Packt
gratis or libre ... ? On Thursday, December 4, 2014 5:35:52 PM UTC-8, John Myles White wrote: > > I hate to say it, but Packt's handling of its Julia publications is rather > troubling. I received a request to review this book and told them I wasn't > free, but the truth is that I would prefer that they not pubilsh this kind > of book at all right now. The blurb refers to several things that may not > even exist in JuliaStats, including lists, factors and ANOVA's. I think the > whole thing is premature. > > -- John >
Re: [julia-users] Reviewing a Julia programming book for Packt
Another reason to serve as a reviewer: to see if any passages look "familiar." There's a Packt book about Nginx development that extensively plagiarizes material from my website. The book is niche enough that I haven't bothered seeking damages, but they've been very non-helpful after many emails. Overall they seem like a pretty shady company. I wouldn't ever do business with Packt, but serving as a reviewer may help push things in a good direction, as you say. On Thu, Dec 4, 2014 at 7:51 PM, John Myles White wrote: > It does make me feel better knowing that you'll be reviewing the book. > > -- John > > On Dec 4, 2014, at 5:49 PM, Jacob Quinn wrote: > > That's a good point John. I definitely had the thought looking over the > outline that a bunch of the 0.4 changes will make certain parts out of date > pretty quickly. > > Then again, I figured if I helped review, I could perhaps help push things > in a good direction and help make it as timely as possible. > > -Jacob > > On Thu, Dec 4, 2014 at 8:35 PM, John Myles White > wrote: > >> I hate to say it, but Packt's handling of its Julia publications is >> rather troubling. I received a request to review this book and told them I >> wasn't free, but the truth is that I would prefer that they not pubilsh >> this kind of book at all right now. The blurb refers to several things that >> may not even exist in JuliaStats, including lists, factors and ANOVA's. I >> think the whole thing is premature. >> >> -- John >> >> >> On Dec 4, 2014, at 3:31 PM, Wilfred Hughes wrote: >> >> I received an email today about being a technical reviewer for a book on >> Julia! >> >> We're currently developing a book titled *Mastering Julia* aiming at >>> building statistical models with linear regressions and analysis of >>> variance (ANOVA) and will be working on probability, probability >>> distributions, and random variables covering data structures such as >>> matrices, lists, factors, and data frames. This book is targeted at >>> Intermediate >>> level developer in statistical languages and one who will be having >>> understanding of Core elements and applications. >>> >>> Would you be interested in acting as reviewer for this book? >>> >> Now, I enjoy Julia, and I'm happy to help promote the language, but I >> don't think I'm particularly qualified to be a technical reviewer of a book >> on Julia programming. I found this thread on julia-dev: >> https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/julia-dev/HrdpknFgdfk/SAVMyyacT_sJ >> where Packt contacted a large number of folks seeking an author. >> >> Has anyone else received something like this? In principle, I'm all in >> favour of producing promotional or teaching materials, but I'm surprised it >> lead to me being contacted. >> >> >> > > -- Evan Miller http://www.evanmiller.org/
Re: [julia-users] Reviewing a Julia programming book for Packt
It does make me feel better knowing that you'll be reviewing the book. -- John On Dec 4, 2014, at 5:49 PM, Jacob Quinn wrote: > That's a good point John. I definitely had the thought looking over the > outline that a bunch of the 0.4 changes will make certain parts out of date > pretty quickly. > > Then again, I figured if I helped review, I could perhaps help push things in > a good direction and help make it as timely as possible. > > -Jacob > > On Thu, Dec 4, 2014 at 8:35 PM, John Myles White > wrote: > I hate to say it, but Packt's handling of its Julia publications is rather > troubling. I received a request to review this book and told them I wasn't > free, but the truth is that I would prefer that they not pubilsh this kind of > book at all right now. The blurb refers to several things that may not even > exist in JuliaStats, including lists, factors and ANOVA's. I think the whole > thing is premature. > > -- John > > > On Dec 4, 2014, at 3:31 PM, Wilfred Hughes wrote: > >> I received an email today about being a technical reviewer for a book on >> Julia! >> >> We're currently developing a book titled Mastering Julia aiming at building >> statistical models with linear regressions and analysis of variance (ANOVA) >> and will be working on probability, probability distributions, and random >> variables covering data structures such as matrices, lists, factors, and >> data frames. This book is targeted at Intermediate level developer in >> statistical languages and one who will be having understanding of Core >> elements and applications. >> >> Would you be interested in acting as reviewer for this book? >> >> Now, I enjoy Julia, and I'm happy to help promote the language, but I don't >> think I'm particularly qualified to be a technical reviewer of a book on >> Julia programming. I found this thread on julia-dev: >> https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/julia-dev/HrdpknFgdfk/SAVMyyacT_sJ >> where Packt contacted a large number of folks seeking an author. >> >> Has anyone else received something like this? In principle, I'm all in >> favour of producing promotional or teaching materials, but I'm surprised it >> lead to me being contacted. > >
Re: [julia-users] Reviewing a Julia programming book for Packt
That's a good point John. I definitely had the thought looking over the outline that a bunch of the 0.4 changes will make certain parts out of date pretty quickly. Then again, I figured if I helped review, I could perhaps help push things in a good direction and help make it as timely as possible. -Jacob On Thu, Dec 4, 2014 at 8:35 PM, John Myles White wrote: > I hate to say it, but Packt's handling of its Julia publications is rather > troubling. I received a request to review this book and told them I wasn't > free, but the truth is that I would prefer that they not pubilsh this kind > of book at all right now. The blurb refers to several things that may not > even exist in JuliaStats, including lists, factors and ANOVA's. I think the > whole thing is premature. > > -- John > > > On Dec 4, 2014, at 3:31 PM, Wilfred Hughes wrote: > > I received an email today about being a technical reviewer for a book on > Julia! > > We're currently developing a book titled *Mastering Julia* aiming at >> building statistical models with linear regressions and analysis of >> variance (ANOVA) and will be working on probability, probability >> distributions, and random variables covering data structures such as >> matrices, lists, factors, and data frames. This book is targeted at >> Intermediate >> level developer in statistical languages and one who will be having >> understanding of Core elements and applications. >> >> Would you be interested in acting as reviewer for this book? >> > Now, I enjoy Julia, and I'm happy to help promote the language, but I > don't think I'm particularly qualified to be a technical reviewer of a book > on Julia programming. I found this thread on julia-dev: > https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/julia-dev/HrdpknFgdfk/SAVMyyacT_sJ > where Packt contacted a large number of folks seeking an author. > > Has anyone else received something like this? In principle, I'm all in > favour of producing promotional or teaching materials, but I'm surprised it > lead to me being contacted. > > >
Re: [julia-users] Reviewing a Julia programming book for Packt
I hate to say it, but Packt's handling of its Julia publications is rather troubling. I received a request to review this book and told them I wasn't free, but the truth is that I would prefer that they not pubilsh this kind of book at all right now. The blurb refers to several things that may not even exist in JuliaStats, including lists, factors and ANOVA's. I think the whole thing is premature. -- John On Dec 4, 2014, at 3:31 PM, Wilfred Hughes wrote: > I received an email today about being a technical reviewer for a book on > Julia! > > We're currently developing a book titled Mastering Julia aiming at building > statistical models with linear regressions and analysis of variance (ANOVA) > and will be working on probability, probability distributions, and random > variables covering data structures such as matrices, lists, factors, and > data frames. This book is targeted at Intermediate level developer in > statistical languages and one who will be having understanding of Core > elements and applications. > > Would you be interested in acting as reviewer for this book? > > Now, I enjoy Julia, and I'm happy to help promote the language, but I don't > think I'm particularly qualified to be a technical reviewer of a book on > Julia programming. I found this thread on julia-dev: > https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/julia-dev/HrdpknFgdfk/SAVMyyacT_sJ > where Packt contacted a large number of folks seeking an author. > > Has anyone else received something like this? In principle, I'm all in favour > of producing promotional or teaching materials, but I'm surprised it lead to > me being contacted.
Re: [julia-users] Reviewing a Julia programming book for Packt
Yeah, I got the same email. I believe the strategy for some of these books is just to mass email a bunch of github users who have julia code in their repos. The outline looks interesting, but a little dated; which is to be expected with Julia moving so fast. For one thing, they mention having a section on Julia Studio, which, last I heard, is no longer maintained and pretty out of date itself at this point. Anyway, I told them I'd help review; but if you don't feel comfortable, I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure there's a dozen others they contacted :) -Jacob On Thu, Dec 4, 2014 at 6:31 PM, Wilfred Hughes wrote: > I received an email today about being a technical reviewer for a book on > Julia! > > We're currently developing a book titled *Mastering Julia* aiming at >> building statistical models with linear regressions and analysis of >> variance (ANOVA) and will be working on probability, probability >> distributions, and random variables covering data structures such as >> matrices, lists, factors, and data frames. This book is targeted at >> Intermediate >> level developer in statistical languages and one who will be having >> understanding of Core elements and applications. >> >> Would you be interested in acting as reviewer for this book? >> > Now, I enjoy Julia, and I'm happy to help promote the language, but I > don't think I'm particularly qualified to be a technical reviewer of a book > on Julia programming. I found this thread on julia-dev: > https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/julia-dev/HrdpknFgdfk/SAVMyyacT_sJ > where Packt contacted a large number of folks seeking an author. > > Has anyone else received something like this? In principle, I'm all in > favour of producing promotional or teaching materials, but I'm surprised it > lead to me being contacted. >
[julia-users] Reviewing a Julia programming book for Packt
I received an email today about being a technical reviewer for a book on Julia! We're currently developing a book titled *Mastering Julia* aiming at > building statistical models with linear regressions and analysis of > variance (ANOVA) and will be working on probability, probability > distributions, and random variables covering data structures such as > matrices, lists, factors, and data frames. This book is targeted at > Intermediate > level developer in statistical languages and one who will be having > understanding of Core elements and applications. > > Would you be interested in acting as reviewer for this book? > Now, I enjoy Julia, and I'm happy to help promote the language, but I don't think I'm particularly qualified to be a technical reviewer of a book on Julia programming. I found this thread on julia-dev: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/julia-dev/HrdpknFgdfk/SAVMyyacT_sJ where Packt contacted a large number of folks seeking an author. Has anyone else received something like this? In principle, I'm all in favour of producing promotional or teaching materials, but I'm surprised it lead to me being contacted.
