Writing Books using Python & Open Source Software
summary
Argument: books can be authored like software using plain text, version control and automated build steps. Example workflow: write in Markdown (now often reStructuredText), store in SVN/Git, run a make-based pipeline that converts Markdown -> HTML -> PS -> PDF and executes doctests to validate all code snippets. Built a multi-author Django book this way and automated tests caught broken examples, but publishers still require Word so edits flow into DOC and do not round-trip back to source.
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chapters (8)
- 0:00Introduction
- 1:06Open source tools for writing
- 3:34Software vs book writing tools
- 15:28Team collaboration in writing
- 23:17Authors using open source tools
- 38:22Publisher challenges and solutions
- 44:01Future of open source publishing
- 46:11Q&A
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