[mod_python] Best place to start learning both mod_python and Python

Robert Lilly wrote:
> So, to someone who is new to both to mod_python and to the Python
> programming language, and whose only background is Visual Basic, what are
> your recommendations on how and where to get started.

If you already know how to program, Dive Into Python should be an 
essential stop on your tour of the Python universe. It's a free online 
book that teaches Python programming (including a lot of useful stuff on 
Python style) to people who already understand what if/then/else and for 
loops are:

http://diveintopython.org/

There's also a thriving Python weblog scene. A great index for this is 
the Python Programmer Weblogs page, which lists Python blogs and shows 
recent entries from them as well:

http://mechanicalcat.net/pyblagg.html

And finally some self promotion :) You might find the Python category on 
my own blog of some use:

http://simon.incutio.com/categories/python/

> Also, is using mod_python the only way to use Python under Apache? If not,
> although this is a mod_python list, I would appreciate knowing what the
> various options are.

CGI always gets a bad rap for performance, but I don't think this is 
entirely deserved. Recently I've written a couple of applications that 
feature an admin panel powered by Python CGI that generates static HTML 
pages for public consumption. Performance on an admin panel that only 
gets accessed by one person at a time is fine with CGI. That said, I 
wouldn't want to run a full dynamic site from it.

-- 
Simon Willison
Web development weblog: http://simon.incutio.com/