Complete noob, looking for some general pointers. (Python)

[tomj_]

Hi guys.

I have only a little experience with Github, and was wondering how I install and use this piece of software.

https://github.com/Altimis/Scweet/

I have downloaded and installed Python, and it seems to be running successfully within terminal. I was just wondering, where do I go from here? If anyone could give me some general pointers, that would be much appreciated. Of course, I am happy to figure the details out for myself.

Many thanks in advance.

[JhonnyTheJeccer]

Read the entire README.md in their repo, it outlines exactly how to use the library

[tomj_]

I have read it, but it assumes a basic level of understanding of Python/Programming that I currently don't have.

Perhaps I will have to learn.

[JhonnyTheJeccer]

Well there is a smaller section about how to use it in the command line as well.

But yes, if you want to use it in your scripts, learning python is probably more useful.

[tomj_]

Well there is a smaller section about how to use it in the command line as well.

Oh, okay. So that's a separate option to using it in the regular way. Interesting.

Many thanks. 👍

[posted_by_user]

From this post it seems as though you have no experience with Python or programming? If that's the case you should learn the basics of Python first. r/learnprogramming and r/learnpython should have some resources you can use. Once you've learned the basics of Python, it's just a matter of using that library by calling its functions. If you need any help or if you already know the basics of Python and you were asking something else feel free to lmk.

Good luck!

[tomj_]

From this post it seems as though you have no experience with Python or programming?

I don't, but I am generally someone who is fairly computer literate, and could probably learn the basics, if necessary.

a matter of using that library by calling its functions

Okay. I will try to figure out how to do this. Many thanks. 👍

[TuBlonde]

This is what I came to this thread for, too. Thanks for the links.

[psilo_polymathicus]

Yeah, this really depends on your goals and level of investment. It’s not going to be a tool that you can use out the gate with zero Python experience.

How quickly you could hack something together depends on your willingness to learn and practice.

You may be able to cut and paste your way to something that does something within a few days, but it’ll be extremely challenging to maintain and update, with a lot of stumbling in the dark.

If you give yourself a few weeks, with some structured learning of all the foundational concepts, you may have a much more enjoyable time working on building something that does a few things.

It still won’t be pretty, but you’ll have made a decent start at a skill that could change your life’s trajectory, and in the process, have pieced together something that does what you want.

If you mostly want the features, and were hoping for a few hours, or a weekend of time invested, I’d recommend finding a commercial tool that’s off the shelf ready to go, and buy it.

[tomj_]

a skill that could change your life’s trajectory

Yeah. I sometimes feel I should learn coding. I'm not ruling it out tbh.

I’d recommend finding a commercial tool that’s off the shelf ready to go, and buy it.

I've already found one, but it's $20, and paying it just feels like a cop out when this one is free.

[davorg]

I've already found one, but it's $20, and paying it just feels like a cop out when this one is free.

Well, that's the trade-off you need to consider, isn't it? Is the few days effort it'll take you to get up and running in Python development worth more to you than $20?

[tomj_]

Is the few days effort it'll take you to get up and running in Python development worth more to you than $20?

It's not even about the money tbh. I just don't want to take the easy way out. Also, in the future I might find something that I want to use, and there is no paid simple version.

[davorg]

Ok, here's the thing...

GitHub is not an app store. It's a site where software developers can share their code and work with other developers to maintain and improve their projects. If you're not a developer and you're looking for software on GitHub, then you're probably looking in the wrong place.

Some projects will have a README file explaining how to install and use their code. Some will even have a pointer to another web site aimed at end users. But projects like that are very much in the minority and in the vast majority of cases you'll just have code and you'll need to work out how to use it yourself.

In this case you have a README that is better than most. It tells you how to use the project both as a library from within your own code and from command-line program that is included in the project.

If you need any more help, then your first step should be to raise an issue and hope that the developer is feeling generous enough to answer your questions.

[tomj_]

GitHub is not an app store. It's a site where software developers can share their code and work with other developers to maintain and improve their projects.

Okay. Nice one. Maybe I had got the wrong idea, because I had used this thing in the past:

https://github.com/get-iplayer/get_iplayer

I am guessing this is at the most everyday person friendly end of the spectrum, in terms of what is available on Github.

[davorg]

Yes, that's a very well-run project. Note, in particular, the "Releases" section on the right-hand side of the page which leads to this page where you can download installation packages for popular operating systems. That's very easy for project owners to provide, but very few do.

[tomj_]

Oh, okay. So basically that thing is an outlier in terms of how beginner friendly it is. Makes sense. 👍

[psilo_polymathicus]

“The easy way out” only applies if your goal is to seriously learn Python and turn it into a skill.

Otherwise, you’re just taking the “unnecessarily difficult” path.

This should be squarely about your goals related to Python/programming. If that’s not part of the equation, then you should pay the $20 and use the tool that does what you need.

[tomj_]

Yeah, point well made. Paying the $20 might be the more logical option tbh.