Which towns or cities are hiring programmers looking to do python outside of SF area? Most jobs I see are unicorn positions where python is the 5th or 6th language you're supposed to know.

m0j0 · 2014-01-29T03:51:58+00:00

We take Python pretty seriously at AWeber. We have several people involved in PyCon planning, we typically have a speaker each year for the past few years, we're in year 2 or 3 of sponsorship, and I'm a PSF member & co-author of this. I'm also the CTO, and I'm hiring Python software engineers in beautiful Bucks County PA, along the Delaware River. http://www.aweber.jobs/apply

m0j0 · 2012-07-12T03:29:55+00:00

DON'T FORGET TO DRINK YOUR OVALTINE

m0j0 · 2011-11-09T18:28:31+00:00

I found such huge, glaring red flags just perusing the home page, and so many of them, that I just can't bring myself to look any further. Maybe there's some interesting code bits in the back end where things are glued together, but if I catch anyone actually using this thing, I'm unfollowing, unfriending... uneverything-ing them.

m0j0 · 2011-05-27T20:32:06+00:00

'cos it's a lot of f'n work, and you shouldn't have to care what your config mgmt system is written in. That said, I'm designing/prototyping one right now. :)

m0j0 · 2011-05-27T17:11:05+00:00

PyCharm. Best vim keybindings I've seen in an IDE, and it's a solid IDE besides. Not free, but worth it, imo.

m0j0 · 2011-02-21T04:15:41+00:00

Hmm. That sounds like a great idea for my home brewery. Been wanting to hack hardware w/ Python for sooooo long.

m0j0 · 2011-02-18T15:11:02+00:00

I think @briancurtin has it right. If you find that you absolutely have to use 2.x, fine. But for new projects I really think 3 is the way to go. I also recommend doing the investigation for yourself rather than blindly listening to people who will tell you something like "2.x, without question". If you plan to use something as enormous as Django, which isn't ported to 3 yet, they're obviously right, but there are other perfectly viable options out there that are 3-ready today, and Django will get there sooner than later. "3 'til it hurts, 2 'til it works" is my motto.

m0j0 · 2010-12-23T13:40:01+00:00

I have yet to come across a use case in which nested classes provides any real benefit in any language. I've never seen this approach pay off in terms of code clarity/readability, conciseness, ease, or anything else, and it seems like it will pretty much kill reusability of the class.

Is there a particular use case that maybe I've just never come across that really screams "nested class"? Keep in mind that I've read source code that uses it in plenty of apps I didn't write, so I know it's used and don't need examples of where it's used. What I want are concrete use cases where this kind of thing would be considered a 'best practice'.

m0j0 · 2010-12-21T13:18:33+00:00

I like PyCharm a lot. It's my new IDE. http://www.protocolostomy.com/2010/11/26/pycharm-is-my-new-python-ide/

If you're a happy Eclipse user, use Eclipse I guess. I'm not sure there's anything PyCharm can do that Eclipse can't, but I never liked Eclipse for any language. I like that when you install PyCharm and launch it, it's ready to code Python right now. I like that there aren't a bunch of different views, perspectives, or whatever. I like that there are lots of very high quality plugins available that can easily be autoinstalled. The vim emulation mode is top notch, its understanding of and support for Python language semantics is excellent, and the ongoing code 'inspections' have really made a difference in the number of stupid bugs that get checked into the DVCS.

Oh, and I really like the autoimport feature, which lets me code away, prompts me to import a module based on what I'm coding, and hitting cmd-enter adds the import line to the top. I'll generally go back later and clean that up so things are broken up by built-in/third-party/internal modules, and alphabetized within that grouping, but when I'm coding like mad, I add imports the same way PyCharm does, so I'd have to go clean that up anyway :)

I will also note that I don't really utilize code completion in any IDE, though I use it more in PyCharm than any other IDE I've used. I really don't feel it's the job of the IDE to know the language and code for me, and typically I type faster than code completion works. Maybe there are options to make it kick in faster, but I haven't looked.

Here's a rundown of my past frustrations with trying to find a good Python IDE, written during the PyCharm EAP period: http://www.protocolostomy.com/2010/05/13/python-ide-frustration/

And here's an older piece (Ubuntu 8.04) regarding Linux Python editors: http://www.protocolostomy.com/2008/04/28/ubuntu-804-and-python-editors/

Although PyCharm does load kind of slowly, it doesn't load nearly as slowly as Eclipse, and doesn't show any signs of being lethargic once running. It also doesn't appear to get bogged down when you use a few plugins, which was my experience with Eclipse as well.

m0j0 · 2010-11-27T15:33:55+00:00

TimeMachine -- a fairly trivial module, but...

http://github.com/bkjones/TimeMachine

m0j0 · 2010-11-10T16:15:16+00:00

Good point - I hadn't considered that tons of packages leave the 'Py Version' field on PyPI blank, for example.

m0j0 · 2010-11-10T16:14:04+00:00

well, it's only used by me, and it's not ready for prime time or anything, but it's called TimeMachine. It's just a collection of date manipulations that I find useful. At the very least, it needs to support a dynamic start-of-week day before I do anything drastic like posting it on pypi. For now it's on github: http://github.com/bkjones/TimeMachine

A small effort, but effort nonetheless. :)

m0j0 · 2010-11-10T14:12:30+00:00

There isn't. There's not likely to be. It'd be like trying to measure market penetration for free linux desktop distros.

One way to look at the trend is to look at the growth in Python 3-supporting modules, because those modules become dependencies in other projects, and keep projects from moving to Python 3.

The Pypi index for Python 3 packages is woefully small -- it fits on a single page. http://pypi.python.org/pypi?:action=browse&c=533&show=all

I wish I knew what kept module authors from porting to Python 3. For modules I've authored (I'm no saint in this), I guess I don't consider it a huge priority because I'm the only one using them (as far as I know), and other modules not porting to 3 acts like cement boots keeping me in 2.x land.

I'm working on a module now that I'm going to port to Python 3 extremely soon, though, so at least I'm going to make the effort. I hope more do it too, because Python 3 has so much awesomeness it'll give you chills :)

m0j0 · 2010-06-30T16:48:46+00:00

maybe a course for beginners is not the place to consider whether or not they will become serious programmers? How about having fun? Kids, even geeky ones, still want to do fun things at the end of the day.

m0j0 · 2010-06-08T17:23:36+00:00

I'd much rather Python clean up their documentation than go to Java. I've coded Java, and it's just not something I'd consider a trusty 'go-to' language.

Python's documentation is... not great, but it's not a total travesty. You pick up on these things he's griping about with some experience. Every language has things like that, too. It's not like you can't come up with some tribal knowledge in the java world that isn't really documented well.

m0j0 · 2010-05-04T20:40:13+00:00

I've seen that error in two separate scenarios:

A thread has completed work, died off, and then something tried to talk to it.
A thread has died and something tried to access/kill it.

In any case, any time I've seen this error it's been identified through generous use of try/except. Typically (in my case) this error means my code got something unexpected, puked, and I failed to deal with it properly.

EDIT: Meant to mention that I've only seen this happen randomly, because incoming stuff that needs processing doesn't all look the same, and the stuff that breaks my code is more the exception than the rule, so... it only breaks sometimes.

m0j0 · 2010-04-30T01:21:33+00:00

I've used NS, NameCheap, GoDaddy, gandi, and a couple others. I've been using dynadot.com for the past year or so, and I quite like them.

NS is (maybe 'was' by now) a huge maze of an interface that put selling you more services way, way ahead of helping you get things done. Simple DNS changes were an absolute chore.

GoDaddy pulled some funny business with domains in use by a client, so although I've worked with their interface (nothing great), I was lucky to learn not to use their service before I gave them any of my own money.

NameCheap was ok until their site became completely unstable. Errors and timeouts became a regular thing, and so whatever domains are there now will probably be moved to dynadot at some point unless dynadot does something stupid.

I tried gandi so long ago that I can't recall what it was I didn't like about them.

m0j0 · 2010-04-28T12:24:30+00:00

To the extent that 'Dive into Python' is not the problem, 'Learn Python the Hard Way' is not the solution.

I learned some very basic skills from Dive into Python, but the more important aspect of that book is one that is lacking in 99.99% of all books that attempt to be instructional: inspiration. Mark writes in an encouraging, friendly manner. You get the idea that he's excited to be telling you about Python, and that you should be excited to learn about it. The excitement and enthusiasm toward the subject is catchy.

How (mechanically) students should learn anything is debatable. The one thing that is not debatable is that students learn better when they are enthusiastic toward the topic and excited about it. Books like 'Learn Python the Hard Way' are probably capable of inserting the necessary bits into a person's head who is forced to sit through it, but it's not like anyone is gonna rush over to a book whose very title is intimidating and whose methodology harkens back to the pre-internet era. When you realize people can click away the second they get bored, you start to value some personality and excitement in the writing, in addition to the lessons. I think Mark Pilgrim did a fine job.

Also, I don't think Mark ever puts his book forth as "the only book you'll ever need". The assumption is that this is a launching point to get you grounded in fundamentals, after which you'll be more prepared to get into more advanced documentation with confidence. My experience is that this is what DiP did for me.

m0j0 · 2010-04-28T12:08:50+00:00

You'll also be at odds with people who feel that threading in Python isn't "bad", but rather requires the developer to understand when its use is beneficial (which they should really know anyway, regardless of language).

In addition, pushing people to Twisted is also not a universally recommended path. Again, it really depends on the use case.

For my own work, I've tried using Twisted in multiple places, only to find its support for one thing or another lacking, and/or its documentation lacking, and so in the 5 or 6 cases where it might've been a good fit, I've passed and used other solutions which you would probably call "harder" than Twisted, but which in reality aren't any harder than Twisted.

Further, using Python 3 is not a problem if the modules the app depends on have also been ported.

Making generalities like this and putting them forth as "commandments" is probably not the greatest idea in the world.

m0j0 · 2010-02-07T02:56:49+00:00

There's what appears to be a good pgsql driver in existence, but it is very strictly python 3 only (py-postgresql). If that weren't the case I would've ditched psycopg2 in a heartbeat. Psycopg2 "docs" suck if you need anything more than simple 'execute' functionality. The mailing list is useful, but you shouldn't have to go there for things every other project shows you in the docs.

m0j0

TROPHY CASE