An Evening of Python Coding

Here is the link to the event I attended, it was virtual, held on a ring (basically zoom) room. https://www.meetup.com/dcpython/events/287578082/ I went to a virtual python meetup, and it was very interesting. The format they had was that people would present projects they were working on, and recieve help from others. I have to admit, I was a little lost trying to follow some of the code in the projects, but it was still really interesting! The most interesting thing I learned about while in this meeting was PyLint, which I will link below.

PyLint

https://github.com/PyCQA/pylint

In a nutshell, PyLint analyzes your python code, but without running it. It looks for errors in your code, it suggests how your code could be refactored, and it can infer values from your code. Of course, since it is an open source project, it is extremely customizable. You can configure it to write plugins and make your own checks, the example the github uses is to add your internal libraries or rules. Of course, you can also use frameworks others have used. This is an example of something I really like about open source projects. They always make things for the actual user, because it is made by users, for users.

If you want to install PyLint with the comman dline, it can be done this way.

pip install pylint

Admittedly, I don’t often use the command line to install things, even when I am on my linux machine, but I aim to start more, especially because this seems like it would be very helpful for things like the class project. I would have to use a different IDE than trinket I think, as I don’t think I can implement it into trinket.io, but I would be able to copy/paste my trinket code in and run it there.

Would I go again?

I think these kinds of events are really cool and helpful, but I have to admit, I am a little intimidated. I think I would go again to get help on a big project, but I am not sure if I want to (or should) for my turtle final project. I feel that maybe going and asking questions that are probably very simple about turtles would be seen as very elementary, but then again, it did say “open to novices and experts alike” so I think it would be fine. The community did seem welcoming, all you have to do is share your screen and people are there offering help and coding advice. It’s like an office hours, but with multiple experts.

I am currently trying to upload photos of the event, I think I will have to update this post with photos once I figure out how.