Austin/DC Python Meetup
On November 15, 2022, I attended a python meetup periodically organized by Jacob Barhak. This time’s topic of interest was PyLint, presented by Gabriel Manor-Liechtman. The meetup lasted several hours after the initial presentation, and it was a fun and interactive time for me to communicate with experienced people from the industry.
The Presentation
The meetup started with the control over to Gabriel, who briefly introduced themselves and then proceeded to give an incredible and hands-on talk on PyLint. I learned that PyLint is a comprehensive tool that, at its core, does static code analysis. In the industry, a tool like PyLint is used to ensure code quality and adherence to Python’s coding standards and to prevent security vulnerabilities by preventing bad coding practices. In the particular presentation that day, Gabriel demoed how to use PyLint to check for multiple Ifs in the same expression, replace it with match-case, check for redundancy in classes, and a simple HttpClient checker, that checks for incorrect usage of modules in the HttpClient library. It was an insightful presentation, especially the hands-on demo. I learned a lot in the demo.
Post Presentation
After the presentation, other people took to the stage to impromptu discuss tools and technologies related to Python that they had discovered. A fellow developer demonstrated Panda3D, a real-time 3D game engine for Python, which intrigued me quite a bit. I am working on a game for the final project, so I could relate to wanting the functionalities that this game engine exposed compared to Turtle.
What I learned
The demo was very insightful, and I learned about a new Python tool that day! Although many concepts were fuzzy to me initially, Gabriel did a good job explaining everything from the ground up and set a good standard for how a professional presenter with industry knowledge demonstrates complex concepts. A key takeaway was that while coding on the meetup, even Gabriel was running into issues and making silly mistakes as I do, so it was sort of confidence-inspiring in that sense. I realized it is perfectly okay and is a part of the process of software engineering to make mistakes. It’s just that with experience, the ability to discover and pinpoint bugs becomes much faster. The presenter looked at official documentation as he coded on the meetup, so I noted many good points about navigating comprehensive documentation. For example, a wildcard search on a function name can show you all modules that offer that functionality.
Value After Class
I see value in going to more of these meetups in the future, even after class. It was inspiring to see developers talk about their doubts and experiences and discuss easter eggs in code and libraries. I constantly felt like I wanted to be an active member of such a community, and I would like to learn something new in the future to present it in such meetups. The community is much more welcoming to novice engineers like me, and I felt I belonged there.
Experience vs. Expectation
I expected the meetup not to be as interactive and hands-on as it was. I could follow along with the instructor’s code examples; there were even presentations beyond the initial advertised topic of discussion. I got to talk to and network with many fellow engineers, who warmly welcomed me. I expected this meetup to be much more intimidating than it was, and I am glad I got an experience where I was motivated and inspired to code more!
Conclusion
I will be on the lookout for more meetups, even in-person ones, in the future. Not only do I want to learn, but I also want to share my experiences and questions with the rest of the community. I would definitely like to be a part of, if not lead, such a community in the future. I am glad I did this activity; it was indeed a confidence boost for me!