Get Packt's Python Essentials. I think it covers a large number of important topics. Central to this is Python 3.4. The book covers Python 3 with few -- if any -- backward glances. If it makes any mention of Python 2, the reference is strictly derogatory. There isn't even a mention …

I remain captivated by the ideals of Literate Programming. My fork of PyLit (https://github.com/slott56/PyLit-3) coupled with Sphinx seems to handle LP programming in a very elegant way.

It works like this.

1. Write RST files describing the problem and the solution. This includes the actual implementation code …

Let me gripe about this for a moment.

sys.exit()

The use case for this function is limited. Very, very limited.

Every place that this appears (except for one) is going to lead to reusability issues.

Consider some obscure little function, deep within the app.

def deep_within_the_app(x, y, zed …

Read this: http://www.paulgraham.com/taste.html.

I was originally focused on "beauty". Clearly, good design is beautiful. Isn't that obvious? Why so many words to explain the obvious?

The post seemed useless. Why write it in the first place? Why share it? Why share it now, 12 years …

Someone told me they weren't yet ready to write "serious code." They needed to spend more time doing something that's not coding.

I'm unclear on what they were doing. It appears they have some barriers that I can't see.

They had sample data. They had a problem statement. They had …

Or. Why I Hate Windows. For Mac OS X, you download XCode (for free) and you can build anything. For Linux, you use some kind of yum or rpm installer for the developer tools, and you can build anything. For Windows... Pre-built binaries. 😂 And a hope that the version numbers …

Actual quote:

"they spend a lot of time maintaining regular expressions. So, what are the alternatives to regular expression hell?"

Regular Expression Hell? It's a thing?

I have several thoughts:

1. Do you have metrics to support "a lot"? I doubt it. It's very difficult to tease RE maintenance away from …

Read this: How 'DevOps' is Killing the Developer

My pull-out quote:

This is why we see so many developers that can't pass FizzBuzz: they never really had to write any code.

I agree: It appears that DevOps may be more symptom than solution.

I have one tiny objection to any …

The conventional wisdom on class design is to model real-world things. This is the Domain-Driven Design Approach. It's what we used to teach as Rumbaugh's OMT (prior to the Three Amigos creating UML.)

The idea is simple: Look at the real world objects. Describe them. Classes will have attributes and …

Required Reading: https://www.pandastrike.com/posts/20150304-agile My takeaway quote? "Scrum lags behind the modern toolchain enough that there can be a Potemkin village vibe to the whole thing." I was clued into this from another takeaway quote someone seconded on Twitter: "Waterfall used too much written communication, but …