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Relax with python

Most programmer knows python and like it. I have been working with it a lot recently, and there is few important caveat to really have good time.

→ Forget vim or emacs: Use a tool called an IDE

I have much affection for both vim and emacs and being currently writing this post with the latter. I tried my best to setup a full fledged python with it and I won't do it again. I lost myself in few tutorials and when in the end I got a result it was far from the feature a python IDE can offer.

Intellij IDE has a python plugin which turn it into Pycharm. Unlike vim and emacs, they parse the python code with an AST, which provide some powerful feature:

It also come with feature we like:

→ Manage your python versions with pyenv

Managing multiple versions of python is not trivial, and there is many ways for this. You can go with the packaged versions of the OS (such apt), but it won't have new versions and you will end up adding weird source list and repository. I did use anaconda which is a huge reptilian mess.

Pyenv is really the silver bullet for this. What it does is provide a command line for installing (download and compile) every python version that exist including minors and beta. You can then choose for each project the one you want, without ANY friction. Pyenv is not a replacement with virtualenv at all, they actually combine: you build venv with a given python version provided by pyenv.

→ Manage you project environment with direnv

Python is so popular, you end up with many virtualenv. Activating/deactivating them becomes really painful. And you will forget to do so, and compromise your pip environment easily.

direnv automates the management of virtualenvs when you navigate in the linux projects, it activate / deactivate them accordingly. You never have to do this again.

It has a pyenv binding and it's super easy to specify the python version you d'like in your venv. This produce a virtualenv folder called .direnv at the root of your project. In order to make intellij not considering this folder's python sources as part of the project, you simply have to "exclude" it with a right click.

→ Format your code with black

Python syntax rules are great, but it is not perfect. There is still freedom in the way every one format there code. Black takes care of everything. Its main advantage is it formats the same source code the same way, independently of how it is formatted at the beginning.

→ Commit your code with pre-commit

There is many small details that everyone wants: format python, markdown, xml, yaml... All this can be added BEFORE committing to git with a git-hook. pre-commit takes care of all, and let you add those step within a descriptive configuration.

→ Test your code with tox

When you test the code you don't only check the source code acts correctly, you also test its environment works. Tox encapsulates the tests in order they will work on your computer but also on the other's one. With tox, you avoid the "it works on my laptop" syndrome.

→ Build your changelog with Towncrier

Maintaining a changelog is important and there is several tools out there. Towncrier simplifies this process, and with few efforts, you get a clear and maintained changelog.md file.

→ Publish your package on pypi with twine

Publishing on pypi can be straightforward when you use the right tools. Both setuptools and twine are fine for this. You also have to get several files present. This blog is helpful for this.

React ?

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