Apologies to the Python community

Apparently planet python is pulling all content off this blog to its RSS feed. Which meant a rant I wrote this morning that was completely off topic went to the entire Python community. I'm contacting the staff behind planet.python.org and asking that they point at the correct feed so this doesn't happen again.

I hate Mac & Cheese

I'm not a picky eater. I'm willing to eat every meat that is legal in the United States and wouldn't mind traveling to places where the laws are different. I have this strange desire to try pickled insects in a third world nation. I often eat things I don't like, such as eggplant.

However, the truth is that I really loathe mac & cheese. I hate cooking it, I hate eating it, I hate cleaning up after it. I've thrown away pots that have been used to cook it. I claim to be different because I despise this American staple, and silly as you may think it may be it is my preference not to have anything to do with cheesy pasta. Heck, it ain't even healthy.

Note: I sometimes like some cheese on top of tomato based sauces or chili that has pasta mixed into it. This is not the same thing as mac & cheese.

Yet the complication I face is that I have dear friends and family who think that their prize-winning homemade mac & cheese made from imported unpasteurized cheese will be something that I love. That I'll change and they'll get the chance to smugly say that it was the quality of what I've eaten that discouraged me.

That won't happen.

I've been forced to try everything from Kraft mac & cheese to gourmet cheesy pasta prepared by chefs I otherwise respect. I've had it dumped on my plate on picnics and in fancy restaurants. I've had the people proudly insist I try their recipe all while making it clear that they would take it as a personal insult if I didn't try it and would also take it as a personal insult if I didn't like it.

And you know what?

I hated it. Its vile. Its disgusting.

Please stop insisting that I try your concoction. You aren't going to change me.

My little unit test trick

This is an oldie but a goodie.

I love writing unit tests for Python code. It makes me so happy seeing the little dots go by. Add in some coverage.py and you can even make a game out of how much your code is covered. Of course, adding in Hudson just makes it even better.

However, sometimes when your unit tests get sophisticated it can be a pain to introspect via the Python shell (REPL) on one terminal shell and then go back to the unittest. Especially when the unit tests get even the least bit sophisticated. In the shell you can forget steps since you are entering things manually.

So as soon as things get the least bit complicated I simply start using the Python help() function and pdb library inside my test code. For example:

class MyTests(unittest):
    def test_pretending_to_be_complex(self):
        ...
        complex_object = really_complex_actions()
        ...
        
        # help demonstration
        help(complex_object)

        # PDB example cause everyone loves that too.
        import pdb        
        pdb.set_trace()

So what does this give you? Well, the help() function acts here exactly the same way it does from the Python shell. It stops the code processing and lets you do introspection. pdb lets you step through things with joy.

Try it out!

EDIT: Of course, you probably wouldn't use both help and pdb. Thats because you can call help() inside of PDB. My example just shows you available options. Thanks to Gary for pointing this out!

Using modernizr to help with canvas

On my current project I've been using a little bit of the HTML5 Canvas element to provide a little bell/whistle. However, the problem with Canvas is that not all browsers support it. Out of the box though Canvas gives you a quick and handy way of dealing with that problem:

<div id="content">
    <div id="demo-space-wrapper">
        <canvas height="100" id="demo-space" width="100">
            This text is displayed if the client browser does not support HTML5 Canvas.
        </canvas>
    </div>
</div>

The problem with this approach is that if your layout expects to have an object there and your client's use of Internet Explorer doesn't include the Canvas extension then this could damage the overall feel of your layout.

And that is where Modernizr comes in to play. It is a trivial to use JavaScript library that makes it possible to detect if a browser can use Canvas or any other HTML control. So what I did was take the Modernizr Canvas detection documentation and apply it to my JavaScript. With that in hand I wrote this:

// check for canvas
if (Modernizr.canvas) {
    // We have canvas so add a rectangle
    var demospace = document.getElementById('demo-space');
    var context = demospace.getContext('2d');
    context.fillStyle = "rgb(255,0,0)";
    context.fillRect(10, 10, 10, 10)            
} else {
    // No canvas. Remove the layout space to preserve the layout.
    var ul = document.getElementById('content');
    var li = document.getElementById('demo-space-wrapper');
    ul.removeChild(li);
};

Code highlighting on blogger

Thanks to Luka Marinko I have code highlighting now!

def python_funct():
   a = a + b
   print "Hello Highlighted code"

class Foo(Bar):
   pass

Steve Holden giving a talk on Python education

Steve Holden, Python Software Foundation chairman and all around decent guy is giving a webcast talk today at 1 pm PST (4 pm EST) about the O'Reilly school courses on Python and the upcoming O'Reilly Python certification programs. Check out the O'Reilly promotional page:

Steve Holden's Webcast

Some quick notes:

1. Steve Holden is a marvelous speaker and a great wit. Even if you don't do Python and aren't a geek its worth listen to him talk. Leaving the DC area means I won't get the chance to sit at his feet and absorb his magnificent wisdom.

2. In certain ways, I believe Python needs these kinds of certification programs. The lack of certification or any paper validation of python skills means that a number of large and conservative organizations are often hesitant to use Python. And one way to make those organizations more open to using Python is certifications. Its not the only answer, and its an answer that comes with its own set of problems, but I think that Steve and O'Reilly are a really good choice for overcoming these problems.

3. I helped Steve write the Python 1: Beginning Python. So by attending you will be supporting my work too. :)

Moving away from DC

Way back in 1969, when I was about a year and a half old, my family moved to Laurel, Maryland, which is about 20 miles north of Washington, DC. Since then, I've lived in central Maryland, Washington, and Northern Virginia. I enjoyed my friends and family, and the things that I've done.

Yet I always wanted to see the rest of our world, try new things, explore new horizons. Breathe different air, if you will. My ideal existence would be to live in a lot of different places, living six months for a time in place to place so I can get a good experience of the planet.

Not long ago conditions came together that made it feasible for me to do all this. My house is sold, my son is 18, I don't currently own any furniture, and I have a job that allows/encourages for telecommuting (and that is because of Python and Django).

So on May 5th I'm moving to Los Angeles, California for a short term stay. I'm there to hang out with a certain artist/developer and to go on a vacation that I've wanted to do for many months. More details on this move in another post.

In early June I'm moving again to Lawrence, Kansas. I've got a number of friends there, but much more important are the professional reasons. The entrepreneur for my start-up will be living not far from there, Revolution Systems offered me office space, and the cost of living is amazingly low. Another nice feature is that its in the central point of the USA, so flying anywhere on the continent doesn't take that long.

I'm very excited, but I'm also sad to go. I'll miss being near my son, my parents and siblings. I'll miss all my DC area friends, who are way too numerous to list. I will certainly miss all my students, young and old, not to mention the other teachers at OMAA.

I will be coming back in late June, and then perhaps in either late July or August. And who knows, maybe someday my travels will bring me back to the Washington, DC area for an extended stay?