[Python Dependency Pitfalls] "Re-inventing the wheel" disease

Hey there,

PyPI, the Python packaging repository, now contains more than 100,000 third-party packages in total.

That's an *overwhelming* number of packages to choose from...

And this feeling of overwhelm and "choice paralysis" is exactly what held me back earlier on in my Python career.

Here, let me explain:

Back when I got "serious" about building my Python skills, mastering the syntax of the language was NOT the hardest part.

Python's syntax is quite clear and intuitive by comparison, and there's a (relatively) obvious path to learning it.

But when it comes to Python's 100k+ libraries and frameworks that's simply an OVERWHELMING number to choose from (and there's no way to memorize all of them.)

So anyway, what tripped me up as a fledgling Pythonista was this:

I had the basics of Python under my belt, but I struggled when it came to adopting the right workflows and tools of the "ecosystem" surrounding the core language.

Thus, I wasted time reinventing existing solutions left and right...

Sometimes I spent DAYS writing my own (crappy) versions of common building blocks like config file parsers, data validators, or visualization tools.

Now, sure I learned quite a bit from doing that—

But I kept repeating the same mistake and was "reinventing the wheel" even when under a tight deadline.

In hindsight, my ignorance caused me a ton of undue stress and sleep deprivation.

Part of it was overconfidence in my abilities, and another part was a lack of experience using "bread and butter" tools like the pip package manager, virtual environments, and requirements files.

Once I got the hang of Python's dependency management tools and workflows I was able to overcome my "reinventing the wheel disease" relatively quickly.

Mastering those tools and coming up with strategies for identifying high-quality Python packages opened up a whole new world to me:

By leveraging Python's packaging ecosystem I was suddenly coding at a higher level of abstraction.

And it had a MASSIVE impact on my productivity and efficiency.

Saying it allowed me to 10X my output wouldn't be too far off.

If you use Python and you're wondering how to go from "writing scripts" to "building applications"—

Then there's a good chance you could benefit from focusing on your dependency management skills.

You might be ready for a similar "quantum leap" in your productivity.

In Managing Python Dependencies With Pip and Virtual Environments, I give you the exact step-by-step workflows I use every day to work on Python projects small and large.

When you add just one of these tricks to your personal dev workflow you'll *permanently* increase your productivity and efficiency as a developer.

Details here:

realpython.com/products/managing-python-dependencies/

— Dan Bader

Older messages

[Python Dependency Pitfalls] Artisanal "from-scratch" development

Thursday, December 30, 2021

Hey there, The other day I got this question from Newsletter member Newvick in my email inbox: ~~~ I'm trying to get past the beginner's stage in Python and one problem I have is: When do you

[Python Dependency Pitfalls] What dev managers expect from Python candidates

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Hey there, My friend Og is a senior manager at Red Hat and works with a large team of developers and quality engineers using Python. I got to pick his brain on what he thought were the most important

[Python Dependency Pitfalls] A total mess?

Monday, December 27, 2021

Hey there, Recently I watched a Pythonista ask for advice on setting up a Python project on his work machine. This new developer had some prior experience with NodeJS and had just started to get his

[PythonistaCafe] Q&A

Wednesday, December 22, 2021

Hey there, At this point you should have a pretty good idea of what PythonistaCafe is about and what makes it special. In this email I want to answer some common questions that I get asked about the

[PythonistaCafe] What's in PythonistaCafe for you?

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Hey there, A couple of years ago I'd become quite interested in martial arts. Hours upon hours of watching "The Karate Kid" growing up must've taken their toll on me... And so, I

You Might Also Like

💎 Issue 458 - Why Ruby on Rails still matters

Thursday, February 27, 2025

This week's Awesome Ruby Newsletter Read this email on the Web The Awesome Ruby Newsletter Issue » 458 Release Date Feb 27, 2025 Your weekly report of the most popular Ruby news, articles and

📱 Issue 452 - Three questions about Apple, encryption, and the U.K

Thursday, February 27, 2025

This week's Awesome iOS Weekly Read this email on the Web The Awesome iOS Weekly Issue » 452 Release Date Feb 27, 2025 Your weekly report of the most popular iOS news, articles and projects Popular

💻 Issue 451 - .NET 10 Preview 1 is now available!

Thursday, February 27, 2025

This week's Awesome .NET Weekly Read this email on the Web The Awesome .NET Weekly Issue » 451 Release Date Feb 27, 2025 Your weekly report of the most popular .NET news, articles and projects

💻 Issue 458 - Full Stack Security Essentials: Preventing CSRF, Clickjacking, and Ensuring Content Integrity in JavaScript

Thursday, February 27, 2025

This week's Awesome Node.js Weekly Read this email on the Web The Awesome Node.js Weekly Issue » 458 Release Date Feb 27, 2025 Your weekly report of the most popular Node.js news, articles and

💻 Issue 458 - TypeScript types can run DOOM

Thursday, February 27, 2025

This week's Awesome JavaScript Weekly Read this email on the Web The Awesome JavaScript Weekly Issue » 458 Release Date Feb 27, 2025 Your weekly report of the most popular JavaScript news, articles

💻 Issue 453 - Linus Torvalds Clearly Lays Out Linux Maintainer Roles Around Rust Code

Thursday, February 27, 2025

This week's Awesome Rust Weekly Read this email on the Web The Awesome Rust Weekly Issue » 453 Release Date Feb 27, 2025 Your weekly report of the most popular Rust news, articles and projects

💻 Issue 376 - Top 10 React Libraries/Frameworks for 2025 🚀

Thursday, February 27, 2025

This week's Awesome React Weekly Read this email on the Web The Awesome React Weekly Issue » 376 Release Date Feb 27, 2025 Your weekly report of the most popular React news, articles and projects

February 27th 2025

Thursday, February 27, 2025

Curated news all about PHP. Here's the latest edition Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. PHP Weekly 27th February 2025 Hi everyone, Laravel 12 is finally released, and

📱 Issue 455 - How Swift's server support powers Things Cloud

Thursday, February 27, 2025

This week's Awesome Swift Weekly Read this email on the Web The Awesome Swift Weekly Issue » 455 Release Date Feb 27, 2025 Your weekly report of the most popular Swift news, articles and projects

JSK Daily for Feb 27, 2025

Thursday, February 27, 2025

JSK Daily for Feb 27, 2025 View this email in your browser A community curated daily e-mail of JavaScript news Introducing the New Angular TextArea Component It is a robust and flexible user interface