Messages
10/21/2022
18 : 4
[Python Mastery] The secret to "ethical self-promotion"?
Hey there, Here's some food for thought: There's a difference between *doing* a great job as a Python developer, and *to be seen doing* a great job. Being a skilled developer among peers—and
10/20/2022
17 : 34
[Python Mastery] What does it mean to "master" Python?
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
10/15/2022
18 : 4
[Python Dependency Pitfalls] The Iceberg
Hey there, The other day I read this quote from a Python developer that made me stop and think: "As a noob with a little programming knowledge already, I've found setting up and installing
10/14/2022
18 : 4
[Python Dependency Pitfalls] "Re-inventing the wheel" disease
Hey there, PyPI, the Python packaging repository, now contains more than 100000 third-party packages in total. That's an *overwhelming* number of packages to choose from... And this feeling of
10/13/2022
18 : 4
[Python Dependency Pitfalls] Artisanal "from-scratch" development
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
10/13/2022
18 : 4
[Sublime + Python Setup] Sublime Text is just a blank canvas…
Hey there, When I became serious about optimizing Sublime Text with plugins, it was hard for me to separate the wheat from the chaff. Without a real guideline or roadmap I resorted to installing *any*
10/13/2022
18 : 4
[PythonistaCafe] Q&A
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
10/12/2022
14 : 29
[PythonistaCafe] What's in PythonistaCafe for you?
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
10/12/2022
14 : 29
[Sublime + Python Setup] Grumpy old greybeard with a whitespace problem
One fateful day, the Agile Gods that be decided to “add some firepower” to my little team… And so, developer Paul joined (name changed to protect the guilty). Before I dive into this story, let me ask
10/12/2022
14 : 29
[Python Dependency Pitfalls] What dev managers expect from Python candidates
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
10/11/2022
8 : 4
[Python Dependency Pitfalls] How to set the world on fire
Hey there, #1 on my list of dependency management pitfalls is there for a good reason: It lead to a single developer causing mayhem and breaking thousands of open-source projects around the world in
10/11/2022
8 : 4
[Sublime + Python Setup] Don’t build “nag screen muscle memory”
Hey there, Once I worked with a developer who refused to buy a registered copy of Sublime for months on end, even though he *loved* Sublime. He used it as his main code editor every day and was very
10/11/2022
8 : 4
[PythonistaCafe] Why PythonistaCafe exists
Hey there, In one of my last emails I talked about how some online communities in the tech space devolve over time and turn into cesspools of negativity. This relates directly to how and why I started
10/10/2022
8 : 4
[Sublime + Python Setup] why Atom can’t replace Sublime
Hey there, "In a nutshell, Atom is a Sublime Text editor that just got better." When I read this quote I got so worked up I nearly fell off my chair. Because every time I've tried Atom or
10/9/2022
21 : 44
[Python Dependency Pitfalls] A total mess?
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
10/9/2022
21 : 34
[PythonistaCafe] What makes PythonistaCafe different
Hey there, Mastering Python is *not* just about getting the books and courses to study—to be successful you also need a way to stay motivated and to grow your abilities in the long run. Many
10/9/2022
8 : 4
[Python Mastery] What Pythonistas can learn from bestselling authors
Hey there, I just finished reading Stephen King's "On Writing." It's a great little book where he shares some of the writing advice and stories he's picked up over the course of
10/9/2022
8 : 4
[Sublime + Python Setup] The Ctrl+s "Heisenbug"
"What the **** is going on?!" I heard Keith yell. Returning from my lunch break and in a helpful mood I grabbed my coffee mug and shuffled over to my coworker's desk. "What's
10/8/2022
9 : 24
[Sublime + Python Setup] How to become a happier & more productive Python dev
Hey there, I really struggled with setting up an effective development environment as a new Python developer. It was difficult to build the right habits and to find a set of tools I enjoyed to use.
10/7/2022
18 : 4
[Python Mastery] The hidden costs of "copy-paste" Python programming
Hey there, Here's a development story that plays out thousands of times each day: Avid Pythonista Max is working on a function to find the 10 oldest files in a nested directory hierarchy. He needs