Python Bytes 69

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Brian #1: pynb: Jupyter Notebooks as plain Python code with embedded Markdown text

• pynb lets you manage Jupyter notebooks as plain Python code with embedded Markdown text, enabling:
  • Python development environment: Use your preferred IDE/editor, ensure style compliance, navigate, refactor, and test your notebooks as regular Python code.
  • Version control: Track changes, review pull requests and merge conflicts as with regular Python code. The cell outputs are stored separately and don't interfere with versioning.
  • Consistent execution state: Never lose track again of the execution state. Notebooks are always executed from clean iPython kernels and the cell execution is cached.
• You also get parameterized notebooks with batch and programmatic execution.

Michael #2: Microsoft’s quantum computing language is now available for macOS

• New language Q# (snippet examples)
• How do you run a quantum app?
• Based on topological qubits and quantum computers
• Now out on macOS & Linux
• Need to use VS Code (and vs code extension)
• Comes with Python interoperability (only other language)
• Also in Jupyter
• Some real-world examples. See this Wired article.
  • D-wave
  • IBM is making quantum computers commercially available. Since 2016, it has offered researchers the chance to run experiments on a five-qubit quantum computer via the cloud and at the end of 2017 started making its 20-qubit system available online too.

Brian #3: pytest talk in Spanish

• "pytest: recommendations, basic packages for testing in Python and Django"
• By A. Vallbona (@avallbona) From PyConES 2017
• with English slides, and video in Spanish.
• Some of the topics covered:
  • pytest-django
  • model-mommy to easily create fixtures based on django models
  • pytest-lazy-fixture allows the use the fixtures as parameters to parameterize
  • pytest-mock, pytest-cov, pytest-flake8
  • freezegun to helps us to "freeze" time
  • eradicate to eliminate commented code
  • pytest-xdist to run tests in parallel

Bonus pytest topic:

• pytest.org just added a Reference page, a full reference to pytest’s API.

Michael #4: StackOverflow Developer Survey Results 2018

• Sample size: Over 100,000 developers
• 55% contribute to open source
• 64% have CS degrees
• Experience and Belonging
  • Connection to other devs (increasing over time)
  • Competing with peers (decreasing over time)
  • Not as good as my peers (decreasing over time)
• How Much Time Do Developers Spend on a Computer? Most: 9-12 hours
• Python beats C# in usage for the first time
• Languages:
  • Most loved: #1 Rust, #2 Kotlin, #3 Python
  • Most dreaded: VB 6 and CoffeeScript
  • Most wanted: #1 Python 25%, #JavaScript 19%, #3 Go 16%
• Databases:
  • Loved: PostgreSQL
  • Dreaded: IBM Db2, Memcached, and Oracle
  • Most wanted: MongoDB
• Editor: VS Code
• Dev OSes:
  • Windows: 49%
  • macOS: 27%
  • Linux: 23%

Brian #5: demoshell

• @doughellmann
• Doug Hellman (@doughellmann) announces demoshell
  • Inspired by a tweet from @genehack “Hey, speakers, if you're doing live demos in a shell, clear the screen after every command to get the prompt back at the top, so folks in the back can see what you're doing.”
• demoshell is a simplified shell for live demonstrations. It always shows the command prompt at the top of the screen and pushes command output down instead of letting it scroll up.
• In his words: “I put it up there to start a discussion. I’d be happy if a bunch of people showed up and wanted to take it over and actually turn it into something useful. I invite people to give it a look. And warn them that too much interest is going to be met with commit privileges on the repo. :-)”

Michael #6: Clear statement on Python 2 EOL

• Will there be a period where Py2.7 is in security-only status before hitting EOL?
• via Nicola Iarocci‏ @nicolaiarocci
  • Yay, @gvanrossum makes it adamantly clear: “Let's not play games with semantics. The way I see the situation for 2.7 is that EOL is January 1st, 2020, and there will be no updates, not even source-only security patches, after that date.” https://buff.ly/2pbZmBZ
• Support (from the core devs, the PSF, and python.org) stops completely on that date.

Follow up and other news

Michael:

• Eve: MongoDB & Flask-backed RESTful APIs course is out!
  • https://training.talkpython.fm/courses/explore_eve/eve-building-restful-mongodb-backed-apis-course
• Shoutout to everyone I met at PyCon Slovakia

Brian:

• A couple of recent episodes on Test & Code focusing on project test development:
  • What tests to write first
  • Prioritize software tests with RCRCRC
  • Upcoming topics will include beefing up test coverage with things like equivalence partitioning, boundary value analysis, state transition diagrams, state tables, negative testing, …
  • Also learning a lot about developing an open source project and all the tools surrounding that. I’ll discuss those topics in episodes as well.
  • Project used in both episodes, cards : a project task tracking / todo list app that will be expanded as I go along talking about different test and software development topics.