Four over-engineered examples of how type hints can improve your code Type hint analysis, like unit tests, and static code analysis, all serve to give people an appropriate level of confidence that the code works as expected. …

After Python 2.7 Sunsets, Will Your App Be Cast Adrift? — I Used to Live on a Sailboat. ⛵️ Sounds Romantic, Right? 💌 Sunsets. 🌄 Tropical Islands.🏝 Life on a boat also includes dealing with a litany of things which are actively wearing out. The ocean is beautiful. The gentle rocking at anchor is pleasant. But it’s also cyclic loading on…

Performing in the Key of Python — Once upon a time, I played bass in a bar-band. We had some medley transitions between songs that — to us — were signature rock ’n’ roll. For me, however, the medleys were gut-wrenching. Some nights there would be a tiny moment when I was thundering along with one beat…

There are some things we cannot compute. Or perhaps I should say we should not try to compute them using an algorithm based on simple brute force and ignorance. Let’s take a quick trip through the galaxy of of algorithms and complexity. …

Confession #1: I like dill pickle sandwiches. Yes. Dill pickles. On rye bread. My daughter enjoys them but my son-in-law? He’s not tickled by pickles. “That’s so wrong. A pickle is a side dish. Or a garnish. Something you put on hamburgers. But not a sandwich filling.” Confession #2: I wrote Functional Python Programming…

A Relay Play based on Swagger and OAS — The phrase “Spec to Gherkin to Code” almost sounds like sportscaster calling out a baseball double-play from shortstop to second baseman to first baseman. The ideal of well-synchronized teamwork is how we move from an API description written to the OpenAPI specification (OAS, formerly Swagger) to a Gherkin-based acceptance test…

Can we talk about that old hoodie you’re wearing? Yes, it’s got an obscure logo with a complex, personally significant story. Yes, it keeps the sun off your head. Holding the pockets together with duct tape doesn’t really seem to be optimal though. And there’s that hole in the elbow…

Artisanal donuts > artisanal data — If I offered you an artisanal donut, it would probably earn an emphatic, “Yes, please!” But what would your response be to my offer of artisanal data? Irregular, unique data isn’t very appealing so I’m guessing you’d be less enthused. What is artisanal data? Imagine the data from each business…

A “Python to the Rescue” Story That Never Gets Old — That Feeling when your application is so big — and so important — that you just know there’s going to be a dramatic expansion in the storage needs sometime soon. “The ‘Cyclopean’ analysis tool is about to be walloped by another line of business, an acquisition, and a spirited level…