API Design and Pragmatic Python

  • by Kenneth Reitz
  • Works for readability.com
  • Used to work for changelog
  • loves open source
  • Author of requests and tablib libraries

Note

Kenneth’s mic kept going out. Hope all his words are captured!

Alternative Titles?

  • Python is a Ghetto
  • Python Jumped the Shark
  • Python for Humans!

His libraries

  • Requests: HTTP for humans
  • Tablibs: Pythonic Tabular Datasets
  • legit: Awesome Git Interface
  • OSX-GCC-Installer (angers lawyers)
  • Clint: Command-line Interface Tools
  • Httpbin.org: Request & Response Server

Philosophy

We share a dark part:

  • PHP
  • Java
  • ColdFusion

We all love the Zen of Python:

>>> import this

Bits:

  • Beautiful is better than ugly
  • Explicit is better then implicit
  • Simple is better than complex
  • If the implementation is hard to explain, its a bad idea (unless you are PyPy)
  • There should be one and only one way to do things

HTTP as an example of API issues

Github API client in Ruby

TODO: Get Ruby example from his slides. Ruby makes this easy

Github API client in Python: Ugh

  • Pick the right std lib http/url/lib/2

TODO: Show the the example Python code from Confessions that I stole from Kenneth. :)

TODO: Show his example from trying to hit a private repo

Admit it

  • If this were you coming into Python, you would leave and not come back
  • THis is a serious problem

urllib2 is toxic

  • Over-engineering
  • Makes the simple/trivial hard
  • Hard to debug
  • Hard to test

Solution

  • Python needs more pragmatic packages
  • Pragmatic means implementation without focusing too much on thoery
  • Figure out the actual reqs

Contention

  • If you have to revisit docs every time to use an API the API is bad

Subprocess

  • Powerful
  • Effective
  • Second worst stdlib module ever

Solution

  • envoy
  • Replaces/wraps Subprocess

File and System Operations

  • sys | shutils | os | os.path | io
  • Really difficult to run external commands
  • The blocks dev+ops guys from wanting to use Python

Installing Python

  • Installing Python
  • Decisions, Decisions (Binary, Homebrew, 32 bit, Macports, Source, what?!?)
  • What happened to just one way to do it?
  • Pain on Mac, Windows

XML

  • etree is terrible
  • lxml is awesome, but difficult to install

Packages and Dependencies

  • pip and easy_install?
  • setuptools not inclued with python?
  • Distribute?
  • No easyt_uninstall

Date[time]s

  • datetime, time, calendar? Which one?
  • What third-party libraries are around

Unicode

  • Kenneth says it’s a simple problem
  • Danny: Maybe the core docs should have an easy-to-find good description? Am I missing something? Is it an SEO issue?
  • Example: http://farmdev.com/talks/unicode is great, but how do you find it?

Installing Dependencies

Hard to do:

  • PIL
  • TODO: get more

Hitchhikers Guide to Python

  • http://python-guide.org
  • A guide to newcomes
  • References for seasoned veterans
  • Install resistance to doctest
  • Stays with just one way to do things

Solves

  • makes Python more accessible
  • Great references

Manifesto

  • Simplify terrible APIs
  • Document best practices