Python/Django: unit testing DB apps with fixtures or factory methods?
Posted by Gene at 09:12 on Fri 17 Dec 2010 -- 1 Comments
With Django, you can setup unit test data with fixtures. YAML fixtures are nicer than JSON or XML. But, honestly, setting up an object graph by looking at a flattened out text file is not fun. And using the application to setup test data, then exporting to fixtures is distracting. Examples coming soon.
Tags -
python
django

  • I generally try to just mock everything up using backend model interaction to recreate the expected conditions.

    Fixtures are OK for hard coded invariant data but that's rare. If you have a 20K row table in production and have a edge case that needs testing, generally, I want the smallest test case possible so that my test runner maintains some speed since it's all "manual" test kick offs for me.

     - Chris Green
Short wide displays, Python and PEP 8
Posted by Gene at 11:12 on Fri 10 Dec 2010 -- 9 Comments

So many displays available these days are short and wide. yet pep 8 instructs us to write code that is tall and thin (<80's chars wide)

Next monitor I get will be one that pivots or just be more squarish. This wide format is a mismatch for development. I have to scroll too much, and half of my screen is displaying nothing.

I know what you'll say, just resize your window to show 80 chars wide, and then stick something else like documentation or log windows in the extra space. My answer to that is, yes, I do that now. But, sometimes I just want to see as much code as I can. And I put the docs and logs in a second display.

Tags -
python

  • I tried pivoting monitors for a while. One problem is that this changes subpixel ordering from horizontal to vertical, and even if you change the font rendering settings to consider that, anti-aliased fonts look subtly different as a result. My mind interprets that as "ugly fonts ugh".

    Put me in the vertical splits with multiple 80-column files side-by-side camp, please.

     - Marius Gedminas

  • I used to think so too. Later, I've found how easy it is to have two files opened side-by-side (vertical split) - e.g., code on one side, its test code on the other.
    I'd vote for 110 chars.

     - Oren

  • Wide monitors are pretty handy while looking at two files side-by-side (i.e. during code review, comparing changes in specific revision and so on). In fact, ignoring 80 characters limit can be really annoying during that activities.

    BTW, don't you think, that in general, text readability is much better when text has 60-70 letters per line? For me it works. For TeX people also :)

     - gryf

  • PEP-8 is great for readability especially if I wan't to print the code. As a teacher it's easier to discuss and comment someones code on paper and the character limit helps to keep the code inside the margins without reflowing -- not that everyone follows the recommendation...

     - Carl Holmberg

  • The displays aren't actually shorter than those from the past. However, they are much wider. Personally, I like to be able to look at two files side-by-side, which the wide displays accommodate nicely. Even so, I just admit relaxing the PEP-8 limit to 100 characters for my own purposes.

     - David

  • 80 characters seriously isn't that bad. I guess if your code has stuff in it like getMagicConfoxulationSperzoidDoxolator then yeah, OK...

    Also I don't know if the stuff about tall monitors is joking or what, but I've seen setups just like this - dual vertical monitors in fact; it's pretty amazing.

     - yoyoyo

  • Get an external monitor that can rotate 90 degrees. Problem solved!

    Now, seriously, do you think we should increase the char limit?

    - Name

  • The 80 character line limit is the only part of PEP 8 that really gets under my skin. It's as if we're making sure that we're ready if punch cards or VT-52s come back into vogue.

    - Lars

  • I use my laptop display and an "extra wide" Dell monitor at work, and it works out great. The only problems I have with it are that Fedora doesn't remember that I have that display tilted when I disconnect and reconnect, quick means a couple extra clicks, and this particular monitor has poor contrast/saturation when tilted...in other words, when horizontal, the contrast appears consistent top to bottom and left to right, but when tilted, it appears darker on the right side. A minor annoyance.

    I call it the code-o-tron.

     - Robin N.
Secret to laying out data with reportlab.platypus
Posted by Gene at 21:03 on Tue 23 Mar 2010 -- 0 Comments

If you want to build PDF's with a python program, then ReportLab software is what you need. Go get it. Set aside some time to read the manual: Reportlab Userguide.

If you have read up on ReportLabs and specifically Playpus, you'll probably think it's hugely powerful, but slightly confusing. The manual does a pretty good job, but I think it leaves out one important point.

When you are laying out your frames, they go across the page, and wrap if necessary. It is not natural to control their exactly placement, and it is not clear how to force a break in the layout. Here's an example

:
:
elements.append(Paragraph('Innovating Programming,some-style))
elements.append(Paragraph('Picante Solutions',some-other-style))
:
:
When building these elements, they will be next to each other, assuming the styles are not too wide. If you want them to be on their own lines, you need a line break. It is done like this
elements.append(FrameBreak())
That is it. It took me a bit of searching and I don't want to forget it, so I'm adding it here.

References

Tags -
pdf
reporting
python