The Real Python Podcast

The Python return statement is such a fundamental part of writing functions. Is it possible you missed some best practices when writing your own return statements? This week on the show, David Amos returns with another batch of PyCoder’s Weekly articles and projects. We also talk functional programming again with an article on the Python map function and processing iterables without a loop. We cover several other articles and projects from the Python community including, interactive data visualization with Pygal, everything you need to know about namedtuples, PEP 638 syntactic macros, python for kids, the new Nvidia Jetson board, and a reinforcement learning project named football. Topics: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:01:33 – Interactive Data Visualization in Python With Pygal 00:06:40 – Python’s map(): Processing Iterables Without a Loop 00:12:51 – Everything You Need to Know About Python’s NamedTuples 00:19:46 – PEP 638: Syntactic Macros 00:26:43 – Video Course Spotlight 00:27:57 – The Python return Statement: Usage and Best Practices 00:34:42 – Python for Kids 00:38:03 – Build a Face Recognition System With the Nvidia Jetson Nano 00:42:32 – football: Reinforcement Learning Environment 00:45:51 – Thanks and goodbye Show Links: Interactive Data Visualization in Python With Pygal – Pygal is an overlooked library for creating interactive plots that can be turned into SVGs with an optimal resolution for printing or displaying on webpages. Learn how it works in this introductory tutorial. Python’s map(): Processing Iterables Without a Loop – In this step-by-step tutorial, you’ll learn how Python’s map() works and how to use it effectively in your programs. You’ll also learn how to use list comprehension and generator expressions to replace map() in a Pythonic and efficient way. Everything You Need to Know About Python’s NamedTuples – Are you using NamedTuple in your code? If you aren’t, learn what they are and why you should consider using them in this comprehensive tutorial. PEP 638: Syntactic Macros – This brand new PEP, which is still in draft mode, proposes adding support for syntactic macros to Python. Syntactic macros are compile-time functions that extend the language’s syntax without adding any new complexity to the language as a whole. The Python return Statement: Usage and Best Practices – In this step-by-step tutorial, you’ll learn how to use the Python return statement when writing functions. Additionally, you’ll cover some good programming practices related to the use of return. With this knowledge, you’ll be able to write readable, robust, and maintainable functions in Python. Python for Kids – In this ten part series, senior software engineer Kevin Thomas presents a kid-friendly comprehensive Python development tutorial utilizing a micro:bit development board. The GitHub repo contains all of the sample code as well as links to each tutorial in the series on LinkedIn. The first seven parts are published and the last three are coming soon! Projects: Build a Face Recognition System With the Nvidia Jetson Nano 2GB and Python – The Nvidia Jetson Nano is a single board computer similar to a Raspberry Pi. The Jetson Nano really packs a punch, however, thanks to its onboard Nvidia Maxwell GPU. football: Reinforcement Learning Environment Where Agents Learn to Play Football Additional Links: Pygal: Sexy python charting Bokeh: Interactive visualization library Common Python Data Structures (Guide) - Real Python article The Ultimate Guide to Data Classes in Python 3.7 - Real Python article PEP 572 – Assignment Expressions - Walrus Operator Python’s reduce(): From Functional to Pythonic Style - Real Python article NVIDIA Jetson Nano Google Research Football with Manchester City F.C. Level up your Python skills with our expert-led courses: Command Line Interfaces in Python Exploring Basic Data Types in Python Defining Main Functions in Python Support the podcast & join our community of Pythonistas

Python 3.9 has arrived! This week on the show, former guest and Real Python author Geir Arne Hjelle returns to talk about his recent article, “Python 3.9: Cool New Features for You to Try”. Also joining the conversation is Real Python video course instructor and author Christopher Trudeau. Christopher has created a video course, which was released this week also, based on Geir Arne’s article. We talk about time zones, merging dictionaries, the new parser, type hints, and more. Geir Arne and Christopher not only cover the new features, but they also offer advice about ways you might incorporate them into your code. We discuss what you should think about before updating your code. Course Spotlight: Cool New Features in Python 3.9 In this course, you’ll explore some of the coolest and most useful features in the newly released Python 3.9. You’ll learn how Python 3.9 makes it easier to work with time zones, dictionaries, decorators, and several other techniques that will make your code cleaner and more efficient. Topics: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:02:02 – Proper Time Zone support 00:05:38 – What to do if your OS does not have tzdata? 00:07:11 – How do you add time zone info to your Python code? 00:08:24 – Historic changes to time zones 00:10:48 – New operators for updating dictionaries 00:15:44 – Geir Arne’s PyCon 2020 decorators tutorial 00:18:02 – Changes to decorator syntax 00:24:08 – Annotated type hints 00:32:36 – Video Course Spotlight 00:33:26 – The PEG parser 00:37:51 – Potential for new enhancements in upcoming releases 00:42:40 – String methods to remove prefixes and suffixes 00:44:22 – Type hint lists and dictionaries directly 00:47:29 – Topological Sort 00:52:03 – Greatest Common Divisor (GCD) and Least Common Multiple (LCM) 00:53:50 – New HTTP status codes 00:58:29 – Should you upgrade? 01:07:58 – Potential issue with Python 3.10 versioning 01:10:18 – What are you excited about in the world of Python? 01:12:52 – What do you want to learn next? 01:14:08 – Thanks and goodbyes Show Links: Python 3.9: Cool New Features for You to Try: Real Python article Cool New Features in Python 3.9: Real Python video course dateutil - Powerful extensions to datetime Paul Ganssle: Blog IANA - Internet Assigned Numbers Authority: Time Zone Database Dictionaries in Python: Real Python article PEP 584 – Add Union Operators To dict: python.org Primer on Python Decorators: Real Python article PEP 614 – Relaxing Grammar Restrictions On Decorators: python.org Introduction to Decorators: Power Up Your Python Code - PyCon 2020 Online Tutorial Python Type Checking (Guide) - Annotations:Real Python article PEP 484 – Type Hints: python.org PEP 593 – Flexible function and variable annotations: python.org PEP 617 – New PEG parser for CPython: python.org PEG Parsing Series Overview: Guido van Rossum PEP 622 – Structural Pattern Matching: python.org PEP 616 – String methods to remove prefixes and suffixes: python.org PEP 585 – Type Hinting Generics In Standard Collections: python.org Topological sorting: Wikipedia article graphlib — Functionality to operate with graph-like structures: docs.python.org Greatest common divisor: Wikipedia article Least common multiple: Wikipedia article Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) Status Code Registry Hyper Text Coffee Pot Control Protocol (HTCPCP/1.0) PEP 602 – Annual Release Cycle for Python: Łukasz Langa - python.org Porting to Python 3.9: docs.python.org CPython Internals: Your Guide to the Python3 Interpreter Panel: A high-level app and dashboarding solution for Python PyQt: GUI Library Pandas Python and PyQt: Building a GUI Desktop Calculator - Real Python article GIS in Python GeoPandas Level up your Python skills with our expert-led courses: Python Decorators 101 Cool New Features in Python 3.9 Python Type Checking Support the podcast & join our community of Pythonistas

If you use Python, then you probably have used pip to install additional packages from the Python package index. Part of the magic behind pip is the dependency resolver, and there is a new version of it in the latest version of pip. This week on the show, we have Sumana Harihareswara and Georgia Bullen, who have been working on the recent releases of pip. Sumana is the project manager for pip, and Georgia has been working on pip’s user experience (UX). The resolver is how pip determines what to install, and in what order, based on package requirements. We talk about how you can help, from updating to the latest release, testing out the new resolver with your projects, and answering surveys about your experiences. A ton of work has gone into making the updates this year. We also talk about the funding of projects like this in the open-source community. Course Spotlight: A Beginner’s Guide to Pip This course is a great introduction to pip for those who are getting started Python, and for those who want to understand more about what is happening when you install new packages into your environment. It’s a worthy investment of your time to understand the fundamentals of pip. Show Topics: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:01:41 – Pip updates and changes to dependency resolver 00:08:49 – Different types of wheels 00:11:12 – Pinning package dependencies 00:13:19 – Work on the user experience (UX) of pip 00:15:45 – Documentation at Python packaging authority and thanks to Thea Flowers 00:16:21 – Types of issues that need resolving 00:20:48 – Need for reporting issues 00:23:41 – Pip usability survey and dependency recipes to test 00:27:21 – Call out to open source maintainers to test 00:29:32 – Video Course Spotlight 00:30:43 – How is this UX work different from Simply Secure 00:34:59 – How do you present errors to users? 00:41:14 – Pip release timeline for 2020 and into 2021 00:46:38 – The dynamics of responsibility and power 00:49:43 – What’s involved in getting more funding into open source? 00:54:10 – Grant writing for the PSF 00:57:53 – Call to action: How to help with pip? 01:00:54 – What are you excited about in the world of Python? 01:04:52 – What do you want to learn next? 01:08:22 – Thanks and goodbyes Show Links: New pip resolver to roll out this year: Python Software Foundation Changes to the pip dependency resolver in 20.2 (2020): Python Packaging Authority Changes are coming to pip: YouTube Sign-up for pip UX Studies! Upgrade to pip 20.2, plus, changes coming in 20.3: Python Insider Pip team midyear report: July 13, 2020 An Overview of Packaging for Python: PyPA pip dependency resolver changes: Test & Code Podcast What Are Python Wheels and Why Should You Care?: Real Python article Python Wheels and Pass by Reference in Python: Real Python Podcast Ep23 Options for Packaging Your Python Application: Wheels, Docker, and More: Real Python Podcast Ep24 UX Research & Design: 2020 Work on Improving pip’s user experience Simple Secure: User Research Roadmap update for TUF (The Update Framework) support Exploring CircuitPython with Thea Flowers: Real Python Podcast Ep5 PyPA - Packaging Problems Issue Tracker: Github PEP 458 - Secure PyPI downloads with signed repository metadata Fixing conflicting dependencies: PyPA Finish dependency resolver for pip: Github Announcing the PSF Project Funding Working Group: PSF Sponsor PyPI and related projects Tidelift: Managed open source. Backed by maintainers. Apply for Grants To Fund Open Source Work: changeset Open collective: Make your community sustainable Sustain: Holding a space for conversations about sustaining Open Source Answer these surveys to improve pip’s usability: Python Software Foundation Breaking Release Bottlenecks – What Changeset Can Do On The Art of Python 2019 Python Grab Bag: A Set of Short Plays “Apply for Grants to Fund Open Source Work” - Sumana Harihareswara: PyOhio 2020 PyGotham TV: 2020 Get paid to write Free software: Cristina - PyGotham 2020 Level up your Python skills with our expert-led courses: A Beginner's Guide to pip How to Publish Your Own Python Package to PyPI Python Modules and Packages: An Introduction Support the podcast & join our community of Pythonistas

A big decision a developer has to make is what tool to use to write code? Would you like an editor that understands Python, and is there to help with suggestions, definitions, and analysis of your code? For many developers, its the free tool, Visual Studio Code. This week on the show, we have Savannah Ostrowski, program manager for the Python Language Server and Python in Visual Studio. We discuss Pylance, a new language server with fast, feature-rich language support for Python in VS Code. Savannah explains what a language server is and the types of features it can provide. This includes type information, code completion, automatic-imports, dead code analysis, code navigation, and more. We also have a discussion about type checking in Python, which led to how Pylance leverages the static type checking tool Pyright, and what are type stubs (.pyi files). Course Spotlight: Python Type Checking In this course, you’ll look at Python type checking. Traditionally, types have been handled by the Python interpreter in a flexible but implicit way. Recent versions of Python allow you to specify explicit type hints that can be used by different tools to help you develop your code more efficiently. Topics: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:01:47 – Current Role at Microsoft 00:03:01 – Background with Python 00:04:21 – Origins of Pylance 00:06:53 – What is a language server? 00:09:56 – Diving deeper into the features individually 00:14:42 – Code navigation and diagnostics 00:15:43 – Methods of defining types and stub files 00:17:28 – What are examples of stub files? 00:21:16 – Comparing Pyright to Mypy 00:23:56 – Video Course Spotlight 00:25:02 – Auto-imports are a contentious feature 00:28:36 – Code actions and dead code analysis 00:31:46 – Pylance working with Jupyter notebooks in VSCode 00:33:30 – Multiple workspaces 00:36:16 – Why do you like to work on developer tools? 00:39:35 – How does a tool like Pylance help a beginner? 00:42:31 – What are you excited about in the world of Python? 00:46:25 – What do you want to learn next? 00:49:24 – Thanks and goodbyes Show Links: Announcing Pylance: Fast, feature-rich language support for Python in Visual Studio Code Pylance introduces five new features that enable type magic for Python developers Python in Visual Studio Code – September 2020 Release Pylance and Python in VS Code: Visual Studio Code v1.49 Release Party - YouTube Language Server Protocol Language Server Protocol: Github How the Language Server Protocol Affects the Future of IDEs typeshed: External type annotations for the Python standard library and Python builtins, as well as third party packages Pyright: Static type checker for Python PEP 561 – Distributing and Packaging Type Information Visual Studio IntelliCode: Provides AI-assisted development features for Python Creating Stubs For Python Modules Python Type Checking: Real Python video course Feather Huzzah: Adafruit Circuit Playground Express: Adafruit Circuit Python: The easiest way to program microcontrollers Big Honking Button: Winterbloom Arduino With Python: How to Get Started - Real Python video course Level up your Python skills with our expert-led courses: Arduino With Python: Getting Started Python Type Checking Finding the Perfect Python Code Editor Support the podcast & join our community of Pythonistas

What is an effective way to prepare for a Python interview? Would you like a set of problems that increase in difficulty to practice and hone your Python skills? This week on the show, we have Jim Anderson to talk about his new Real Python article, “Python Practice Problems: Get Ready for Your Next Interview.” This article provides several problems, which include skeleton code, unit tests, and solutions for you to compare your work. David Amos also joins us this week, and he has brought another batch of PyCoder’s Weekly articles and projects from the Python community. We cover these topics: Structural Pattern Matching, Common Python Data Structures, A Tax Attorney Uses Python, Discover the Role of Python in Space Exploration, and Five Pairs of Magic Methods in Python That You Should Know. Course Spotlight: How to Implement a Python Stack In this course, you’ll learn how to implement a Python stack. You’ll see how to recognize when a stack is a good choice for data structures, how to decide which implementation is best for a program, and what extra considerations to make about stacks in a threading or multiprocessing environment. Topics: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:01:37 – Python Practice Problems 00:08:19 – Structural Pattern Matching 00:14:16 – Common Python Data Structures 00:17:49 – Video Course Spotlight 00:18:42 – A Tax Attorney Uses Python 00:23:36 – Discover the Role of Python in Space Exploration 00:26:33 – Thanks for the Reviews! 00:27:28 – 5 Pairs of Magic Methods in Python That You Should Know 00:36:56 – python-adventure: Original Colossal Caves Adventure Game 00:41:06 – clifford: Geometric Algebra for Python 00:43:45 – pippi: Computer Music With Python 00:46:24 – Thanks and Goodbye Show Links: Python Practice Problems: Get Ready for Your Next Interview – Are you a Python developer brushing up on your skills before an interview? If so, then this tutorial will usher you through a series of Python practice problems meant to simulate common coding test scenarios. “Structural Pattern Matching”; for Python, Part 2 – The saga of PEP 622 continues with updates to the proposed structure of the match statement—which has some similarities to a switch statement—and a discussion on the best way to document objections to a PEP. Common Python Data Structures (Guide) – In this tutorial, you’ll learn about Python’s data structures. You’ll look at several implementations of abstract data types and learn which implementations are best for your specific use cases. A Tax Attorney Uses Python – See how one tax attorney uses Python to automate grueling and repetitive tasks and improve his business. While the article is non-technical, it’s always fun to see how Python is used in diverse fields. Discover the Role of Python in Space Exploration – In this learning path from Microsoft, you’ll get an introduction to Python, and be inspired to learn, discover, and create using Python-based data science and machine learning to help generate knowledge about the world beyond Earth. 5 Pairs of Magic Methods in Python That You Should Know – Magic, or “dunder,” methods are an important part of creating custom classes in Python. Learn about some commonly used magic methods by exploring hem in pairs that are frequently used together. python-adventure: Original Colossal Caves Adventure Game, but in Python 3 clifford: Geometric Algebra for Python pippi: Computer Music With Python Additional Links: Python Coding Interviews: Tips & Best Practices: Real Python Course The Singleton Pattern: A “Creational Pattern” from the Gang of Four book The Python heapq Module: Using Heaps and Priority Queues: Real Python Article How to Implement a Python Stack: Real Python Article Python Stacks, Queues, and Priority Queues in Practice: Real Python Article codespell: Fix common misspellings in text files. Level up your Python skills with our expert-led courses: Intro to Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) in Python Implementing a Stack in Python Working With Linked Lists in Python Support the podcast & join our community of Pythonistas

Michael Kennedy, host of 'Talk Python to Me', reflects on 5 years of podcasting about Python, discussing growth, Async, GIL, desktop apps, type checking, and how podcasts aid language immersion. Python's appeal to new programmers, full-spectrum language usage, enterprise contributions, and stories from Talk Python are explored in depth.

Wouldn’t it be nice to a use a form of version control for data? Something that would allow you to track and version your datasets and models. Well, that’s what the tool called DVC is designed to do. This week on the show, David Amos is here and he’s brought another batch of PyCoder’s Weekly articles and projects. David starts with a Real Python article titled, “Data Version Control With Python and DVC”. We also cover several other articles and projects from the Python community including: where to get exposure to well-written code, delegation – composition and inheritance, good Python project ideas for high school students, never run Python in your downloads folder, and more. We also have a special guest this week. I talk to Sadie Parker, who recently joined the Real Python team to help create and edit transcripts for all the Real Python video courses. We talk about how to take advantage of all the features this new resource provides. Sadie also discusses how she uses Python to speed up and simplify the editing process. The transcripts and closed captions are now live on the website for all new courses, and we are working through the back catalog. Course Spotlight: Parallel Iteration With Python’s zip() Function In this course, you’ll learn how to use the Python zip() function to solve common programming problems. You’ll learn how to traverse multiple iterables in parallel and create dictionaries with just a few lines of code. Topics: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:02:01 – Data Version Control With Python and DVC 00:08:57 – Where Do You Go to Get Exposure to Well-Written Code? 00:13:13 – Delegation: Composition and Inheritance in Object-Oriented Programming 00:21:46 – What Are Some Good Python Project Ideas for High School Students? 00:26:53 – Video Course Spotlight 00:27:48 – Never Run Python in Your Downloads Folder 00:35:55 – present: A Terminal-Based Presentation Tool With Colors and Effects 00:37:36 – Mini Raspberry Pi Boston Dynamics–inspired Robot 00:41:48 – Sadie Parker and Transcripts for Real Python Video Courses 00:59:26 – Thanks and Goodbye Show Links: Data Version Control With Python and DVC – In this tutorial, you’ll learn to use DVC, a powerful tool that solves many problems encountered in machine learning and data science. You’ll find out how data version control helps you to track your data, share development machines with your team, and create easily reproducible experiments! Where Do You Go to Get Exposure to Well-Written Code? – Maybe someone needs to start a Python reading club… Delegation: Composition and Inheritance in Object-Oriented Programming – Delegation is often considered one of the three pillars of object-oriented programming. Learn how to use this powerful concept in Python. What Are Some Good Python Project Ideas for High School Students? – Honestly, some of these ideas are good for any beginning Pythonista! Never Run Python in Your Downloads Folder – Learn about security issues that exploit how Python interacts with PATH and why you should always think twice about your current working directory. present: A Terminal-Based Presentation Tool With Colors and Effects Mini Raspberry Pi Boston Dynamics–inspired Robot – See how one Redditor taught themselves robotics by building a miniature version of a Boston Dynamic’s robot dog “Spot” using a Raspberry Pi, C++, and Python. Additional Links: Python 3 Module of the Week The Algorithms - Python Awesome Python Applications James Powell: So you want to be a Python expert? | PyData Seattle 2017 Boston Dynamics: Spot WebVTT (Web Video Text Tracks): Wikipedia article webvtt-py: Python module for reading/writing WebVTT files pysrt: SubRip (.srt) subtitle parser and writer Srt: A tiny library for parsing, modifying, and composing SRT files Level up your Python skills with our expert-led courses: Grow Your Python Portfolio With 13 Intermediate Project Ideas Parallel Iteration With Python's zip() Function Editing Excel Spreadsheets in Python With openpyxl Support the podcast & join our community of Pythonistas

Itamar Turner-Trauring, creator of pythonspeed.com, discusses packaging Python code with options like Wheels, Conda, and Docker. He also mentions his Python memory profiler, Fil, and shares resources for data scientists interested in Docker. The podcast covers topics such as Python memory usage, packaging with PEX, and the benefits of Conda. They also touch on Docker containerization and compare Docker and Singularity for data processing. Lastly, the speaker expresses excitement about virtual conferences and their interest in learning statistical rethinking and Bayesian programming.

Have you wondered what are Python wheels? How are they used to package Python code? Does Python use pass by value or pass by reference? This week on the show, David Amos is here to help answer these questions, and he has brought another batch of PyCoder’s Weekly articles and projects. We talk about an article called “What are Python Wheels, and Why Should You Care.” David talks about a Real Python article about pass by reference in Python. We cover several other articles and projects from the Python community including: transcribing speech to text, 4 powerful features Python is still missing, 10 awesome pythonic one-liners, and even more options for packaging your Python code. Course Spotlight: Practical Recipes for Working With Files in Python In this course, you’ll learn how you can work with files in Python by using built-in modules to perform practical tasks that involve groups of files, like renaming them, moving them around, archiving them, and getting their metadata. Topics: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:01:25 – 4 Powerful Features Python Is Still Missing 00:14:41 – What Are Python Wheels and Why Should You Care? 00:23:58 – 10 Awesome Pythonic One-Liners Explained 00:38:11 – Video Course Spotlight 00:39:14 – How to Transcribe Speech Recordings Into Text With Python 00:43:34 – Pass by Reference in Python: Background and Best Practices 00:49:54 – Options for Packaging Your Python Code: Wheels, Conda, Docker, and More 00:55:53 – PyOxidizer: A Modern Python Application Packaging and Distribution Tool 01:00:13 – Python and PDF: A Review of Existing Tools 01:04:01 – Thanks and Goodbye Show Links: 4 Powerful Features Python Is Still Missing – Python doesn’t have true constants, nor does it implement features like tail recursion optimization that many compiled languages employ. Find out what other features Python is “missing” when compared to other languages, and why the core developers haven’t added these features to the language. What Are Python Wheels and Why Should You Care? – In this tutorial, you’ll learn what Python wheels are and why you should care as both a developer and end user of Python packages. You’ll see how the wheel format has gained momentum over the last decade and how it has made the package installation process faster and more stable. 10 Awesome Pythonic One-Liners Explained – Some things in Python are just better on one line. How to Transcribe Speech Recordings Into Text With Python – Learn to transcribe speech in recordings like MP3s into text with Python and AssemblyAI’s API Pass by Reference in Python: Background and Best Practices – In this tutorial, you’ll explore the concept of passing by reference and learn how it relates to Python’s own system for handling function arguments. You’ll look at several use cases for passing by reference and learn some best practices for implementing pass-by-reference constructs in Python. Options for Packaging Your Python Code: Wheels, Conda, Docker, and More – There’s a lot of ways to package your Python code. Find out which one is right for you. PyOxidizer: A Modern Python Application Packaging and Distribution Tool Python and PDF: A Review of Existing Tools – The ultimate list of PDF tools in Python. Additional Links: Cool New Features in Python 3.8: More Precise Types - Real Python article Python 101 - Chapter 39 – Python wheels Language Design Is Not Just Solving Puzzles: Guido Van Rossum How to Publish an Open-Source Python Package to PyPI - Real Python article AssemblyAI: Speech-to-Text API Level up your Python skills with our expert-led courses: Lists and Tuples in Python How to Work With a PDF in Python Practical Recipes for Working With Files in Python Support the podcast & join our community of Pythonistas

Founder of the BeeWare project, Russell Keith-Magee, discusses Briefcase for creating Python applications on various platforms. He talks about the challenges of cross-platform GUI development, how to contribute to open source projects, and the struggle of getting funding for such projects.