Lo-Fi Python

An Ode to Code

Making time to code can be done every day. Carve out those little moments where you can automate tedious tasks or study up on that hot new Python library that takes your quality to another level.

Take time to reorganize and refactor in your favorite text editor. Break your script, then break it again. Break it until it works. Absorb your new abilities as a machine literate human and build skills on top of skills. Make a breakthrough. The code is great. It makes sense. Another tweak here, another tweak there. Run black on it and then have a go at PEP-8 to brush up on your style. More tweaks, and need to add some docstrings for more clarity.

Another one bites the dust. Who knows where your skills could grow. Following the code is a delightful road. Some days it's hard. Some days it's easy. But it's fulfilling if you treat it like a locksmith does keys. Knowledge is flowing. The craft is built in each moment. Challenges overcome. Battles won. New innovations to munge.

Code is the medium to communicate with machines and leverage their efficiency for convenient means. Tighter the web we weave with transistors and screens, the more we'll need dignified intermediaries of man and machine. Here's to the good code and the bad code we all will write. May we never let something stop our logical flights to code a better dream.

ftfy, The Wonky Text Fixing Python Library

Every Python programmer has undoubtedly come across some crazy characters. The ftfy library "Fixes Text For You" and acts like a swiss army knife when you've got questionable characters breaking your script. In my case, an HTTP request was failing because of weird cryptic letters hiding in the data when it was only supposed to be an apostrophe. This library fixed my text and made it appear flawless. I really like ftfy because it solves a common problem, fixing "mojibake" or mangled characters. It's a good tool to have when you see these types of issues!

Install with pip:

pip install ftfy

source: ftfy documentation

See also: Python Unicode How To

Did You Read the Whole Error?

You read the whole thing front to back? Every word? Stop and think about it. What is the computer trying to tell you?

Sometimes something is obvious but needs to be reminded. I found myself thinking this yet again today. Often there are times where I would have saved some time and grief by carefully reading the error.

Carefully read the error when you see a traceback. Then once you've taken it all in, consider what to do next. If you're stumped, googling it might yield a solution. But make sure you actually read the error first.

How to Install Libraries and Enable the pip Installer in Python

Python comes with a bunch of standard modules. My favorites are shutil, glob, datetime, time, os (operating system), re (regular expressions) and webbrowser. The standard library is loaded.

Inevitably, you'll want to install new libraries from Python's rich ecosystem of external modules. Enter pip, Python's handy package manager and people's champion.

This post will teach you some Python history, show how to install pandas, and help you troubleshoot problems if it's not working. You'll find Windows and Linux commands for venv setup (recommended). With pip, you'll feel like Neo when installing new modules. Any skill is at your fingertips. It's like learning kung fu. There's probably a library for that!

First, Some Python Version Caveats + History

Python 2 reached end of life on January 1st, 2020. Python 2 has officially been sunset.

Python comes with pip now, no setup is required. But certain versions such as Python 3.2 or the Python 2.7 that came stock on my improbably still functioning 2008 black Macbook, for example, may not have it installed.

In December 2021, Python 3.6 reached "end of life phase". Python 3.6 is "now effectively frozen". Read more in PEP 494. (Released Oct. 2022)

TLDR: use Python 3.7 to 3.11. This blog endorses using the lightning fast Python version 3.11.

Enter This in Your Terminal

python -m pip install pandas

Pandas is a super useful library for wrangling spreadsheet data, AKA "tabular" data. If successful, you should see activity that looks similar to the below screenshot, where I am installing openpyxl, an additional Python Excel library you'll likely want. You are good to go! This is the part where you get to feel like Neo! See Installing Python Modules in the Python Documentation for more detailed instructions.

To view all your installed libraries, enter:

pip list

Write a "requirements.txt" of installed libraries:

pip freeze > requirements.txt

You can list your outdated packages with the --outdated argument:

pip list --outdated

Use pip's -h help command line argument:

pip -h

View your system and user pip config settings:

pip config debug

Supplementary Resources

• Take a look at this list of 20 modules to get started. Here is another more comprehensive list of libraries you can now install.
• Swing by the pip documentation Quickstartand User Guide to learn some helpful commands.
• PyPI, the Python Package Index is the official Python package repository.
• Why you should use 'python -m pip'
• pip cheat sheet from opensource.com

Congrats on figuring out how to install packages with pip, have fun!

python -m pip install --upgrade pip

python -m ensurepip --upgrade

python3 -m venv add_env_name_here

source add_env_path_here/bin activate
python -m pip install pandas

cd add_env_path_here\scripts & activate
python -m pip install pandas

python3 -m pip install pandas
python3.11 -m pip install pandas
py -m pip install pandas
pip3 install pandas

curl https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py -o get-pip.pyt-pip.py

cd c:\Python27\Lib\site-packages & python get-pip.py

cd /Python27/Lib/site-packages && python get-pip.py

python -m pip install requests

Python File Handling Basics

The basis of many great programs revolve around a simple set of operations:

1. Open a file.
2. Do something with the file contents.
3. Save the new file for the user.

Python is nice and simple for this. Paste the below lines into a text editor and save as a .py file. You need to have Python 3 installed. In the same folder as your .py file, save a .txt file with some words in it. Alright, let's write some code:

1
2
3
4
5

file_name = input("Enter your file name. e.g. words.txt")
file_handle = open(file_name, "r")
lines = file_handle.readlines()
print (lines)
file_handle.close()

In line 1, we ask the user to enter their file name with Python's raw_input function. When the program runs, the user enters their text file name with extension. This line stores the name in a variable called file_name.

In line 2, we open your text file and store it in a variable I have named file_handle. Think of the file handle as a bridge between your code and the text file. Quick point about the 'r' above: that tells the program to open the file in "Read" mode. There are several different file modes in programming. Some modes are just for reading an existing file, some are just for writing a new file, and some are capable of both. This Stack Overflow post is well written and details the differences between file modes. Once established, the file handle allows you to read the file's contents or write new contents to the file.

In line 3, we are calling the .readlines() method on our file handle. This method takes the file contents and stores them, line by line, into a list named "lines". An alternative method is .read(), which opens the file and stores its contents as one string. Try switching this out in place of  .readlines() to check out the difference.

In line 4, we are printing the stored lines to show them to the user. We now have the file contents, ready to be used however we please.

In line 5, we are closing the file.

Below, we are going to write a new file using the with statement, which is generally accepted as the best way to read or write a file:

with open("Notes.txt", "w") as fhand:
    fhand.write("Did you know whales can live up to 90 years?")

In line 1, we are using Python's input function to ask the user what to name the file and storing it in a variable named file_name.

In line 2,  we are calling the open function again that we used in the first example, but this time, notice the "w". This indicates that we are opening the file in "write" mode.

In line 3, we are calling the .write() method on our file handle, named save_file, and passing it our text to be saved in our new file.

In line 4, we are closing the file, completing the creation of our new file in the same folder as our .py program file.

Your program is now ready to be run. Double-click your .py file to execute it.

Before learning Python, file operations were a mystery to me. It took me a while to understand this clearly, and I wanted to share. Once you master these basic file operations, programming gets to be a lot more fun. Do try it out for yourself :D

Should You Go To Programming School?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer. Below are some thoughts that may help you decide.

1. What are your programming goals? Get a coding job? Create an app or website? Become more productive at your current job?
2. What is your current experience level? Are you starting fresh or do you already know a language or two?
3. Do you have money saved up? Otherwise, you might need to take out a loan.

A computer science degree is typically most expensive. Coding bootcamps are a lower cost option that pack a wide curriculum into a few weeks or months, but they can still be pricey. The cheapest option is to take a piecemeal approach through various online courses.

School Advantages

• Wholistic approach. You get the ins and outs of programming from a proven curriculum.
• Community. You learn with other students and from experienced teachers.
• Job placement. Often various schools and bootcamps will connect you to a company.
• Credentials. You gain confidence and the backing of your skills by an established institution.

Potential Downsides

• Tuition Money. A lot of what you need to know is available for free or cheap on the web.
• Skill level match. Some bootcamps are oriented for beginners, others are more advanced. If you do a bootcamp, make sure it fits your skill level.

If you want a coding job, school makes sense. The bootcamps look to be effective if you can handle the up-front investment. It's possible to land a job without schooling but much tougher. I am currently considering Full Stack Academy. and Coding Dojo. There are many out there. CodeAcademy is a popular route as well.

If you want to make an app or website, the school or the non-school route may both work. For the non-school route, the following languages are good places to start: (note - not a comprehensive list, these are my picks.)

• Web App or Website: HTML, CSS, Python, Javascript
• Web App or Website Framework: Flask, Django, py4web, Ruby on Rails, React
• iOS app: Swift plus Apple's Xcode environment, Beeware (python library)
• Android App: Java or Kotlin, Beeware
• General Coding: Python or Ruby

If you want to be more productive at work, I recommend learning Python. More on Python and where to start here. Automate the Boring Stuff With Python is a great resource for boosting your productivity also.

It's not easy to decide whether or not school is for you. I'm still unsure after a year and a half of programming on the side. No matter what, continue to learn multiple languages and strive for a better grasp of the ones you know. Good luck!

My decision: continue self-study and learning online for free.

As of 8 months after writing this post, I have concluded that learning for free online was the right choice for me. I've achieved many of my programming goals in the last three years, thanks to materials available from Codeacademy, Coursera, YouTube, Stack Overflow, countless helpful resources,, interesting blogs, and documentation. I've talked with others who need the in-person assistance that a bootcamp offers to learn. Do what works for you. Good luck with your decision.

Update: Several years later, I also get paid to use Python and Excel for a living! I studied for free online intermittently over 2 years to achieve it.