Dane Hillard - Practices of the Python Pro

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Python, like me, was born in December of 1989. Although Ive accomplished a great deal in the subsequent three decades, Pythons success is prolific. More people than ever before are picking it up to accomplish fascinating things in data science, machine learning, and more. Since I learned Python, this second-best language for everything has in reality been my first choice for many endeavors.

I had a rather traditional path into programming through the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department at the University of Michigan. At that time, the coursework focused mainly on C++ and MATLABlanguages I continued to use in my first job out of school. I developed some shell scripting and SQL chops in my next position, processing big data for bioinformatics. I also started using PHP to work on a personal WordPress site from scratch.

Although I was getting results (and cool ones, in some cases), none of the languages I was using resonated with me. But I was oblivious. I assumed that programming languages were purely means to an end, and they had little chance of being fun to work with. Around this time, a friend invited me to join him in a hackathon project to build a Ruby library.

The world exploded with color, fruits tasted sweeter, and all that. The ease of using an interpreted language and the human-friendly syntax of Ruby really made me think about the tools Id been using. Although I didnt stick with Ruby for too long, I decided to give Python and the Django web framework a try for the next iteration of my personal site. It gave me the same joy and shallow learning curve Id seen with Ruby, and I havent looked back since!

Now that Python is recognized widely as a language of choice for many tasks, folks coming into software development dont need to go through the trial and error process I did. New and interesting pathways into a career in software are opening up all around too. Despite these differences, I hope we can all share in the common experience of finding joy in programming with Python. I also hope this book can contribute to that joy.

Come along on the wonderful Python journey I fell into somewhat haphazardly. I want to see you build a website, a data pipeline, or an automated plant-watering system. Whatever you fancy. Pythons got your back. Send photos and code samples of your projects to python-pro-projects@danehillard.com.

I didnt write this book alone. My appreciation runs deep for everyone who helped me along the way, at every stage and in every capacity. You are loved.

Most anyone whos been involved in the production of a book can tell you that its always more work than you think. I heard this many times throughout the process, and it certainly was a lot of work. Whats not always clear is that the real struggle is balancing all that extra work with your existing life.

To my partner, Stefanie: your support, encouragement, and tolerance of my ranting and raving were paramount in making this book a reality. Thank you for judging my neglect lightly and extricating me from this project during the roughest times. I could not have done this without you.

Thank you to my parents, Kim and Donna, for always funneling my energy toward curiosity, creativity, and compassion.

Thanks to my dear friend Vincent Zhang for spending countless nights at the coffee shop coding by my side. You were there when the concept for this book was born, and your validation helped spur me to take on this endeavor.

Thank you to James Nguyen for persevering as you changed paths to become a developer. You embody the audience for this book, and your input has been invaluable. Im proud of your accomplishments.

My gratitude goes to all my colleagues at ITHAKA and beyond for your input and support. I thank you for enduring what has undoubtedly been a flighty period for me.

To Toni Arritola, my editor: thank you for your determination in pushing me ever toward higher-quality teaching. The writing process is fraught with many unexpected snags, but you provided me consistency and stability. Thank you.

To Nick Watts, my technical editor: your feedback has pushed the content of this book from frantic ramblings to plausible software teachings. Your candor and insight are much appreciated.

Thank you to Mike Stephens and Marjan Bace at Manning for believing in this idea and trusting me as its shepherd. Thank you to everyone at Manning for working tirelessly to bring authors ideas to life.

To all the reviewersAl Krinker, Bonnie Bailey, Burkhard Nestmann, Chris Wayman, David Kerns, Davide Cadamuro, Eriks Zelenka, Graham Wheeler, Gregory Matuszek, Jean-Franois Morin, Jens Christian Bredahl Madsen, Joseph Perenia, Mark Thomas, Markus Maucher, Mike Stevens, Patrick Regan, Phil Sorensen, Rafael Cassemiro Freire, Richard Fieldsend, Robert Walsh, Steven Parr, Sven Stumpf, and Willis Hamptonyour suggestions helped make this a better book.

A final thank you to anyone and everyone else who has had a positive influencedirectly, intentionally, or otherwiseon my journey in programming and this book. I cannot hope to produce an exhaustive list; names not appearing here are due expressly to the limitations of my own mind. Thank you to Mark Brehob, Dr. Andrew DeOrio, Jesse Sielaff, Trek Glowacki, everyone at SAIC (in our little Ann Arbor office), everyone at Compendia Bioscience (and friends), Brandon Rhodes, Kenneth Love, Trey Hunner, Jeff Triplett, Mariatta Wijaya, Ali Spittel, Chris Coyier, Sarah Drasner, David Beazley, Dror Ayalon, Tim Allen, Sandi Metz, and Martin Fowler.