Al Sweigart

Author of "Automate the Boring Stuff with Python" and other programming books. Mostly harmless. he/him

automatetheboringstuff.com: https://automatetheboringstuff.com/
alsweigart.com: https://alsweigart.com/
inventwithpython.com: https://inventwithpython.com

Public Key

npub1ucsfykzhfw2v5fk8lkf02uxq2t79ac9vrgczmx8u43wcgp75n64q5z4n0p

NIP-05 Address

alsweigart_at_mastodon.social@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqswvgyjtpt5h9x2ymrlmyh4wrq99lz7uzkp5vpdnr72chvyql2fa2sprpmhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0d4hhxarj9ecxjmntqyvhwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnddakk7um5wgh8q6twdvhs5lcymt

Publishing to

relay.momostr.pink

relay.noswhere.com

Author Public Key

npub1ucsfykzhfw2v5fk8lkf02uxq2t79ac9vrgczmx8u43wcgp75n64q5z4n0p

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Last Notes

2024-11-14 03:20:48

The fact that all these court cases against Trump are just self-evaporating right now shows that "checks and balances" was always a silly fairy tale.

2024-11-12 15:01:59

Python question: I am writing MyLibrary which has a container MyClass. Should the __getitem__() method for MyClass raise KeyError or my own custom MyLibraryKeyError?

2024-11-12 14:18:36

All public libraries really do need to put "Checking out books from libraries is completely free! There are zero subscriptions fees!" on their signs out front.
Us older folks don't know how bad "normal" is for younger folks.

2024-11-08 22:37:29

Right-wingers will make tempting offers to the left, "Just give us the trans people and the immigrants, and you won't have to lose on all your other positions. Just let them go, don't defend them, don't die on this hill. It's a smart and necessary political sacrifice to make in order to move forward with the rest of your agenda."
It's a lie of course. Every time the left concedes something to fascists, the fascists gain something. You can't smartly surrender yourself to victory.

2024-11-06 22:00:10

I found myself thinking that at least presidents are limited to two terms, and then I caught myself; that's the old way of thinking.
I'm going to have to stop doing that.

2024-11-06 13:50:20

"Could I have done more?"
Yeah. Of course you could have done more. Would it have changed anything? Probably not. You are not the main character.
The best time to stop fascism was ten years ago. The second best time is right now.

2024-11-05 21:04:52

https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/432/375/410/864/024/original/f3af2d1b181c9962.jpg

2024-10-31 20:53:03

My Halloween costume: Recursive fractAL.
(btw you can get my book on recursion at https://nostarch.com/recursive-book-recursion )
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/404/017/231/538/821/original/348211b310a9dc61.jpeg

2024-10-30 15:50:49

https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/397/162/934/287/273/original/0b5a79f52569ed79.jpg

2024-10-27 14:34:07

I don't like to be negative about programming language stuff, but if your Python idea is, "there's already a way to do this, but here's an idea for new syntax to do it with less typing" then not only is it not a good idea, it's a bad idea.
That's how Python becomes Perl.

2024-10-25 17:20:58

- reply

Do you mind if I ask what software you use to draw these? They look beautiful.

2024-10-23 16:21:32

https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/357/651/275/247/761/original/080ec5855751c522.jpg

2024-10-19 00:30:05

So you know those sound board apps and web pages that have different buttons that play different sounds when you click them? I'm looking for something like that except it copies text to the clipboard when you click the button. Just a simple configurable website like that.

2024-10-15 14:13:11

You shouldn't let perfect be the enemy of good, but you shouldn't let good be the enemy of better, either.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/311/846/287/967/885/original/b4ce9e5f43899fd3.jpg

2024-10-13 20:03:42

I haven't been following the WordPress news and know nothing about it but in my mind it's essentially a Scooby Doo plot where one guy is doing an elaborate scheme in order to get more money.
In this correct? Y/N

2024-10-13 18:15:24

Asking for a techie opinion. Recently I had this thought and I wanted to see if it holds up: If you ever find yourself "using CSV as a database" then you should always switch to SQLite.
Are there any cases where this wouldn't be true?

2024-10-09 18:40:18

- reply

Ooo. Is there going to be a blog post about this some day?

2024-10-01 11:36:08

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Reporting what fascists say at face value is repeating fascist propaganda.

2024-09-27 15:19:07

The BBC has expanded their free to use (for non-commercial use) library of sound effects to 33,000 items.
https://sound-effects.bbcrewind.co.uk/

2024-09-23 06:59:17

People will say just because Trump supporters post the numbers 14 and 88 doesn't mean they're a literal Nazi and then I tell them to do a Google image search for "1488 tattoos".
Anyway here's that election denier My Pillow guy on Twitter:
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/185/570/086/786/644/original/9364e0816654f970.jpg

2024-09-18 19:15:14

The typical person has two legs.
The average person has less than two legs.

2024-09-16 23:39:52

ChatGPT is terrible at generating ASCII art.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/149/868/688/635/205/original/d0bc24701b4255d2.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/149/868/678/885/480/original/1d0e3c31d897c090.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/149/868/677/918/704/original/a0c5b9369e4d27a3.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/149/868/683/907/528/original/e6cc3e0c7a31eba2.png

2024-09-13 18:58:07

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https://www.zdnet.com/article/accuweather-caught-sending-geo-location-data-even-when-denied-access/
"Popular weather app AccuWeather has been caught sending geolocation data to a third-party data monetization firm, even when the user has switched off location sharing."

2024-09-12 14:09:37

So to help "my brand" I really need to have a discord and subreddit set up. I kind of do, but I haven't been promoting them because I don't have the time to manage/moderate them. Are there any resources/blogs with advice on how to run a discord/subreddit that you can point me to?

2024-09-11 21:35:46

51 years ago today, the United States overthrew the democratically elected President of Chile and installed the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_Chilean_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat

2024-09-10 23:59:22

This is a reminder that you don't have to watch the debates. You are not a more informed citizen by spending your time doing this.

2024-09-10 17:50:20

Oh man. Python's json module could really be improved by having friendly error messages. It's encountering bad syntax at line 5 column 89 (char 211)
I *really* don't know what that is because I copy/pasted the json data directly into a multiline string in my code.
Add this to the my todo list one day.

2024-08-28 15:03:13

I, uh, I'm not sure what to make of this 1-star review of my book, Automate the Boring Stuff with Python.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/040/231/592/318/467/original/2f41d4b9996fddcb.png

2024-08-18 14:14:25

PEOPLE: "That's not natural."
NATURE:
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/983/437/253/485/264/original/882986774d9ed148.jpg

2024-08-07 16:33:32

Idea for something I want to make when I have time:
A fork of Python's pathlib module that has safety built in so you don't touch files outside of a certain folder, and lets you undo delete/rename/move operations.
It'd also provide an open() function for adding safety to file operations.

2024-08-07 04:10:12

12% of Texas' 18 million voters have had their voter registration suspended. Here's how you can check your status:
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/elections/2024/08/05/texas-voter-suspense-list-tops-21-million-heres-what-to-do-if-youre-on-it/
If voting didn't change anything, then Republicans wouldn't be working so hard to take it away from you.

2024-07-02 14:52:42

Hey macOS Pythonistas, what do you use for virtual environments on macOS?