Python: best_practices[2]

Write better Python code in the future.

Part 3 of our snippets and learning moments in Python.

Topics I recently remembered or picked up. Here is the recollection of all this posts:

The process of solving a bug/error which takes up to 75% of your time.

Master debugging to master scripting.

"Frame: " + 1001
 
 # Traceback (most recent call last):
 # File "/server/week_05.py", line 32, in <module>
 # "Frame: " + 1001
 # TypeError: cannot concatenate 'str' and 'int' objects
 
 # EXPLAIN
 # [EXCEPTION] Code stops and the traceback prints out the interpreter issue
 # [WHERE] file path, line 32, module
 # [WHAT] TypeError: cannot concatenate 'str' and 'int' objects
 # Cannot combine (+) a string and an integer

Semicolons can be used to delimit statements (see C++, MEL, ...)

when you must put multiple statements in the same line.

# idiomatic
 print("test")
 print("works too")
 
 # delimit statement
 print("test"); print("works too")
 # WARNING: Bad style!!!
 
 # USE CASE: UI button commands
 # A call needs to be converted into a multi statement string
 # cmds.button(label="Start Tool", command="import tool; tool.start()")

Get the index and value of a sequence.

assets = ['mike', 'sulley', 'camera']
 enum_assets = enumerate(assets)
 # [(0, 'mike'), (1, 'sulley'), (2, 'camera')]
 
 for index, value in enum_assets:
  assets[index] = value + '_001'

Return multiple values (e.g. enumerate).

def get_type_task(file_name):
  file_split = file_name.split('_')
  return file_split[0], file_split[1]
 
 file_name = 'char_mike_RIG_v001.ma'
 group, asset = get_type_task(file_name)

Limit a sequence with seq[first:last].

# slice list
 assets = ["mike", "sulley", "announcer", "table"]
 assets[1:3] # ['sulley', 'announcer']
 
 # slice string
 character = "mike_001"
 character[-3:] # 001

Opens anything in your default browser or OS.

import webbrowser
 
 # WEBSITE
 webbrowser.open("https://www.alexanderrichtertd.com")
 
 # IMG & VIDEOS
 webbrowser.open("/server/image.png")
 webbrowser.open("/server/video.mp4")
 
 # SCRIPTS | LOGS | ...
 webbrowser.open("/server/script.py")
 
 # DIRECTORIES
 webbrowser.open("/server/project")

There is no difference between double and single quotes but we careful mixing them.

# ERROR: without escape characters
 print("Are you really a "Superhero"?")
 
 # Typical: Integrate "" in ''
 print('Are you really a "Superhero"?')
 # Are you really a "Superhero"?
 
 # Or integrate '' in ""
 print("Are you really a 'Superhero'?")
 # Are you really a 'Superhero'?

Backslash (\) allows escape characters with special meaning

e.g. newline (\n), backslash (\\), quote (\' or \")

# ERROR: without escape characters
 print("Are you really a "Superhero"?")
 
 # Alternative: Mixing '' and ""
 print('Are you really a "Superhero"?')
 
 # Quotations
 print('Are you really a \'Superhero\'?')
 print("Are you really a \"Superhero\"?")
 
 # Add newline between two sentences
 # n is an escape character and will not be displayed as \n
 print("Hello?\nCan you read this?")
 # Hello?
 # Can you read this?

- Alex

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