Jane Austen on PEP8: An English Major's Tips on Writing Better Code

Jane Austen said, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single module in possession of a good function, must be in want of a test.” In this talk, we’ll discover how writing tips from your Comp 101 class can make your code cleaner and clearer. Both programming and English value ruthless editing, clear and concise communication, and continuously researching new ideas to refine work.

Presented at DjangoCon US 2015. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55gXwFviOuQ

Transcript

1. Jane Austen on PEP8: An English Major’s Tips for Writing Better Code Lacey Williams Henschel @laceynwilliams
2. I must learn to be content with being happier than I deserve.
5. Always use two spaces after a sentence-ending period.
6. Exposition Climax Denouement Rising A ction Falling A ction
7. Exposition Climax Denouement Rising A ction Falling A ction This is Edith.
8. Exposition Climax Denouement Rising A ction Falling A ction She’s using an app.
9. Exposition Climax Denouement Rising A ction Falling A ction She enters an item into the app.
10. Exposition Climax Denouement Rising A ction Falling A ction The item saves.
11. Exposition Climax Denouement Rising A ction Falling A ction Edith closes the app, happy.
12. AssertionError: False is not true.
13. AssertionError: False is not true. Dear reader, We regret that an error has been made. Warmly, The programmers
18. Beautiful is better than ugly. Explicit is better than implicit. Simple is better than complex. Complex is better than complicated. Flat is better than nested. Sparse is better than dense. Readability counts. - Excerpt from The Zen of Python, Tim Peters.
19. I dipped my pen, and began to write the lines that must be there, for the sake of the unknown physician who would follow me. Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross
20. Omit needless words.
21. Simple is better than complex.
22. Vigorous writing is concise.
23. Sparse is better than dense.
24. Programmer Writer
25. Sources The Freer Biblical Manuscripts: Fresh Studies of an American Treasure Trove, ed. Larry W. Hurtado. TEI and transcript. Jane Austen with Laptop. The Boston Globe, Aug. 17, 2009. Test-Driven Development with Python, Harry Percival. Purdue University Online Writing Lab, sample outline. View function from Django Girls code. Emily Dickinson’s handwritten coconut cake recipe, by Garrett Ziegler.
26. Sources The Zen of Python, Tim Peters. The Fiery Cross, Diana Gabaldon. The Elements of Style, William Strunk, Jr., and E. B. White.