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
   

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2. I must learn to be
   content with being
   happier than I
   deserve.
   

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5. Always use two spaces
   after a sentence-ending
   period.
   

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6. Exposition
   Climax
   Denouement
   Rising A
   ction
   Falling A
   ction
   

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7. Exposition
   Climax
   Denouement
   Rising A
   ction
   Falling A
   ction
   This is Edith.
   

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8. Exposition
   Climax
   Denouement
   Rising A
   ction
   Falling A
   ction
   She’s using an
   app.
   

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9. Exposition
   Climax
   Denouement
   Rising A
   ction
   Falling A
   ction
   She enters an
   item into the
   app.
   

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10. Exposition
    Climax
    Denouement
    Rising A
    ction
    Falling A
    ction
    The item saves.
    

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11. Exposition
    Climax
    Denouement
    Rising A
    ction
    Falling A
    ction
    Edith closes the
    app, happy.
    

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12. AssertionError: False is not true.
    

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13. AssertionError: False is not true.
    Dear reader,
    We regret that an error has been made.
    Warmly,
    The programmers
    

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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.
    

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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
    

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20. Omit needless words.
    

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21. Simple is better than complex.
    

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22. Vigorous writing is concise.
    

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23. Sparse is better than dense.
    

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24. Programmer
    Writer
    

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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.
    

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26. Sources
    The Zen of Python, Tim Peters.
    The Fiery Cross, Diana Gabaldon.
    The Elements of Style, William Strunk, Jr., and E. B. White.
    

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