Building any software, including web apps and APIs requires testing.

There's automated testing, and there's manual testing. 
In between that is exploratory testing aided by automation tools.  

Michael Kennedy joins the show this week to share some of the tools he uses during development and maintenance.

We talk about tools used for semi-automated exploratory testing. 

We also talk about some of the other tools and techniques he uses to keep Talk Python Training, Talk Python, and Python Bytes all up and running smoothly. 

We talk about:


Postman
ngrok
sitemap link testing
scripts for manual processes
using failover servers during maintenance, redeployments, etc
gitHub webhooks and scripts to between fail over servers and production during deployments automatically
floating IP addresses 
services to monitor your site: StatusCake, BetterUptime
the affect of monitoring on analytics
crash reporting: Rollbar, Sentry
response times
load testing: Locus


Full Transcript Special Guest: Michael Kennedy. Sponsored By:Linode: If it runs on Linux, it runs on Linode.
Get started on Linode today with $100 in free credit for listeners of Test & Code.Links:Python Bytes PodcastTalk Python To Me PodcastTalk Python TrainingPostmanngrokStatusCakeBetter UptimeRollbarSentryLocust12 requests per second in Python

146: Automation Tools for Web App and API Development and Maintenance - Michael Kennedy

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PyCon US is just around the corner.  I've asked Rob Ludwick to come on the show to discuss how to get the most out of your PyCon experience. There's a lot to do. A lot of activities to juggle, including actual juggling, which is where we start the conversation. Even if you never get a chance to go to PyCon, I hope this interview helps you get a feel for the welcoming aspect of the Python community. I recorded this interview as an episode for one of my other podcasts, Python People. But I think it's got some great pre-conference advice, so I'm sharing it here on Python Test as well. We talk about: 
- Juggling at PyCon
- How to get the most out of PyCon
    - Watching talks
    - Hallway track
    - Open spaces
    - Lightening talks
    - Expo hall / vendor space
    - Poster sessions
    - Job fair
    - A welcoming community
    - Tutorials 
    - Sprints
    - But mostly about the people of Python and PyCon. "Python enables smart people to work faster" - Rob Ludwick

Sponsored by Mailtrap.ioAn Email Delivery Platform that developers love. An email-sending solution with industry-best analytics, SMTP, and email API, SDKs for major programming languages, and 24/7 human support. Try for Free at MAILTRAP.IOSponsored by PyCharm ProUse code PYTEST for 20% off PyCharm Professional at jetbrains.com/pycharmNow with Full Line Code CompletionSee how easy it is to run pytest from PyCharm at pythontest.com/pycharmThe Complete pytest CourseFor the fastest way to learn pytest, go to courses.pythontest.comWhether your new to testing or pytest, or just want to maximize your efficiency and effectiveness when testing.

220: Getting the most out of PyCon, including juggling -  Rob Ludwick

I'm starting a SaaS project using Django, and there are tons of decisions right out of the gate. 
To help me navigate these decisions, I've brought on Cory Zue.   
Cory is the creator of SaaS Pegasus, and has tons of experience with Django. Some of the topics discussed:Building Django applicationsSaaS Pegasusplacecard.meWhat boilerplate projects areDjango cookiecutterCookiecutterWhich database to use, probably PostgreSQLAuthentication choises, probably AllauthDocker, Docker for development, Docker for deploymentDeployment targets / hosting services. Render, Heroku, Fly.io, for PaaS options.Front end frameworks. Bootstrap, Tailwind, DaisyUI, TailwindUIHTMX vs React vs straight Django templatesRocketsFont Awesomeand of course, SaaS Pegasus

Sponsored by Mailtrap.ioAn Email Delivery Platform that developers love. An email-sending solution with industry-best analytics, SMTP, and email API, SDKs for major programming languages, and 24/7 human support. Try for Free at MAILTRAP.IOSponsored by PyCharm ProUse code PYTEST for 20% off PyCharm Professional at jetbrains.com/pycharmNow with Full Line Code CompletionSee how easy it is to run pytest from PyCharm at pythontest.com/pycharmThe Complete pytest CourseFor the fastest way to learn pytest, go to courses.pythontest.comWhether your new to testing or pytest, or just want to maximize your efficiency and effectiveness when testing.

219: Building Django Apps & SaaS Pegasus - Cory Zue

Nicole is a software engineer and writer, and recently wrote about the trade-offs we make when deciding which tests to write and how much testing is enough. We talk about:Balancing schedule vs testingHow much testing is the right about of testingShould code coverage be measured and trackedGood refactoring can reduce code coverageIs it worth testing error conditions?Are rare error codes ok to just monitor?API drift and autospecMitigating riskDeciding what to test and what not to testFocus testing on key money-making features If there's a bug in this part of the code, how much business impact is there?Performance testing needs to approximately match real world workloadsCost of a service breaking vs the cost of creating, maintaining, and running testsKeeping test suites quick to minimize getting distracted
 Links:Too much of a good thing: the trade-off we make with tests Load testing is hard, and the tools are... not great. But why?Yet Another Rust Resource (YARR!)Goodhart's law - "When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure"

Sponsored by Mailtrap.ioAn Email Delivery Platform that developers love. An email-sending solution with industry-best analytics, SMTP, and email API, SDKs for major programming languages, and 24/7 human support. Try for Free at MAILTRAP.IOSponsored by PyCharm ProUse code PYTEST for 20% off PyCharm Professional at jetbrains.com/pycharmNow with Full Line Code CompletionSee how easy it is to run pytest from PyCharm at pythontest.com/pycharmThe Complete pytest CourseFor the fastest way to learn pytest, go to courses.pythontest.comWhether your new to testing or pytest, or just want to maximize your efficiency and effectiveness when testing.

218: Balancing test coverage with test costs -  Nicole Tietz-Sokolskaya

If you've ever thought about starting a podcast or a SaaS project, you'll want to listen to this episode.
 
Justin is one of the people who motivated me to get started podcasting. 
He's also running a successful SaaS company, transistor.fm, which hosts this podcast. Topics:PodcastingBuilding new SaaS (software as a service) productsBalancing work, side hustle, and familyGreat places to snowboard in British ColumbiaBTW. This episode was recorded last summer before I switched to transistor.fm.
I'm now on Transistor for most of a year now, and I love it. Links from the show:Transistor.fm - excellent podcast hosting, Justin is a co-founderHow to start a podcast in 2024Podcasts from JustinBuild your SaaS - currentBuild & Launch - an older one, but greatMegaMaker - from 2021 / 2022

Sponsored by Mailtrap.ioAn Email Delivery Platform that developers love. An email-sending solution with industry-best analytics, SMTP, and email API, SDKs for major programming languages, and 24/7 human support. Try for Free at MAILTRAP.IOSponsored by PyCharm ProUse code PYTEST for 20% off PyCharm Professional at jetbrains.com/pycharmNow with Full Line Code CompletionSee how easy it is to run pytest from PyCharm at pythontest.com/pycharmThe Complete pytest CourseFor the fastest way to learn pytest, go to courses.pythontest.comWhether your new to testing or pytest, or just want to maximize your efficiency and effectiveness when testing.

217: Podcasting / SaaS / Work Life Balance - Justin Jackson

Charlie Marsh and team are using Rust to make Python tooling faster.Ruff can take the place of Flake8, isort, and Black, and so much more.uv can take the place of pip, pip-tools, and virtualenvAstral is Charlie's venture backed company, and what they have with `ruff` and `uv` is just the start.Since uv is the newest tool, there's quite a bit of the discussion diving into uv. Links:ruffAstraluv

Sponsored by PyCharm ProUse code PYTEST for 20% off PyCharm Professional at jetbrains.com/pycharmFirst 10 to sign up this month get a free month of AI AssistantSee how easy it is to run pytest from PyCharm at pythontest.com/pycharmThe Complete pytest CourseFor the fastest way to learn pytest, go to courses.pythontest.comWhether your new to testing or pytest, or just want to maximize your efficiency and effectiveness when testing.

146: Automation Tools for Web App and API Development and Maintenance - Michael Kennedy

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