The Python Podcast.__init__

Video games have been a vehicle for learning to program since the early days of computing. Continuing in that tradition, Paul Craven created the Arcade library as a modern alternative to PyGame for use in his classroom. In this episode he explains his motivations for starting a new framework for video game development, his view on the benefits of games in computer education, and how his students and the broader community are using it to build interesting and creative projects. If you are looking for a way to get new programmers engaged, or just want to experiment with building your own games, then this is the conversation for you. Give it a listen and then give Arcade a try for yourself.

The intro and outro music is from Requiem for a Fish The Freak Fandango Orchestra / CC BY-SA

The companies that we entrust our personal data to are using that information to gain extensive insights into our lives and habits while not always making those findings accessible to us. Pascal van Kooten decided that he wanted to have the same capabilities to mine his personal data, so he created the Nostalgia project to integrate his various data sources and query across them. In this episode he shares his motivation for creating the project, how he is using it in his day-to-day, and how he is planning to evolve it in the future. If you’re interested in learning more about yourself and your habits using the personal data that you share with the various services you use then listen now to learn more.

The intro and outro music is from Requiem for a Fish The Freak Fandango Orchestra / CC BY-SA

A standard feature in most modern web applications is the ability to log in or register using accounts that you already own on other sites such as Google, Facebook, or Twitter. Building your own integrations for each service can be complex and time consuming, distracting you from the features that you and your users actually care about. Fortunately the Python social auth library makes it easy to support third party authentication with a large and growing number of services with minimal effort. In this episode Matías Aguirre discusses his motivation for creating the library, how he has designed it to allow for flexibility and ease of use, and the benefits of delegating identity and authentication to third parties rather than managing passwords yourself.

The intro and outro music is from Requiem for a Fish The Freak Fandango Orchestra / CC BY-SA

In order for an organization to be data driven they need easy access to their data and a simple way of sharing it. Arik Fraimovich built Redash as a way to address that need by connecting to any data source and building attractive dashboards on top of them. In this episode he shares the origin story of the project, his experiences running a business based on open source, and the challenges of working with data effectively.

Introductions

How did you get introduced to Python?

Can you start by describing what Redash is and its origin story?

What are the primary ways that it is used?

The business intelligence market is quite mature and has many commercial and open source projects to choose from. What are the aspects of Redash that have allowed you to be successful?

What would you consider to be your closest competitors?

What was your background with data before starting on Redash?

Beyond just accessing data, Redash focuses on enabling visualization of the results. What types of visualizations do you support and how do you support users in choosing the most effective ways to represent the information?

What are some of the common challenges that your users and customers encounter when communicating with data?

One of the critical aspects of enabling data access in an organization is the ability to collaborate on asking and answering questions. How do you approach that challenge in Redash?

How is Redash implemented and how has the overall design and architecture evolved since you first started working on it?

Beyond the code of Redash, you also have a business around providing it as a hosted service. What are some of the most interesting, challenging, or unexpected lessons that you have learned in the process of building and growing that service?

How do you approach the direction and governance of the open source project and balance that against the wants and needs of the community?

What are some of the most interesting, innovative, or unexpected ways that you have seen Redash used?

When is Redash the wrong platform to use?

What do you have planned for the future of the Redash business and project?

The intro and outro music is from Requiem for a Fish The Freak Fandango Orchestra / CC BY-SA

An effective strategy for teaching and learning is to rely on well structured exercises and collaboration for practicing the material. In this episode long time Python trainer Reuven Lerner reflects on the lessons that he has learned in the 5 years since his first appearance on the show, how his teaching has evolved, and the ways that he has incorporated more hands-on experiences into his lessons. This was a great conversation about the benefits of being deliberate in your approach to ongoing education in the field of technology, as well as having some helpful references for ways to keep your own skills sharp.

Introductions

How did you get introduced to Python?

In your first appearance on the show back in episode 2 we talked about your experience as a Python trainer. How has your teaching style evolved in the past 5 years?

What have you found to be some of the most helpful and effective tactics in your training?

From the learner perspective, what are some strategies that you recommend for retaining information, particularly in the context of gaining technical knowledge?

In-person training vs. real-time online training vs. recorded videos, advantages and disadvantages of each.

Blended learning, in which we combine aspects of the above

What is deliberate practice and how does it differ from the habits that many of us might default to?

The intro and outro music is from Requiem for a Fish The Freak Fandango Orchestra / CC BY-SA