Tools for Setting Up Python on a New Machine

There are many ways to get Python installed on your computer. If you were going to start fresh, what tools would you use? What if you need to manage multiple versions of Python and virtual environments? What about all the additional tools that make your coding workflow complete? This week on the show, Calvin Hendryx-Parker is here to talk about bootstrapping your Python environment.

Calvin is the co-founder and CTO of Six Feet Up and a Python Web Conference co-organizer. As a consultant, Calvin has set up countless machines to run Python. He configures environments that can scale from in-office projects to distributed cloud-based applications.

We cover tools for installing Python, managing multiple language versions, and configuring virtual environments. Calvin talks about setting up command-line applications in isolated environments. We also discuss traveling with Python on an iPad.

Course Spotlight: Start Managing Multiple Python Versions With pyenv

In this step-by-step course, you’ll learn how to install multiple Python versions and switch between them, including project-specific virtual environments, with ease with pyenv.

Topics:

00:00:00 – Introduction

00:02:42 – Giving talks at IndyPy

00:03:12 – Calvin’s talk “Half a Dozen Ways to Fail at Python”

00:07:41 – Advice on installing Python using Homebrew and pyenv

00:11:48 – The consistency of using a Docker container

00:18:49 – Creating virtual environments and installing packages

00:21:51 – Sponsor: ScoutAPM

00:22:38 – Creating requirements.txt files and moving from pipenv to piptools

00:30:54 – Paying attention to security issues and your software supply chain

00:34:19 – The goal of making a repeatable developer build experience

00:39:30 – Video Course Spotlight

00:40:47 – Using pipx to set up CLI code tools

00:44:52 – Using bpytop to monitor performance

00:46:41 – Tools for using Python on the iPad

00:53:06 – Python Web Conference

00:56:08 – Moving your dotfiles across multiple machines with chezmoi

01:02:22 – Thanks and goodbye

Show Links:

Half a Dozen Ways to Fail at Python – YouTube

calvinhp/2019 WaysToFailAtPython – GitHub

Calvin Hendryx Parker - Bootstrapping your Local Python Environment – YouTube

calvinhp/2021 BootstrappingYourLocalPythonEnvironment – GitHub

Six Feet Up: Python web application development and cloud management services

Homebrew: The Missing Package Manager for macOS (or Linux)

Chocolatey - The package manager for Windows

Python 3 Installation & Setup Guide – Real Python

Your Python Coding Environment on Windows: Setup Guide - Real Python

Managing Multiple Python Versions With pyenv – Real Python

A quick-and-dirty guide on how to install packages for Python

Why you should use “python -m pip”

pypa/pipenv: Python Development Workflow for Humans.

pip-tools · PyPI

safety · PyPI

Production-ready Docker packaging for Python developers

pipx: Install and Run Python Applications in Isolated Environments

bpytop: Resource monitor that shows usage and stats - PyPI

Episode #272 The tools episode - Python Bytes Podcast

Road Warrior Developer – YouTube

5 Ways To Use Python On An iPad

Advanced Visual Studio Code for Python Developers – Real Python

chezmoi: Manage your dotfiles across multiple diverse machines, securely

Python Web Conference 2022 — Python Web Conf 2022

Level up your Python skills with our expert-led courses:

A Beginner's Guide to pip

Installing Python on Windows, macOS, and Linux

Start Managing Multiple Python Versions With pyenv

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