At HSR, I’m currently enrolled in a course about neural networks and machine learning. One of the simplest forms of a neural network model is the perceptron. Background Information A perceptron classifier is a simple model of a neuron. It has different inputs ($x_1$…$x_n$) with different weights ($w_1$…$w_n$). $$s = sum_{i=0}^n w_i cdot x_i$$ The […]
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Python Simple Getty wrapper released!
Keeping up with our efforts to be an active part of the open source community, we are pleased to announce the public release of our Simple Getty wrapper. Python Simple Getty is a basic wrapper to the extensive Getty Images Connect API. In its current state it does not fully implement Connect, but it works […]
The Story of Pillow
On March 4, 2013 I got an email from the Python Software Foundation On March 4, 2013 I got an email from the Python Software Foundation (PSF): This email notification is being sent to you to inform you of the PSF Board’s decision to fund the facilitation of a Python 3 compatible release of the […]
d3.js and X-Requested-With
Most JavaScript frameworks set the X-Requested-With HTTP Header to XMLHttpRequest when sending non-cross-domain XHR requests. Many web frameworks like Django or Flask use this to detect AJAX requests. Because of issues with X-Requested-With and cross-domain XHR requests, d3.js does not set that header by default. Therefore Django’s request.is_ajax() and Flask’s request.is_xhr() break. In order to […]
Introduction to SQLAlchemy – Pycon 2013
Preparations are just about complete for my upcoming tutorial Introduction to SQLAlchemy. There’s a good crowd of people already attending, and I think registration is still open in case more people want to sign up. But in any case, if you are coming, this year there is prerequisite material, including the software installs as well […]
Nikola — The Best Blog Engine Ever!
I recently found out about Nikola (through Planet Python). It is awesome, even better than Hyde. Why? Right after the break. Why? A lively community and an awesome lead developer, Roberto Alsina. Actively developed (last commit to Hyde was 11 months ago). Easily extensible. Ships with the Bootstrap style, to which I planned to migrate […]
Pillow Python 3
PIL is on its way to Python 3 via Pillow. Support from Brian Crowell and others has been merged into master here: https://github.com/python-imaging/Pillow/pull/35 And work continues toward a pre PyCon 2013 release! Please help if you can: Ubuntu users, read through https://github.com/python-imaging/Pillow/issues/18 and provide assistance with testing this Ubuntu package: https://launchpad.net/~pythoneers/+archive/ppa. Git experts, please comment […]
New Year’s Python Meme 2012
Via Tarek Ziadé. Right after the break. Here it comes: 1. What’s the coolest Python application, framework or library you have discovered in 2012? A lot of them. Requests by the ever-awesome Kenneth Reitz, for example. 2. What new programming technique did you learn in 2012? Python and Pythonic code is the answer for this […]
Not Everyone Needs To Be A Rockstar
Getting started in open-source software is intimidating. I know, I’ve been there: it’s always a little scary to have someone you’ve never met before critique your code, particularly if it’s someone whose work you respect and admire. More than that, though, I suspect that at least part of the fear most people (myself included) feel […]
Pycon Canada – the SQLAlchemy Session In Depth
Video is up for my Pycon.ca talk, The SQLAlchemy Session – In Depth. In this talk, I delve into the key philosophies behind the design of SQLAlchemy’s Session system. Starting with a brief review of the ACID model, I contrast the approach of the so-called “active record” pattern to that of the more explicit Session […]
Pillow 1-7-8
Pillow is the friendly PIL fork. Initially just a packaging fork, now considering image code bug fixes and Python 3 support. To be friendly, we attempt to track changes against upstream tickets in PIL. Pillow 1.7.8 is out! Read about it here: http://pypi.python.org/pypi/Pillow/1.7.8 Features It’s PIL (Python Imaging Library) It installs on all modern systems […]
Recompile Vim with Python/Ruby Support on Arch Linux
Update 2014-08-21: The vim packages in Arch Linux have been reorganized: https://www.archlinux.org/news/reorganization-of-vim-packages/. The standard vim package should now contain Python support, so the recompile is not necessary anymore. For my vim configuration, I need a version of Vim that was built with Python and Ruby support. Unfortunately, the default version of Vim that is installed […]
Looking For Projects
With pythonpackages.com winding down, I am now actively seeking projects for Q4 2012 and beyond. I am good at: Deploying Plone sites: http://blog.aclark.net/2012/10/03/plone-4-3-alpha-1-in-production/ Maintaining and releasing Python packages: http://pypi.python.org/pypi?%3Aaction=search&term=aclark&submit=search Cat herding volunteers: http://lists.plone.org/pipermail/plone-com/Week-of-Mon-20120903/000039.html Writing documentation: http://docs.pythonpackages.com/en/latest/index.html Writing narrative text: http://www.packtpub.com/plone-33-site-administration/book Writing Python code: https://github.com/aclark4life Also, I’ve put together a list of projects I am involved […]
PythonPackages: One Year Later
We are rolling up on the one year anniversary of pythonpackages.com (in October). This is an exciting milestone (for me at least) because I’ve had a tremendous amount of fun building the site, not to mention how much I learned about GitHub, PyPI, Pyramid, Stripe, Redis, Bootstrap, and more. We are hovering around 200 signups […]
Virtualenv Quickstart Guide
I was searching for a nice virtualenv quickstart guide today, but couldn’t find one that I liked. Either they were outdated and still relied on easy_install, or they were too complicated. So here’s my own. Why use virtualenv? Virtualenv (http://www.virtualenv.org/) basically provides you with a full Python environment (and/or versions) inside a single folder. This […]