DEV Community: Satwik Gawand 🦄

Python File Headers

Satwik Gawand 🦄 — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 07:14:41 +0000

There are many resources that teach you how to write code, but when it comes to writing clean and readable code, many beginners are unaware of the principles and techniques. In this article we'll explore how to write Python headers, one of many things that can level up the readability of your code.

What are Python Headers?

In general, file headers are blocks of information - often positioned at the top of the file - that contain metadata about the file and its content.

Similar to this, a Python Header consists of a shebang and a docstring present at the top of the file that provides more information about the file and the code present inside it.

Why use Headers?

As mentioned, headers provide metadata about the file that can help understand the context as well as track the changes in the file. It not only helps the readers, but the developers to get up to speed quickly with the context.

What's a shebang?

You might see something like #! /user/bin/env python in Python scripts. The #! is referred to as the shebang. It is Unix feature of executable scripts and specifies the path of a valid executable.

You can specify the pathname to define a certain version of Python on the machine. Following are some examples

#! /usr/bin/env python
executes any python executable present on the machine.

#! /usr/bin/python
used in cases when python is installed in the /usr/bin directory.

#! /usr/bin/python2.7
used in cases to execute a specified version of the python executable.

#!python
works only if the python executable is present in the current directory.

What other metadata should I add?

Other than the shebang, there are a few more things you should add in your header.

Encoding

You can specify the encoding for the scripts. UTF-8 is the most commonly used encoding. Here's how you do it
-*-coding: utf-8 -*-

Docstrings

Docstrings are usually used to provide documentation or explanation about the important pieces of code. Explain the type of expected input values and what the piece of code does (usually functions).

You start with a short description about the file followed by the descriptions for the functions.

NOTE: Your code must only start after the docstring, else it won't be recognized.

Dunders

You can then add information about the author and other relevant information for the file using the following

__author__ = "Author Name"
__copyright__ = "Copyright Info"
__credits__ = ["Author", "Author"]
__license__ = "License Name and Info"
__version__ = "0.0.0"
__maintainer__ = "Author"
__email__ = "contact@email.com"
__status__ = "status of the file"

Now, you are not limited to these, you can use some of them or add more information. The reason we write the info this way is to access it.

What is a proper format?

Although there is no hard-defined format you should use, here's a frequently used format. You don't have to use all the prompts mentioned here strictly, feel free to add and remove metadata according to your use case, but keep the format similar and information relevant.

You can follow this format

Shebang
Encoding
Docstring
Dunders
Imports

Code Snippet: code

Python Things Repository: repo

Footnote

Hope you liked this small article and it helps you write better Python code. I plan fill this series with small articles about python concepts, tips, tricks, and tutorials.

You can find me here:
Twitter
Website

ReDesign UI 001-005

Satwik Gawand 🦄 — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 05:50:31 +0000

View the design files on Figma Community

001 - Monitoring Dashboard by SunnyUIbegin

Original Tweet by SunnyUIbegin

Feedback

Congratulations on starting out your design journey. I like the idea behind the design as well as the colours you’ve selected. I have a few suggestions that can help you improve this design. The first, and in my opinion, the biggest issue is with the spacing between all the elements. Having consistent spacing in your design can make it look much better instantly. Also, since the purple colour is your primary colour, you should use it to highlight the most important elements on that screen. You should also consider the contrast between the foreground and background colours. You can use some icon libraries to have consistency amongst your icons. You can also use outlined icons for your inactive menu items and use a filled icon for the active item, but I’d suggest using a different background colour to highlight the active page.

Changes

So, I decided to make an expanding sidebar over a slide-out one. The spacing is consistent now with 20px across the design. I changed the background colour for the containers to be neutral except for the sidebar which is still the primary colour. I changed the primary colour a bit as well to suit well with the background. There’s also a new highlighter that changes the background and foreground colour for the active page. The idea behind this design was to dynamically change the container sizes to accommodate the expanding sidebar. All the icons are from Remix Icons and the icons are separated into two sections, the top one has all the functionality whereas the settings and logout options are separated down below.

002 - To-Do List App by HatokUr0

Original Tweet by HatokUr0

Feedback

I really like how clean the design looks. However, the main issue I believe is that there are no different sections throughout the design, it’s all in one container. The header section only has the “Today” along with the day and the date, but ideally, you can add a menu to change some other settings. All the content seems to have a lot of left margin. The tasks seem too cramped together as well. Feel free to space them out a bit. the button to add a new task looks more like a display item rather than a button, and I believe you don’t have to add labels for completed and incomplete tasks. I’m not sure if they’re display items or buttons to filter out tasks.

Changes

The app is now divided into 3 prominent sections, the header, the tasks and the button to add new tasks. The margin is now reduced to 20px on both the left and the right sides. The header now has a menu icon along with the page title as well as the day and date. The font size is reduced for a cleaner look along with the colour for that text. The tasks are more spaced out with a light divider line separating them. The “Add New Task” button is now big and uses the primary colour to make it pop up and get some attention.

Customize Product Page by Radianceinspir1

Original Tweet by Radianceinspir1

Feedback

Nice design. I really like the logo you’ve included in the design. I’d recommend not using dark backgrounds, especially for delicate and elegant objects like gold watches. Although the text looks readable in this screenshot, it might be too big when used in an actual design. I’d recommend you stick to a definitive font size rather than adjusting the size visually. There are guides on font sizes you can use for different screen sizes. You can arrange the colours section differently and make the colour selection circles bigger as well as highlight the currently selected colour. The same goes for the price and the “Add to Cart” button. You can arrange them in a different layout and make the button bigger.

Changes

The background is changed to pure white since many elegant products have it as the background. Changed the typefaces and colours to depict more elegance. The elements are spaced out and divided into 2 sections, the top section contains all the display elements where the users can read about the product and the bottom section where they can take actions like customizing and buying the product. The primary colour used on the page is somewhat of a golden yellow since the product or series of products is about golden watches. The selected colour is highlighted with a small stroke and the price as well as the button colour are changed to the primary colour.

004 - Signup Page by sayesystem

Original Tweet by sayesystem

Feedback

I really liked the design, especially the background. It challenged me to design such a background from scratch and it was fun and something new for me. the only issues for me were the font colour and the buttons. The text could’ve been arranged better and the buttons made bigger and more prominent.

Changes

I tried to recreate the background and it was something new for me, but a fun challenge. I’m kinda happy with the results. I couldn't find the typeface you used but used a different one I believed to fit perfectly for the use case. I also brought the tagline closer to the name and changed the colour for visual hierarchy. The buttons are bigger now and more prominent. The signup buttons are solid since that’s the primary CTA, but there’s also a secondary option to Login.

005 - Food Menu by Maaasry98

Original Tweet by Maaasry98

Feedback

A very nice design. I like the colours. The spacing and layout of the product list seem perfect. There are only two major issues, one is the search bar and the other is the horizontal categories list. Be mindful of the top margin in your designs, you don’t want that overlapping anything. Be mindful of the notches and the punch holes that bring the content further down on the screen. The search bar doesn't follow the same layout and spacing as the rest of the design and seems too small. The horizontal categories list has the same issue where it doesn't follow the same arrangement as the rest of the design. What you can do for those is keep them left-aligned and allow horizontal scroll.

Changes

Although there were only 3 things I wanted to change in the design, I had to recreate the rest of the design as well. It was fun. So, here are the changes I’ve made. The header has been brought down to adjust for the notch. The search bar is now bigger with 20px margins on the left and right sides and the height increased to 50px. The options in the categories sections are now aligned to the left to follow the same margins as the other elements. The divider below the categories section is increased to span the entire width of the screen to separate everything above and below the divider.

My Thoughts

It was fun to start redesigning spree again. It's as much fun as it is a challenge and difficult. This article had some designs that needed minimal changes and some that needed a bit more. There are two new things I did, which are the expanding sidebar and the multi-colour background. It was something I never tried before, but it was fun for sure.

If you'd like to get feedback on your designs, feel free to tag satwikgawand on any of your designs in your tweets. See you next week!

Unlock the True Potential of your To-Do Lists!

Satwik Gawand 🦄 — Tue, 26 Jul 2022 11:31:21 +0000

Everyone uses To-Do Lists, but you either have too many tasks and feel overwhelmed or too few tasks which leave you confused and thinking up more tasks you can add to your list.

Everyone uses To-Do Lists, but many don’t know how to fully utilize them to boost your productivity.

Before you move towards boosting your productivity, here’s a small thread to help you understand what Productivity exactly is.

Read a Twitter thread about what Productivity is and why you should be productive here: Twitter Thread

The Framework

Before we start anything, it’s always helpful to have a framework in place. It guides you through your project as well as makes decisions easier with a predefined set of rules.

In our framework for a To-Do List, we’ll consider the following things (and there’s a bonus!):

Ideal Number of Tasks
Sorting Methods
Time Management
Tools

Ideal Number of Tasks

There’s no right answer for this, there’s no magical number that is perfect for your To-Do List, instead, you have to adjust it based on your lifestyle to optimize your productivity.

Here’s a baseline to help you get started:
3 - P1 Priority Tasks
3 - P2 Priority Tasks
5 - P3 Priority Tasks

Sorting Methods

Many people sort their tasks based on importance, starting with the most important to the least important. Although it’s not wrong, there are better ways to accomplish your tasks.

There are different kinds of tasks

Some tasks take a lot of focus, thinking, problem-solving or decision-making capabilities like debugging in programming, preparing a concept for a design project, writing an article or making a very important decision for your startup.
Others are more repetitive which don’t really need a lot of your attention like replying to emails, connecting on social media, etc.
There are also tasks that are personal and don’t exactly fit into your professional life like doing chores, reading and watching educational/informative videos that you love to watch.

The kind of tasks differs for everyone, try to categorize your tasks. However, there’s one thing that must be common throughout all your tasks…

Every task must contribute towards three things, Your Goal, Personal Development, or Family. If it doesn’t do that, you probably don’t need to do that task.

Yes, doing chores or things like buying groceries, etc. count towards Personal Development and Family.

Everyone has a specific time period in a day when they feel most productive or focused. Some can focus early morning while their mind is fresh while others stay up late which makes them more focused because of the silence in their surrounding. Identifying that time period can have a significant impact on your efficiency, and in turn, your productivity.

Let’s get to actually sorting our tasks. We’ll sort our tasks based on a few characteristics.

Productive Time
Priority

Productive Time

You can divide your day into different time periods, for example, divide it into 4 sections:

Morning
Afternoon
Evening
Night

Priority

We can divide the priorities into three sections ranging from critical tasks to not so important tasks:
P1 - Critical tasks that must be done today
P2 - Important tasks with a further due date
P3 - Tasks that can be put off by a few days

Time Management

Managing your time is just as important as planning your tasks, which helps you optimize your time and boost your productivity. There are many methods to help you utilize your time efficiently, one of the most widely used methods is the Pomodoro Technique. Here’s a small Twitter Thread exploring the Pomodoro Technique.

Read a Twitter thread I wrote about using the Pomodoro method effectively here: Twitter Thread

Tools

There are many platforms and apps you can use to manage your tasks. Two of my favourite platforms to manage my tasks are Todoist and Notion.

Todoist is a full-fledged Task Management platform that provides an out of the box experience. It is available on every platform and provides many features like priority sorting and project management.

Notion, on the other hand, is a Do It Yourself platform. You have to build it yourself or use a template shared by others but it provides more flexibility to adapt the tool to your use case.

Footnote

👋🏻 Hi! I’m Satwik.

Thank you for reading this article. If you like this article, I’d appreciate a like, it’s free and motivates me to publish more content. You can also follow me on Twitter to get a bit-sized content about Productivity, Design and Development.