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Learning Python – Week2

July 1, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Well it’s my second week with Python and to be totally honest compared to the previous week this week didn’t go so good.

These days work is overlapping into my personal life. I have multiple projects and approaching deadlines that’s interfering with my learnings.

But with the bit of time I was able to carve out I got to say things got a little frustrating.
I thought I was going to be able to find a few free IDE’s like with PHP but that wasn’t the case.
Plus those fancy Python frameworks that I spoke about last week worked fine on localhost but I couldn’t get them up and running on my server.

Grrrrr but if this is part of the learning curve that’s cool I’m sure the info is available somewhere and with time I will catch on, but dang I was searching the web like a mad man trying to figure this out.

So you’re probably wondering, “Soooo Joe, what did you do this week”? Well I found this article about CGI programming on TutorialsPoint.com that was pretty simple and straight forward so I ran with it.
I didn’t have to install anything extra. I had a CGI-BIN ready and available so the Python functions I had previously built could easily be run within this directory.
I even took it a step further. I moved my files outside of the CGI-Bin and inside another directory created a .htaccess file with the following handler.

“Options +ExecCGI
AddHandler cgi-script .py”

My Python script outside of the CGI-Bin was accessible and executed perfectly. I don’t know if this normal or in regards to security is it safe. I’m just happy that this week wasn’t a total bust.

So all in all I have to admit I don’t feel like I kicked butt this past week, if anything I got my butt kicked.
But that’s cool the 4th of July is right around the corner and I plan to use some of the off time to crush out some code. So looking forward to week 3

 

Learning Python – Week1

June 24, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Well it’s been a full week since I’ve started working with the Python language and I’m proud to say that I’m off to a great start.

I did what I’m sure most of us would do and pushed the textbook a side and jumped right into trying to develop something.
So far I’ve installed and played around with both Django and the Bottle frameworks.
From the few articles and comments I’ve come across I believe the Django framework maybe the industry standard amongst the Python development community.

But in my opinion if your looking for a Python framework with a smaller learning curve Bottle would be my suggestion. But note I haven’t  tried CherryPy yet but looking at the documentation it seems pretty similar to Bottle.

So in regards to the week 1 goals I set for myself I can with confidence check this one off the list.
My experience with the Python language so far has been a great one. I really like it. I like the fact that the syntax it not hard to understand. And I like that it does enforce a bit of a strict structure.

For example if you want to use a Time function you have to import it first.
I also like that with Python, GUI programming is possible, I just read about this so my knowledge is extremely limited when it comes to this topic. But it’s nice to know this option is available if I ever think about going down this road.

Well my week 2 goal is to build a simple website. Right now I don’t think this will be a problem. If anything it’s trying to carve out the time to do so.

Getting on the Python Train

June 17, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Well in a effort of trying new things I’ve decided to give Python a run.
I’ve heard nothing but great things about this language and since fine establishments like Google has embraced it I’m sure it will only grow in popularity.
Plus there seems to be a bit of a demand for it in the Atlanta area which is also great news.

python-developer-salary

But I’m sure just like anything else that’s has some kind of importance it’s not going to be something that’s picked up over night.
So to get the ball rolling I just purchased “Python for Kids: A Playful Introduction to Programming” from Amazon.
This may seems like a crazy book to use as a launching point to learn a new language but my logic behind going this route was “heck if it was written well enough for a kid to understand, then I shouldn’t have any problems”

I set up a few weekly mid-stone to help push my self in the right direction.

  • Week 1  – Get Python installed and up and running. This includes busting out the traditional “Hello World”
  • Week 2  – Build a simple website using Python
  • Week 3  – Maybe connect to a database, but heck this may be pushing a bit.

If I can knock down at least the first two goals that would be awesome.

But overall there’s no rush here, I’m just trying to accomplish something new.

Python here I come!

 

Developer versus Manager?

June 10, 2013 / / 0 Comments

So for the last couple of days I have been questioning my current status within my career path. Should I be seeking more developer type positions or is it time to move up to management? Right now I’m kind of lucky. I work for a large public company as a Local SEO specialist. Unlike other SEO position with this role I’m able to develop from time to time. I work with a much younger crowd some of which are managers. Sometimes I tend to believe they must think something is wrong with me since  I’m not further along in my career path. But what they don’t know is that I love building things. I’m what I would call a developer through and through. I’m sure I’m not the best developer but I love developing. I love talking tech, reading about tech, and being around like minded techs. I’m probably one of the few who actually doesn’t mind sitting at a desk crushing code for 10/12 hours. Building something from scratch, turning it into something awesome and then watching people interface with it interests me the most. The idea of losing that passion and turning into someone who keeps tabs on other people scares me. I don’t want to be that guy.

And honestly when you think about it do we really need managers or perhaps should we be focusing on hiring better organized and responsible people?

A while back I was watching a 60 minutes or maybe it was a CNBC interview with Mark Zuckerberg. It was interesting to hear his thoughts about “The Social Network” movie. Mark at one point made the following statement, “Why not build something because you love to build things” well maybe this wasn’t exactly how he said it but it was something along those lines. He was basically replying to an allegation that he built Facebook to meet girls.

When I heard that statement I thought, dang this guy is just like me, that sounds exactly like something I would say. I mean really what’s wrong with building something for the sake of building something cool? Maybe it was just late that night but I recall thinking, dang me and the CEO of Facebook have something in common, how awesome is that.

I’m sure if I ever get the chance to meet Mark this would be one of my first questions “Was it hard moving from a developer’s role into a the CEO position”?

Because right now that move freaks me out.

Top 5 Reasons I’ve turn into a Mac Fanboy.

October 13, 2012 / / 0 Comments


Oh buddy, so before I get started I need to mention that this list includes built in applications and utilities that I found awesome. And that there are plenty of apps that I have downloaded along the way and use on a day to day basis that I will list at a later date.

 

  1. Spotlight
    • I’m beginning to use Spotlight quite often. It’s actually blazing fast, maybe it will slow down as my computer ages but for right now it’s my goto applications for finding files. Definitely beats Window’s search utilizing by a mile.
  2. SSH
    • I’ve been using a windows based pc for most of my career and when I needed to access my server securely I’ve alway done it via Putty. Putty’s a cool little utility and it’s one of the first tools I download when I’m on a Win PC. But now I just fire up the terminal.
  3. Network
    • In the past my Linksys router would always need power cycling, it was such a pain in the butt. I don’t know why maybe because it was just an old router. When I got my Mac But I did go out and get a new  Linksys router but the set up process was horrible, basically too many hoops to get thing running. I bought a Airport Extreme and had the WiFi up in running in less than 5 minutes. I know this sounds cliche but everything just worked.
  4. Launchpad
    • This and mission control along with gestures I use a lot when i’m actually using the laptop’s monitor. For most of the time I’m tethered to a external monitor is it very seldom I use these two. But they do make navigating between applications and desktops incredibly swift.
  5. Keychain Access
    • I recently installed Windows 7 on a old laptop of mine and could not remember the WI-Fi password. Having Keychain access made life so much easier. In the past I would have to access my Linksys router’s control panel which wouldn’t be that bad but it would always take me a few tries before I could never remember that password.


Applications I have not used yet but looking forward to using.

  • Time Machine
  • ICloud
  • Airdrop, not really sure what this is yet?

Cleaning out old domain names

April 23, 2012 / / 0 Comments

I’ve been tied up lately with my fully time contract and my side projects. But between times I’ve been going through the list of domain names I own, trying to pick out the few that I think I can breathe some life back into. Plus the renewal fees are getting pretty expensive each year.
Hopefully by the beginning of next week I should have something worth talking about.

IPhone App Development Plans

August 10, 2011 / / 0 Comments

Only a few of you know about the contract gig I’ve been working the last couple of months.
Well it looks like it’ll be coming to an end shortly. I’ve had some good times and worked with some really great people but it’s time to turn the page and look towards the next chapter.

If there’s one thing that I’ve learned from my past experiences is that it’s hard to focus on a new job and be involved in side projects at the same time, at least it is for me. So I’ve decided to take a few months to myself to re-vamp some old projects I’ve been neglecting and to learn some new technologies.

One of the goals that I’ve been putting off for some time now is IPhone development. This is something that I’ve been really interested in but didn’t have the proper equipment or the time.  So this time around I plan to focus most of my efforts on developing a IPhone application. That doesn’t mean that I’m not open to listening to new opportunities, that would be crazy. What it means is that I plan to buckle down and dedicate myself to learning and understanding the process needed to get an application developed and submitted to Apple’s Application store.
I’m giving myself 6 months to do this, maybe it’s possible and maybe it’s not, we’ll see.

P.S. I’m sure I could use some help along the way so, I’m open to any advice regarding the topic.

HP 2511x and I’m loving it

August 8, 2011 / / 0 Comments

This weekend my new monitor was delivered, the HP 2511X and it totally awesome. This is one of the best purchases I’ve made in a longtime. I’m like the kid in the candy shop. Today sitting at work I couldn’t stop thinking about my monitor and the code that I was going to write when I got home, yeah it’s like that.

For the longest I’ve rocked a DELL 2001FP 20in and it’s a great monitor don’t get me wrong. I mean me and the 2001FP has been through a lot of good times together and we’ve made a gang of money. But it was time to upgrade.

I originally bought the HP 2511x with the intentions of setting up dual monitors, but after hooking it up I realized there was no need for dual monitors. The HP 2511x provides all of the real estate I need.

It took me a while to make my mind up. I had a hard time deciding between the HP 2509b and the HP2511x but went with the HP2511x because it was slightly cheaper at the time.

I’ve read plenty of reviews and comments and majority of the bad comments I’ve come across was regarding the monitor not having built in speakers, or not being able to adjust vertically. To me having speakers attached is kind of silly. The way I play music attached speakers wouldn’t last past  the first couple of weeks, and then what, ship the whole monitor back. No that’s not for me, I prefer to have my speakers detached. Right now I have some incredible Logitech speakers that are able to handle anything I throw at them.

As for the vertical adjustment, I was a bit concerned about that. I had this option on the 2001FP, but what I found out was the vertical adjustment was no longer needed because the HP 2511x is so freaking huge.
Basically to sum it all up HP2511x is awesome and I’m loving it.

Wait one thing that did suck. I bought some 3ft Monster HDMI cables but they were a bit too short.. Going to Monoprice.com for some longer one.

But besides that get this monitor you’ll love it.

Gmail Contact Importer

April 6, 2011 / / 0 Comments

Import your Gmail Contacts the fast and easy way (insert Billy Mays voice here)

My overall objective was to build very simple API that would allow a user to download his/her Gmail contacts and display them in a specific format.

In my opinion a API like this should be very popular amongst the social networking sites.

The API has the capability to be configured to show results in several different formats XML, JSON, and PHP format. The PHP format returns the results in an array format.

The operating format is as follows.

  • Source:contacts
  • Gmail:Username
  • Gmail:Password
  • Format:PHP, or XML, or JSON

http://apime.josephtinsley.com/contacts/{user_name}:{user_password}/{format}

http://apime.josephtinsley.com/contacts/bob:I_luv_Tacos/json

A simple way of including the result set into your PHP web page is to use PHP’s file_get_contents function.

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<?PHP

$results = file_get_contents('http://apime.josephtinsley.com/contacts/{Email_Address}:{Password}/{Format}');
print '<pre>';
print_r($results);
print '<pre>';

?>

*results are limited to 25 contacts right now*
Thanks,
Joe

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