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Engine Works

Under the hood of Alteryx: tips, tricks and how-tos.
BlytheE
Alteryx Alumni (Retired)

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The second installment of the Dev Toolbox series is a peek inside a Python developer's toolbox. Shout out to JP Kabler (@JPKa) and Rithi Son (@RithiS) for revealing their Python secrets!

 

What is your favorite code editor? Do you use any keyboard shortcuts that make your job easier?

  • JP: I love VS Code. While there are some amazing keyboard shortcuts, I’d recommend something much more powerful: Live Share. You can have multiple people working on the same codebase in real time, and even share ports, terminals, etc. It’s an amazing new paradigm for software development. I’m also a huge fan of Jupyter, and encourage anyone learning ML to try it out. It’s built into the Alteryx Python tool, so if you have Alteryx you have Jupyter.
  • RS: VS Code. I like to use the scroll button for multi-line editing. I use Alt + Up/Down Arrow all the time. I love its source control integration. It’s easy to find new extensions. I actually enjoy reading their release notes.

 

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Preferred testing framework?

  • JP: For Python, PyTest.
  • RS: Haven’t used anything besides pytest. I’ve read good things about nose.

Helpful learning resources?

Useful or fun libraries? Any open-source projects you'd like to give a shout out to?

  • JP: Spacy, Spacy, Spacy……. It’s an amazing open source project that elevated user-friendly Natural Language Processing by an order of magnitude in capability.
    Fastai: I just love their commitment to the mission statement of truly democratizing ML/AI. The library reflects this.
  • RS: Jupyter is great. Like everyone else, I love requests.

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Anything else you think a developer needs to know?

  • JP: Build side projects. Don’t just read books or watch videos. Learning by doing is the best method for expanding knowledge.
  • RS: Have a non-computer hobby that you love.

Stay tuned for next week's edition as we look inside a front-end developer's toolbox! What's your favorite book about Python? Comment below!

Blythe Early

Blythe is an Associate Product Manager that started her career at Alteryx as a Customer Support Engineer in January of 2015. She previously worked as a data analyst for a marketing company. She likes cats and video games and dislikes writing about herself in the third person.

Blythe is an Associate Product Manager that started her career at Alteryx as a Customer Support Engineer in January of 2015. She previously worked as a data analyst for a marketing company. She likes cats and video games and dislikes writing about herself in the third person.