[colug-432] Python inline help or library exploration tips

[Tom Hanlon]

Thanks that is most likely what I was/am looking for.

A way to have python tell me about python.

On Wed, Aug 17, 2016 at 10:12 AM, <jep200404 at columbus.rr.com> wrote:

> On Mon, 1 Aug 2016 15:51:14 -0400, Tom Hanlon <tom at functionalmedia.com>
> wrote:
>
> > I am playing with the faker tool from python ...
>
> Are you using the fake-factory module, not the faker module?
>
> > I think I am missing the easy way to use the docs
> > or to use some inline or online tips to get things
> > done efficiently.
>
> You are missing good docs.
>
> Python has a standard way of providing docs called "docstrings".
> Unfortunately, fake-factory has few docstrings and the ones it
> does have are not very helpful.
>
> > I will share my code but understand I am not so much looking
> > for a solution to this SPECIFIC problem as I am looking for
> > how to enable myself to discover these solutions on my own
> > going forward.
>
> For Python, use the help() and dir() functions.
> Also explore __doc__ property of things of interest.
> For example, from the Python command line,
> play with the following commands
> to explore the range function.
>
>     help(range)
>     dir(range)
>     range.__doc__
>
> > How would I see all the options in fake.profile()
> > so I can see if there is a firstname, lastname[?]
>
> You _should_ be able to ask for docs with the following:
>
>     help(fake.profile)
> or
>     help(Factory.create().profile)
> or
>     Factory.create().profile.__doc__
> or
>     print(Factory.create().profile.__doc__)
>
> More empirically:
>
>     fake = Factory.create().profile()
>     print(repr(fake))
>     print(repr(fake.keys()))
>
> > If I did not want to just write the code,
> > where would I find the docs on this.
>
> Read the source on github, add the missing docs,
> and submit pull requests. In this case, lines 37-40 of
> faker/providers/profile/__init__.py offaker project.
>
> See
>
>     https://github.com/joke2k/faker/blob/master/faker/
> providers/profile/__init__.py
>
>     python.org/dev/peps/pep-0257
>     python.org/dev/peps/pep-0258
>     python.org/dev/peps/pep-0287
>
>     Chapter 15 of "Learning Python" 5th ed. by Mark Lutz
>
> Also watch Brandon Rhodes' PyOhio 2011 presentation
> "Squinting at Python Objects".
>
> To misparaphrase ESR, more snake eyes make all Python bugs
> shallow. cohpy.org has a technical mailing list that might
> have more snake eyes than this list.
>
>     cohpy.org
>     https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/centraloh
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