How can I get the source code for Python functions? - python

I am learning Python and how to make classes. I was curious how the classes are made inside Python itself! For example, in datetime.py (I find it by googling) I was checking how they used __add__ or __sub__ which is using "if isinstance(other, timedelta):" that was an interesting learning. Also, I am learning what professionally written programs look like.
My question is how can I find the source codes of internal classes and functions inside Python, for example, I am interested to see how they implement add in print(), that can print(1+2) -> 3 and
print('a'+'b') -> ab

The source code for the reference implementation of Python is available here at their GitHub mirror. However, it's worth noting that large parts of the Python language are implemented in C, including the core engine and many of the standard library libraries. Really understanding how everything is implemented under the hood requires a fair amount of C fluency.

ipython is a great tool for exploring how things work. Just add "??" after a function or other callable, and it show the code when possible, ie. when it's "pure python".
Eg:
import this
this??

Python is an open source language which means the source code is available to any interested party. I would suggest looking at the source files on the machine you are using or looking at the CPython Github repo.
print() is a built in module. It is written in C and the source can be viewed in the file bltinmodule.c.
You may also find it useful to learn about the functions available in Python for getting help, like help() (documentation available here). To learn about the print() function you can call:
help(print)
I recommend reading the Beginner's Guide as a starting point for more resources.

Related

How to get code-completion for COM programming in PyCharm?

When using app = win32com.client.Dispatch('Some.Application'), is there any feasible way get code-completion in PyCharm? It is rather tedious having to retype (or copy-paste) everything from an API documentation, so would creating skeletons be. Is there no other way to let PyCharm know about the Interface provided via COM, especially if I can provide a .tlb file? Or is there at least some way automatically generate such a skeleton (or a wrapping module?) from the TypeLib?
Since there is no way for PyCharm to know the runtime type of app, you shouldn't expect to get code completion on app directly; at least not until they decide to add built-in support for generating code from type libraries.
However, you can exploit the fact that win32com implicitly generates code based on the type library as described in the first part of this answer, together with PyCharm's support for type hinting, to get code completion on COM methods.
Make sure that the Python types have been generated; their location is determined by the GUID of the COM object. For example, the types for Microsoft Word 2016 on my machine are available in
C:\Users\username\appdata\local\temp\gen_py\3.6\00020905-0000-0000-c000-000000000046x0x8x7\.
Add this folder to the path of your PyCharm Python interpreter; see e.g. this answer.
Import the modules for which you want code completion.
In the screenshots below, we use this approach with Word's Find:
Now, besides feeling dirty, this approach relies on the relevant types having been generated and the code completion is limited to the methods published by the object, so I imagine its usefulness in practice might be somewhat limited; in particular, anybody working on the code will have to generate the code, or the annotations will cause NameErrors. Personally, I would probably prefer using Jupyter for the exploratory part of the implementation process, and with minimal tweaks outlined in the answer mentioned above, Jupyter can be extended to have full code completion with win32com.

How to make a C++ library for Python

I am new to object oriented programming and I am struggling to find a good tutorial on how to make a library in C++ that I can import into Python.
At the moment I am just trying to make a simple example that adds two numbers. I am confused about the process. Essentially I want to be able to do something like this in Python:
import MyCPPcode
MyCPPcode.Add(5,3) #function prints 5+3=8
I am not requesting a full example with code, just the steps that I need to take.
Do I need to make a .dll or a static library? I am using MS Visual Studio 2013.
Also, does the process tailor the C++ library code for Python in any way or will this library be available for other languages as well?
While I cannot guide you through the whole process, because I do not know python too well, Here is what I know:
It is absolutely possible. While not being something for someone who is new to object-oriented programing, it's called the python-C/C++ API. If you search for that in the python documentation there are several chapters about it.
While the example function you're showing might look like that from python, the process is a lot more redundant in c++ (behind the scenes). There are tools that combat that issue, for example Cython, but if you want to learn I'd suggest going pure python API.
As for availability with other languages... Well, the internal functions (i.e. adding two numbers) are of course general c++, so you can reuse them in other projects, but yes, the created library will be made to work with python, and not something else.

Is there some lispy language that seamlessly integrates with Python?

Is there a language based on S-expressions with powerful macros that allows as seamless integration with Python as Clojure with JVM?
I want to try using such syntax and features while having access to all usual python libraries (including PyQt).
I've been working a project to do this: psil. I have a series of blog posts talking about what I've done. Here's the short manifesto:
Psil is a new general-purpose programming language in the Lisp family of languages. Psil is implemented on top of Python, allowing easy access to existing Python libraries.
Best features from Lisp and Scheme
Complete language in its own right
Built upon the Python standard libraries
Strong interoperability with Python code
The reality hasn't quite caught up to the vision; for example I don't think there is a way to declare new classes in Psil code that can be used from Python. But at least for functions, it's mostly there.
Note that Psil is built completely on Python 3, and there is no Python 2 version. I don't know whether there is a PyQt for Python 3.
While these aren't exactly what you're looking for, check:
CLPython - an implementation of Python in Common Lisp
(An ((Even Better) Lisp) Interpreter (in Python))
Check out Boo; it's a python-inspired language that runs on the CLR, with built-in support for full macros. If that's what you're missing from Lisp, give it a shot. A friend swears by it.

Does one often use libraries outside the standard ones?

I am trying to learn Python and referencing the documentation for the standard Python library from the Python website, and I was wondering if this was really the only library and documentation I will need or is there more? I do not plan to program advanced 3d graphics or anything advanced at the moment.
Edit:
Thanks very much for the responses, they were very useful. My problem is where to start on a script I have been thinking of. I want to write a script that converts images into a web format but I am not completely sure where to begin. Thanks for any more help you can provide.
For the basics, yes, the standard Python library is probably all you'll need. But as you continue programming in Python, eventually you will need some other library for some task -- for instance, I recently needed to generate a tone at a specific, but differing, frequency for an application, and pyAudiere did the job just right.
A lot of the other libraries out there generate their documentation differently from the core Python style -- it's just visually different, the content is the same. Some only have docstrings, and you'll be best off reading them in a console, perhaps.
Regardless of how the other documentation is generated, get used to looking through the Python APIs to find the functions/classes/methods you need. When the time comes for you to use non-core libraries, you'll know what you want to do, but you'll have to find how to do it.
For the future, it wouldn't hurt to be familiar with C, either. There's a number of Python libraries that are actually just wrappers around C libraries, and the documentation for the Python libraries is just the same as the documentation for the C libraries. PyOpenGL comes to mind, but it's been a while since I've personally used it.
As others have said, it depends on what you're into. The package index at http://pypi.python.org/pypi/ has categories and summaries that are helpful in seeing what other libraries are available for different purposes. (Select "Browse packages" on the left to see the categories.)
One very common library, that should also fit your current needs, is the Python Image Library (PIL).
Note: the latest version is still in beta, and available only at Effbot site.
If you're just beginning, all you'll need to know is the stuff you can get from the Python website. Failing that a quick Google is the fastest way to get (most) Python answers these days.
As you develop your skills and become more advanced, you'll start looking for more exciting things to do, at which point you'll naturally start coming across other libraries (for example, pygame) that you can use for your more advanced projects.
It's very hard to answer this without knowing what you're planning on using Python for. I recommend Dive Into Python as a useful resource for learning Python.
In terms of popular third party frameworks, for web applications there's the Django framework and associated documentation, network stuff there's Twisted ... the list goes on. It really depends on what you're hoping to do!
Assuming that the standard library doesn't provide what we need and we don't have the time, or the knowledge, to implement the code we reuse 3rd party libraries.
This is a common attitude regardless of the programming language.
If there's a chance that someone else ever wanted to do what you want to do, there's a chance that someone created a library for it. A few minutes Googling something like "python image library" will find you what you need, or let you know that someone hasn't created a library for your purposes.

Sweave for python

I've recently started using Sweave* for creating reports of analyses run with R, and am now looking to do the same with my python scripts.
I've found references to embedding python in Sweave docs, but that seems like a bit of a hack. Has anyone worked out a better solution, or is there an equivalent for python I'm not aware of?
* Sweave is a tool that allows to embed the R code for complete data analyses in latex documents
I have written a Python implementation of Sweave called Pweave that implements basic functionality and some options of Sweave for Python code embedded in reST or Latex document. You can get it here: http://mpastell.com/pweave and see the original blog post here: http://mpastell.com/2010/03/03/pweave-sweave-for-python/
Some suggestions:
I have been using Pweave for several years now, and it is very similar to Sweave. Highly recommended.
The most popular tool for embedded reports in python at this stage is Jupyter notebooks, which allow you to embed markdown, and they are quite useful although I personally still like writing things in LaTeX...
You can also have a look at PyLit, which is intended for literate programming with Python, but not as well maintained as some of the alternatives.
Sphinx is great for documenting with python, and can output LaTex.
Here's a list of tools for literate programming. Some of these work with any programming language.
Dexy is a very similar product to Sweave. One advantage of Dexy is that it is not exclusive to one single language. You could create a Dexy document that included R code, Python code, or about anything else.
This is a bit late, but for future reference you might consider my PythonTeX package for LaTeX. PythonTeX allows you enter Python code in a LaTeX document, run it, and bring back the output. But unlike Sweave, the document you actually edit is a valid .tex document (not .Snw or .Rnw), so editing the non-code part of the document is fast and convenient.
PythonTeX provides many features, including the following:
The document can be compiled without running any Python code; code only needs to be executed when it is modified.
All Python output is saved or cached.
Code runs in user-defined sessions. If there are multiple sessions, sessions automatically run in parallel using all available cores.
Errors and warnings are synchronized with the line numbers of the .tex document, so you know exactly where they came from.
Code can be executed, typeset, or typeset and executed. Syntax highlighting is provided by Pygments.
Anything printed by Python is automatically brought into the .tex document.
You can customize when code is re-executed (modified, errors, warnings, etc.).
The PythonTeX utilities class is available in all code that is executed. It allows you to automatically track dependencies and specify created files that should be cleaned up. For example, you can set the document to detect when the data it depends on is modified, so that code will be re-executed.
A basic PythonTeX file looks like this:
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{pythontex}
\begin{document}
\begin{pycode}
#Whatever you want here!
\end{pycode}
\end{document}
You might consider noweb, which is language independent and is the basis for Sweave. I've used it for Python and it works well.
http://www.cs.tufts.edu/~nr/noweb/
I've restructured Matti's Pweave a bit, so that it is possible to define arbitrary "chunk-processors" as plugin-modules. This makes it easy to extend for several chunk-based text-preprocessing applications. The restructured version is available at https://bitbucket.org/edgimar/pweave/src. As an example, you could write the following LaTeX-Pweave document (notice the "processor name" in this example is specified with the name 'mplfig'):
\documentclass[a4paper]{article}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\begin{document}
\title{Test document}
\maketitle
Don't miss the great information in Figure \ref{myfig}!
<<p=mplfig, label=myfig, caption = "Figure caption...">>=
import sys
import pylab as pl
pl.plot([1,2,3,4,5],['2,4,6,8,10'], 'b.', markersize=15)
pl.axis('scaled')
pl.axis([-3,3, -3,3]) # [xmin,xmax, ymin,ymax]
#
\end{document}
You could try SageTeX which implements Sweave-Like functionality for the SAGE mathematics platform. I haven't played around with it as much as I would like to, but SAGE is basically a python shell and evaluates python as it's native language.
I have also thought about the same thing many times. After reading your questions and looking into your link I made small modifications to the custom python Sweave driver, that you link to. I modified it to also keep the source code and produce the output as well the same way that Sweave does for R.
I posted the modified version and an example here: http://mpastell.com/2010/02/09/python-in-sweave-document/
Granted, it is not optimal but I'm quite happy with the output and I like the ability to include both R and Python in the same document.
Edit about PyLit:
I also like PyLit and contrary to my original answer you can catch ouput with it as well, although it not as elegant as Sweave! Here is a small example how to do it:
import sys
# Catch PyLit output
a = range(3)
sys.stdout = open('output.txt', 'w')
print a
sys.stdout = sys.__stdout__
# .. include:: output.txt
What you're looking for is achieved with GNU Emacs and org-mode*. org-mode does far more than can be detailed in a single response, but the relevant points are:
Support for literate programming with the ability to integrate multiple languages within the same document (including using one language's results as the input for another language).
Graphics integration.
Export to LaTeX, HTML, PDF, and a variety of other formats natively, automatically generating the markup (but you can do it manually, too).
Everything is 100% customizable, allowing you to adapt the editor to your needs.
I don't have Python installed on my system, but below is an example of two different languages being run within the same session. The excerpt is modified from the wonderful org-mode R tutorial by Erik Iverson which explains the set up and effective use of org-mode for literate programming tasks. This SciPy 2013 presentation demonstrates how org-mode can be integrated into a workflow (and happens to use Python).
Emacs may seem intimidating. But for statistics/data science, it offers tremendous capabilities that either aren't offered anywhere else or are spread across various systems. Emacs allows you to integrate them all into a single interface. I think Daniel Gopar says it best in his Emacs tutorial,
Are you guys that lazy? I mean, c'mon, just read the tutorial, man.
An hour or so with the Emacs tutorial opens the door to some extremely powerful tools.
* Emacs comes with org-mode. No separate install is required.
Well, with reticulate which is a recent best implementation of a Python interface in R you could continue using Sweave and call Python inline using the R interpreter. For example this now works in a .Rnw or .Rmd markdown file.
```{r example, include=FALSE}
library(reticulate)
use_python("./dir/python")
```
```{python}
import pandas
data = pandas.read_csv("./data.csv")
print(data.head())
```
I think that Jupyter-book may do what you want.

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