I bought some API for VBA Excel/reference. Is is possible to use this API in Python 2.x ? Maybe the question could be is there possible to import VBA reference into Python. This is just the idea. Do not have a any clue if this is even possible ? If it is not possible, is there some nice solution ? Do you have some some experience ? Thanks
I think basically you want to translate the VBA to python.
If you can take a look at how the API was constructed then it is possible but you have to translate the code by yourself.
If you can not, then you could build python scripts for your own, base on the logic you figure out, and you have to know about actuarial software you mentioned, if they have API to extract data, or any other means so you can get the data to process (this is possible since the API in VBA could do that)
I have experienced in finance banking, VBA and python in working with finance data, and I'm somewhat familiar with API for accounting software, so if you want you can contact me to discuss so I can help. I think wrap this up in an answer is impossible.
I know that this is from years ago, but I just stumbled across it and thought I would share my 2 cents.
One possibility is to translate it into VBScript - this is very similiar to VBA, and does not require Excel, etc in order to run. It would, of course, depend on what was in the original function.
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Software these days can be separated into two categories: runs on client infrastructure (like in the case of enterprise software, like Splunk or Tibco), OR runs on the infrastructure of a software provider (like in the case of Facebook, where you need to use their API to access the backend).
In the first category, the client pays for a license and receives the software to run on their own machines on their premises of choice. The client IS in possession of the actual code and software.
In the second category, the software resides somewhere external and can be accessed only by an API. The client is NOT in possession of the software and can only use it to the extent allowed by the API.
My question is: in the first category above, how is the actual code kept hidden from the client?
Let's say I've built a really awesome analysis engine in Python for analyzing output logs. A corporate client is interested in using it for their internal applications. However, they insist that my engine must run on their own machines for security reasons. If I succumb and give them my Python code, then I will risk my intellectual property.
In that case, do I need to rewrite all my code into a compiled language like C++ to obfuscate it during compile time? Or is there a way to keep it in Python but secure the source code it in another way?
Update:
Given the answers below, in that case, would the more efficient pathway to developing a client-hosted application (i.e.: first category above) be to write a proof of concept in a more convenient language like Python first, and then take those ideas and rewrite it into C++?
The short answer is that you pretty much can't. You can do workarounds, but in the end almost anyone can reverse engineer your code no matter how you obfuscate it.
Your best bet might be to use something like PyInstaller and see if you can only include .pyc files. That doesn't protect you all the way, but it at least makes it a pain to reverse. You might even be able to find an obfuscater to run it first, but I don't know much about that part.
Similar to #gabeappleton's suggestion above, compile the Python code into an EXE. I use cx_freeze quite regularly and have good success. It's pretty well documented and reasonable support on these forums.
My answer is quite specific to the Betfair API however I would like to know how to use more APIs in general. I'm quite new to this sort of thing so don't really know how it works. I've just downloaded this package: https://github.com/jmcarp/betfair.py
My question is, how am I supposed to know the functions that come associated with it? How am I supposed to be able to know how to pull the data that I want from any given website without having any resource describing the functionality of the API?
These library is only a binding (with several errors) to Betfair APIs.
You can find documentation about this API, and therefore about this library, in Developer's web.
If you're interested in how to use Betfair APIs in Python you can take a look at Betfair's code samples.
I'm attempting to pull physical property information (dimensions and resistance values, in particular) from an architectural (Autodesk - Revit) model and organize that information to be exported as specific variables.
To expand slightly, for an independent study I want to perform energy balances on Revit Models, starting simple and building from there. The goal is to write code that collects information from a Revit Model and then organizes it into variables such as "Total Wall Area", "Insulation Resistance", "Drywall depth", "Total Window Area", etc. that could be then sent to a model (or simply a spreadsheet) and stored as such.
I hope that makes some sense.
Given that I am a novice coder and would prefer to write in Python, does anyone have any advice or resources concerning an efficient (simple) path to go about importing and organizing specific parameters from a Revit model?
Is it necessary (or realistically necessary, given the humble extent of my knowledge) to use the API for this program (Revit) to accomplish this task?
I imagine this task is similar to web scraping yet I have no HTML to call and search through and therefore am happily winging my way along, asking folks far more knowledgeable than I if they have any insight.
A brief background, I have next to no knowledge of Revit or APIs in general, basic knowledge of coding in Python and really want to learn more!
Any help you are able to give is absolutely appreciated! I'm also happy to answer any questions that come up.
Thank you for reading and have a terrific day!
Great question - my +1 is definitely for Revit Python Shell (RPS).
Likewise I had a basic understanding of Python and none of the Revit API, but with RPS Ive coded multiple addins for our office (including rich user interfaces using winforms) and had no limitations so far from coding in Python. Its true that there is some translating C# API samples into Python - but the reward is in seeing a few paragraphs of code becoming a few lines...
The maker of RPS (Daren) is also really helpful, so no questions go unanswered.
Disclaimer is that (like you), Im a novice programmer who has simply wanted to use the API to extend Revit. RPS for the win
Indeed the most used programming language for Revit is C# (.NET), if you decide to go with IronPython, it should work, but there is less material...
Using C#, check the My First Revit Plugin training. For your specific scenario, download the SDK and check the "Fire Rating" sample.
I've started to learn Python and programming from scratch. I have not programmed before so it's a new experience. I do seem to grasp most of the concepts, from variables to definitions and modules. I still need to learn a lot more about what the different libraries and modules do and also I lack knowledge on OOP and classes in Python.
I see people who just program in Python like that's all they have ever done and I am still just coming to grips with it.
Is there a way, some tools, a logical methodology that would give me an overview or a good hold of how to handle programming problems ?
For instance, I'm trying to create a parser which we need at the office . I also need to create a spider that would collect links from various websites.
Is there a formidable way of studying the various modules to see what is needed ? Or is it just nose to the grind stone and understand what the documentation says ?
Sorry for the lengthy question..
The MIT Intro to Computer Science course on the MIT OpenCourseWare website was taught using Python. There are 24 lectures available as videos that you can watch for free.
It's kind of academic to be sure, but it would give you a very solid foundation to start from.
Start working your way through the Essential Python Reading List, which has articles on how to code in Python and how to do it well.
If you like a more academical approach try Learning Python from Mark Lutz.
For the use of standard libraries, the official docs are very good. More hands on descriptions can also be found in PYMOTW from Doug Hellmann
It might be useful to get some information on Object Oriented programming (just what is the whole class thing about, and how do you tell if your classes are good/poor/indifferent). Mark Lutz' book Learning Python has an entire Part (several chapters) on OO. If this stuff is new to you, it might be helpful to take a look. Two other books I have found quite useful: The Python Cookbook (Alex Martelli, a prolific contributor here), and the Python Essential Reference (David Beazley).
Just do your project, learning what you need to along the way. By the time you do that a couple times, you'll "get" it. And you'll only improve from there.
You can also read other peoples' code: download X that looks interesting and read through the code to understand how it works.
Those two tips will help you learn any language. Aside from that, Dive Into Python is a great resource for learning a lot about Python.
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.