Watch me do a “live” Python code review for a reader

By Dan Bader — Get free updates of new posts here.

This is a bit of an experiment – but you might find it interesting!

A couple of days ago I had a Twitter conversation with Labeeb who’s just getting into Python. (Good news, so far he loves it!)

I think we started out with a classic “Emacs vs Sublime” discussion (😂) until Labeeb mentioned he was struggling with some aspects of Object-Oriented Programming in Python.

I asked him to send me some sample code and offered to take a look and give him some feedback.

He later emailed me an implementation of Conway’s Game of Life (that’s a great coding exercise by the way).

After taking a quick look at his code, I decided the best way forward would be to record myself doing a code review pass and to send Labeeb the screencast recording.

So I did just that. And it turned out to be a pretty… interesting experience. I was happy to hear that Labeeb liked the video:

“The video is extremely helpful. The way you present things was very much appealing. :)”

That made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I thought I was onto something… and that this video could help other Python developers, too.

(After asking Labeeb for permission) I’m now sharing the raw and unfiltered “live” code review video with you here:

Note that the video is completely unedited. This is really more of a ”Code Review: Unplugged” session than a polished tutorial or course. But based on the feedback I got so far that seems to be part of the appeal, haha.

I figured it was worth the experiment if there’s a chance it’ll help more people… Shoot me a quick email and let me know how you liked it, I might do more of these in the future if it’s helpful.

P.S. Labeeb is currently doing a programming mentorship program. He’s looking to get a job as a data analyst working with Python. You can check out his GitHub here: github.com/labeebee Give him some love, I think he’s on the right track 😊

P.P.S. This has now turned into a series. Click here to watch my other Python Code Review: Unplugged videos.

This article was filed under: code-review, craftsmanship, programming, python, and video.

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