Refcards: The Beginnings of an Interface

- The latest development in the evolution of the Refcards-System is the creation of a primitive interface;
- Now I can add records to my SQLite3 database through an interface;
- The interface has a button called "Add entry" which upon clicking adds the text ("gets" it) from the Entry and Text widgets in the interface and adds them ("INSERTs" them) directly into the database;
- I've been using Tkinter to create the interface ("frontend") and SQLite3 in Python for the database ("backend");

Tkinter Text Widgets in Python

- I have been working hard on my Refcards-System idea, in Python;
- I want it to be a simple database with simple interface where you can add records to a given table and then view your "notes" or "Refcards";
- The idea is to have a GUI to flip through Refcards in the database;

The Return of The Refcards-System

- As you know, I've been working on a project in Python called The Refcards-System, or "Refcard-Project" if you will;
- I have been incrementally improving the system;
- Now I have a working version that incorporates an SQLite database in Python;
- The next step is to have a kind of small text editor open up to view records in the database;

The Refcards-System Redux

18:52 2018-06-21

- As you may know, I have been working on my "Refcards-System" for years now. I haven't made much progress, but I still have made some progress;
- This latest iteration is all about "writing" to a .csv file; the idea is that a .csv file can be "imported" into a relational database or else opened up as an "Excel" file, making it rather interoperable;

- So what we have is simple. First I create the "filename" using some magical "time" module tricks. I want the filename to basically be the current timestamp, + the .csv file ending;
- Then basically I create the first "row" which are the "fieldnames" in the .csv file, and then I write the second "row" which is my content;
- Notice that I am using "raw_input", in Python that allows me to enter text directly into the file, with a prompt;
- The point is really to have content in .csv format, which is portable, interoperable, and lightweight as well. It's also a format that has withstood the test of time.

Idiomatic Random Thoughts

I've been practicing my Python again. I am working on a Python version of an old boardgame called Stock Ticker. I had a breakthrough after thinking about it for 2 years. Right now, though, I'm just goofing off. This is imaginary code for the use of a random_thoughts module.


I've been watching videos of Python masters teaching their great wisdom. Of note is the work of Raymond Hettinger. I've learned a lot from watching him talk about writing beautiful Python code. I am only 7 years or so into my Python practice, so I'm not yet an expert. I am entering into the "intermediary" territory, though, because I can read almost any Python code and pretty much know what it's doing, and I can write code to solve problems I encounter every day. I still can't write a packaged app, a full-blown executable, with interface and everything. But I am beginning to truly understand Python, which is still a big accomplishment for me.

My dream is to think Pythonic thoughts. I want to turn my thoughts into mathematical expressions, and be able to execute them using Python as a programming language. Hence the thought experiment on the random_thoughts module. It's not really good Python code, but it's a start. The idea is that there would be a function I could use to turn my thoughts directly into idiomatic Python.