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");

	from Tkinter import *
	import os
	import sqlite3
	os.chdir('C:\\FILEPATH')
	# TO RUN ON FIRST PASS, TO CREATE OR OPEN DATABASE AND CREATE FIRST TABLE.
	# conn = sqlite3.connect("refcards2019b.db")
	# cursor = conn.cursor()
	# cursor.execute("""CREATE TABLE refcards(date TEXT, note TEXT)""")
	# conn.commit()
	def insert(date,note):
	conn = sqlite3.connect("refcards2019b.db")
	cursor = conn.cursor()
	cursor.execute("INSERT INTO refcards VALUES (?,?)",(date, note))
	conn.commit()
	conn.close()
	def add_command():
	insert(date_text.get(), T.get("1.0","end-1c"))
	root = Tk()
	date_label = Label(root, text='Date')
	date_label.grid(row=0, column=0)
	date_text = StringVar()
	date_entry = Entry(root, textvariable=date_text)
	date_entry.grid(row=0, column=1)
	note_label = Label(root, text='Note')
	note_label.grid(row=1, column=0)
	T = Text(root, height=20, width=20)
	T.grid(row=2, column=1)
	add_button = Button(root, text="Add entry", width=12, command=add_command)
	add_button.grid(row=4, column=3)
	root.mainloop()

view raw RefcardsFrontEnd.py hosted with ❤ by GitHub

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;

	import sqlite3
	import os
	from Tkinter import *
	root = Tk()
	S = Scrollbar(root)
	T = Text(root, height=8, width=75)
	S.pack(side=RIGHT, fill=Y)
	T.pack(side=LEFT, fill=Y)
	S.config(command=T.yview)
	T.config(yscrollcommand=S.set)
	os.chdir('C:\\FILEPATH')
	conn = sqlite3.connect("refcards2019.db")
	cursor = conn.cursor()
	sql = "SELECT * FROM refcards"
	cursor.execute(sql)
	# note = cursor.fetchone()[2]
	note = cursor.fetchall()[1][2]
	T.insert(END, note)
	mainloop( )
	conn.close()

view raw TkinterTextWidgetWithSQLite3.py hosted with ❤ by GitHub

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;

	import sqlite3
	import os
	import time
	# Choose the filepath you want the database to reside in.
	os.chdir('C:\\FILEPATH')
	# Creates the database on the first run, otherwise just connects to it.
	conn = sqlite3.connect("refcards2019.db")
	cursor = conn.cursor()
	# To be used on the first "run" to create the first TABLE in the database.
	# cursor.execute("""CREATE TABLE refcards(id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
	# date TEXT, note TEXT)""")
	# conn.commit()
	# A timestamp in a useful format.
	t = time.strftime('%Y%m%d%H%M')
	# Prompt to write the actual note.
	c = raw_input('Write note: ')
	# Inserts timestamp and note into the refcards TABLE as a record.
	cursor.execute("""INSERT INTO refcards(date, note)
	VALUES(?,?)""", (t,c))
	# Operations on database tables must be "committed".
	conn.commit()
	# I use this to print the contents of the TABLE,
	# just to see that it worked properly.
	# This section can be skipped.
	sql = "SELECT * FROM refcards"
	cursor.execute(sql)
	print cursor.fetchall()
	# Close connection to database.
	conn.close()

view raw refcards2019.py hosted with ❤ by GitHub

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;

	import csv
	import time
	t = time.strftime('%Y%m%d%H%M')
	with open(t+'.csv', 'wb') as csvfile:
	writer = csv.writer(csvfile)
	writer.writerow(['Time', 'Context', 'Notes', 'References'])
	writer.writerow([time.asctime(), raw_input('Context: '), raw_input('Notes: '), raw_input('References: ')])
	csvfile.close()

view raw RefcardsCSV.py hosted with ❤ by GitHub

- 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.

	import random_thoughts
	def current_thoughts():
	'My current thoughts'
	return random_thoughts.current()
	def idiomatic_python_thoughts():
	'Turns thoughts into idiomatic Python'
	return random_thoughts.idiomatic_python()

view raw random_thoughts.py hosted with ❤ by GitHub

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.