Python Package Best Practices: Glossary

There is a common way to structure Python packages

You can use the CMS CookieCutter to quickly create the layout for a Python package

Git provides a way to track changes in your project.

Git is a software for version control, and is separate from GitHub.

You can use GitHub to store your project online where you or others can access it from a central repository.

You can use GitHub to store your projects so that you can work on them from multiple computers.

Your code should adhere to standards outlined in PEP8 so that it easily readable by others.

All functions and modules should be documented with docstrings.

Your package should be broken up into modules and subpackages depending on the amount of code and functionality.

You can use the __init__.py file to define what packages are imported with your package, and how the user interacts with it.

To contribute to someone else’s project, you should fork their repository.

All development work should be done on a new branch. Each branch should implement one feature.

Once you’ve implemented a new feature, push to your repository and create a pull request on the original repo.

A good set of tests covers individual functions/features and behavior of the software as a whole.

It’s better to write tests during development so you can check your progress along the way. The longer you wait to start the harder it is.

Try to test as much of your package as you can, but don’t go overboard, most packages don’t have 100% test coverage.

Continuous integration automates development steps, such as testing, coverage, and packaging.

Continuous integration also allows you to test your code on a variety of operative systems and platforms.

The CookieCutter includes (almost) ready-to-use configuration files for GitHub Actions.

You can find GitHub Actions steps and other services in GitHub Marketplace

Some documentation is better than no documentation

Continuous integration automates development steps, such as testing, coverage, and packaging.

Continuous integration also allows you to test your code on a variety of operative systems and platforms.

The CookieCutter includes (almost) ready-to-use configuration files for Travis CI and CodeCov.

Travis, Codecov, and many others are available for free for open-source projects in the GitHub Marketplace.