Development

Python Dictionaries and JSON

This week we will have a quick look at the use of python dictionaries and the JSON data format. After reading this post, you should have a basic understanding how to work with JSON data and dictionaries in python. I'll choose this topic because of some future posts about the work with python and APIs, where a basic understanding of the data format JSON is helpful.

Python Development

Python String Formatters

Python's str.format() method of the string class allows you to do variable substitutions and value formatting. This lets you concatenate elements together within a string through positional formatting. This tutorial will guide you through some of the common uses of formatters in Python, which can help make your code and program more readable and user friendly.

Python Development

How To Use *args and **kwargs in Python 3

I have come to see that most new python programmers have a hard time figuring out the *args and **kwargs magic variables. So what are they ? First of all let me tell you that it is not necessary to write *args or **kwargs. Only the * (asterisk) is necessary. You could have also written *var and **vars. Writing *args and **kwargs is just a convention.

The special syntax, *args and **kwargs in function definitions is used to pass a variable number of arguments to a function. The single asterisk form *args is used to pass a non-keyworded, variable-length argument list, and the double asterisk form is used to pass a keyworded, variable-length argument list. Here is an example of how to use the non-keyworded form. So now lets take a look at *args first.

Python Development

Python Enumerate Function

Enumerate is a built-in function of Python. It’s usefulness can not be summarized in a single line. Yet most of the newcomers and even some advanced programmers are unaware of it. It allows us to loop over something and have an automatic counter.

Python Development

How to Properly Add JavaScripts and Styles in WordPress

Do you want to learn how to properly add JavaScripts and CSS stylesheets in WordPress? Many DIY users often make the mistake of directly calling their scripts and stylesheets in plugins and themes. In this article, we will show you how to properly add JavaScripts and stylesheet in WordPress. This will be particularly useful for those who are just starting to learn WordPress theme and plugin development.

Often times, adding custom JavaScript for analytics tracking is the first type of custom code a WordPress user has to implement. Normally the documentation that you are given with these codes are written as if your site is just a bunch of HTML files. But that’s not how WordPress works. The HTML of your site is dynamically generated.

Development

Remove Query Strings in WordPress CSS styles and JS Scripts

When you’re optimizing your website, you’ve probably noticed a page speed score telling you to remove query strings from your CSS and JavaScript files in WordPress. Query strings are URLs that have either ? or &.

But why do these appear in the URLs and what’s the cause? Actually query strings are used by plugin developers to push updates.

The static resources (like CSS and JS files) are usually cached by proxy servers or CDNs. And when a developer has to push an update, it won’t be rendered immediately because of the caching effects. Which is why they use query strings to instantly render updates, as query strings won’t be cached. But as a side effect, since they are not cached, they contribute to the loading time of a web page.

Development