DjangoCon US 2015 - Jane Austen on PEP8... by Lacey  Williams Henschel
Channel: Confreaks
Date: 2015-09-24

Jane Austen on PEP8: Tips from an English Major on Writing Better Code

I have two English degrees, and I’ve identified some concrete ways this makes me a better developer. This talk will discuss how we can take lessons from literature to write more readable code, make better tests, and create more usable websites.

I’ll compare Two Scoops of Django to Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style, that familiar freshman comp text, to explore how they are more alike than they are different. We’ll discuss the importance of readability, creating a “story arc” in your tests through good user stories, how variables names have characterization, and the importance of whitespace and good formatting to everyone. I’ll also compare PEP8 to the MLA Handbook; there’s a reason both disciplines have a style guide!