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Title: Structuring a Python Application (Summary) (Video) – Real Python

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Description: This series of videos has talked about the file structure for your Python applications. I started off by showing you a single-file program and associated configuration files, moved up to larger applications that used modules, and then went to larger…

Open Graph Description: This series of videos has talked about the file structure for your Python applications. I started off by showing you a single-file program and associated configuration files, moved up to larger applications that used modules, and then went to larger…

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00:00https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=0.48
This series of videos has talked about the file structure for your Pythonhttps://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=0.48
applications.https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=3.84
I started off by showing you a single-file program and associated configurationhttps://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=5.16
files, moved up to larger applications that used modules,https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=9.24
and then went to larger applications still that used multiple modules.https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=12.99
00:17https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=17.55
Then, I showed you the differences in structures for web frameworkshttps://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=17.55
such as Django and Flask. In this lesson,https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=20.7
I’m going to wrap up and then show you some variations.https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=23.4
00:26https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=26.43
As I mentioned in the first lesson,https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=26.43
this video is based on an article by one of my colleagues at Realhttps://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=28.2
Python named Kyle. As a result of this,https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=31.14
I’ve been able to see the comments attached to the article so I can possiblyhttps://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=33.81
anticipate some of your questions. Python reallyhttps://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=37.23
isn’t opinionated about file structure. As a result,https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=40.35
there’s a lot of variation out there.https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=43.17
00:45https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=45.72
Desktop applications have their own intricacies.https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=45.72
If you’re doing Tk or Qt,https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=48.99
they both require to have modules structured in a certain way,https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=51.9
and that will impact the layout. Packaging has never been Python’s strength;https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=55.14
it’s always been handled through third-party libraries rather than in thehttps://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=59.4
built-in ones.https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=62.4
01:03https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=63.93
That means there’s been lots of opinions and lots of change over the years.https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=63.93
There are currently a half dozen popular virtual env management tools out there,https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=68.82
so I don’t expect this is going to stay static.https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=73.26
01:16https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=76.11
It’s going to keep changing. Online,https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=76.11
there’s currently a bit of a debate about whether or not you should put yourhttps://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=78.69
Python source code inside of an src/ directory.https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=81.69
01:25https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=85.05
There’s pros and cons to this.https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=85.05
The current directory that you’re in is sys.path.https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=86.88
This makes it really easy to import something in a simple script,https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=89.76
but it also makes it easy to make mistakes when you’re packaging.https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=93.15
01:36https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=96.87
Putting things inside of a src/ (source) directory forces you to test the installmenthttps://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=96.87
and make sure that pieces are working properly. Unfortunately,https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=100.5
some IDEs have problems with this structure,https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=103.95
so it can make your life a little more complicated depending on what toolshttps://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=106.14
you’re using. And, the Python packaging authority does not currently use thishttps://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=109.32
mechanism. The debate rages on though. Throughout the lessons,https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=113.1
you’ve seen me using setup.py. In addition to setup.py, there’s somethinghttps://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=117.33
called setup.cfg. setup.pyhttps://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=121.38
is an actual Python program—setup.cfg is just a data file.https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=123.96
02:08https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=128.94
You can specify a lot of the same type of configuration in a CFG filehttps://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=128.94
as you can inside of setup.py. The file format uses an INI style declarationhttps://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=132.57
and it’s an easier way of providing defaults,https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=137.82
so if your installer of choice wants to be able to give the person doing thehttps://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=140.13
installation some choices,https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=144.36
using a text file to provide those choices and then allowing them to behttps://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=146.85
overwritten is easier. And although CFG is supported,https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=150.69
it doesn’t seem to be as popular as setup.py,https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=154.92
but that might just be because I tend to spend a lot of my time looking at olderhttps://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=157.47
code. Another variation is where to put the tests/ folder.https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=160.59
02:44https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=164.55
Some programmers prefer to put this inside of the module directory instead ofhttps://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=164.55
the project route. This works fine enough.https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=168.09
If you don’t want to include your tests inside of your package object,https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=171.51
it means you have to update your manifest files in order to make sure that theyhttps://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=174.66
don’t get bundled.https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=177.75
02:59https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=179.11
One of the reasons to put it inside of your module files is to have your unithttps://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=179.11
tests in with the modules, and then if you have separate integration tests,https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=182.71
have that out at the project directory.https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=186.04
03:08https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=188.2
You’ll see some of these variations out there as you go through other people’shttps://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=188.2
code. What about the virtual environment? Where should you put it? Well,https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=191.23
the short answer is: it kind of depends. This is mostly a personal preference,https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=195.37
but the tools that you’re using may have different expectations.https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=199.48
03:23https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=203.38
The Real Python Pipenv guide talks about virtual environments and how tohttps://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=203.38
create them and how to use them, if you’re looking for more information.https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=206.74
03:31https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=211.03
One of the reasons to stick with fairly standard file structures is it makes ithttps://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=211.03
easier for youhttps://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=214.3
to use tools out there that have expectations. tox is used for testing yourhttps://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=214.79
program against multiple versions of Python and has expectations about your filehttps://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=219.37
structure and setup.py. twine is for uploading your package to pypi.org,https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=223.33
if you’re sharing it, and it expects the distribution wheel created by setup.py.https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=228.07
03:52https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=232.44
For large programs,https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=232.44
it’s usually helpful to do a little bit of linting and formatting.https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=234.58
There’s plenty of choice for linters and checkers out there: pyflakes,https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=237.37
pylink, pychecker, pep8, and flake8 are all very good tools.https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=240.58
04:05https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=245.08
Something that’s become popular in the last little while is a tool called black.https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=245.08
It reformats your Python code. Generally,https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=248.59
this stops your teams from fighting over what code should look like.https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=251.8
04:16https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=256.18
Typically, the result is no one’s happy about what the code looks like,https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=256.18
and that’s sort of the sign of a good compromise.https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=259.39
There are also good tools out there to help you bootstrap your programshttps://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=262.21
using scaffolding technology. Two common ones are pyscaffoldhttps://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=265.3
and cookiecutter. That’s everything I wanted to say.https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=269.2
04:32https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=272.59
Hopefully, the content’s been useful for you. Thank you for your attention.https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#t=272.59
April 30, 2020https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#comment-0f6eff03-10eb-46d5-94db-55e8658a723a
realpython.com/pipenv-guidehttps://realpython.com/pipenv-guide
pyscaffold.orghttps://pyscaffold.org
cookiecutter.readthedocs.iohttps://cookiecutter.readthedocs.io
April 30, 2020https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#comment-4941f505-ff68-4799-864e-41b7d91ba316
May 1, 2020https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#comment-b66f5c67-e50e-4b1d-898b-1bcf26e31b39
May 14, 2020https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#comment-ef5e6107-27e4-4f22-af53-6594aaf2d6af
June 16, 2020https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#comment-226621aa-7981-488a-83c9-4c7a39352beb
Aug. 10, 2020https://realpython.com/lessons/structuring-python-application-summary/#comment-0f1b73da-0032-4a36-8e57-c559de8ae687
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