Python

About Python

Python is an interpreted, object-oriented language, similar in nature to Perl or Java. Python is surprisingly easy to develop in, with a clear, simple syntax and a good selection of built-in modules. It is excellent for developing applications without strict performance requirements and has been recognized for allowing rapid development of relatively bug-free code. More information is available at the Python home page.

Personally, I have not used Python extensively, but I consider it a valuable inclusion in my language toolbox. It is very easy to work with and I consider it a suitable replacement for Perl. One interesting thing about Python is that it has no braces; code blocks are indicated by indentation. Some people might take issue with that, but I think it makes for more readable code.

parseM3U

ParseM3U is a simple program for taking M3U (Winamp playlist) files and converting them to HTML. It allows you to easily specify text to go before the playlist, how each entry is formatted, and text to go after the playlist. Why not just use Winamp’s “Generate HTML Playlist”? Well, Winamp’s HTML is incredibly poor; I don’t think it even validates as HTML, it’s difficult to read, and it’s rather bloated. With ParseM3U, you can decide how you want your page to look, and ParseM3U also allows you to put track lengths in. I use it to generate the playlist on wadny.com (there’s a link in the sidebar) and it makes things much easier.

You can get parseM3U from my GitHub account.

matrixops

This program was written as a project for one of my discrete math classes. It generates two random, square matrices of a given size and then multiplies them using two different algorithms: the standard matrix multiplication algorithm, and a “fast” algorithm. It’s not particularly useful, but it provides a good example of using python.

Download matrixops (9 KB)