The document discusses the Python principle "There should be one--and preferably only one--obvious way to do it" from PEP 20. It questions how far this principle extends in different domains like web frameworks, desktop GUIs, and image processing libraries. While the core language aims for a single obvious way, larger problem spaces may have valid tradeoffs requiring multiple approaches or libraries.

1. The One Way
Daniel Greenfeld

2. http://bit.ly/nFqO57

3. The 13th Aphorism
There should be one–
and preferably only one
–obvious way to do it.

4. What does this mean?
• Implementation in core Python should be
obvious
• Control Structures
• Readability
• blah blah - remember Raymond’s Talk?

5. What does this mean?
• We all follow the same protocols
• DB-API
• WSGI
• Compression
• blah blah - remember Raymond’s Talk?

6. How far does this carry?

7. How far does Python’s
“The is one obvious way to do it” carry?
(1 PIL vs many? 1 framework to use? 1 NLTK?)

8. How far does Python’s
“The is one obvious way to do it” carry?
(1 PIL vs many? 1 framework to use? 1 NLTK?)
I understand “one way” from the idiom’s point
of view, not necessarily implementations

9. How far does Python’s
“The is one obvious way to do it” carry?
(1 PIL vs many? 1 framework to use? 1 NLTK?)
I understand “one way” from the idiom’s point
of view, not necessarily implementations
The bigger the problem space the more valid trade-offs
there are, so more choices start to make sense.

10. Web Frameworks?

11. Is Zope the obvious way?
• Some people think so
• Other people do not
• Django, Pyramid, Twisted, Flask, et al
• Solved problems unsuited to Zope
• Attracted a new breed of developer
• Django’s culture of documentation

12. Desktop GUI?

13. Is TKinter the obvious way?
• Some people think so
• Other people do not
• wxPython
• pyQT
• PyGame!

14. Image Processing

15. Is PIL the obvious way?
• Scaling
• Encoding/decoding
• Installation

16. Is PIL the obvious way?
• Scaling - the experts complain
• Encoding/decoding - the experts complain
• Installation

17. Is PIL the obvious way?
• Scaling - the experts complain
• Encoding/decoding - the experts complain
• Installation
http://pypi.python.org/pypi/Pillow

18. Is PIL the obvious way?
• Scaling - the experts complain
• Encoding/decoding - the experts complain
• Installation
http://pypi.python.org/pypi/Pillow
Really?!?

19. Is PIL the obvious way?
• Scaling - the experts complain
• Encoding/decoding - the experts complain
• Installation
http://pypi.python.org/pypi/Pillow
Really?!?
Why do we make Alex Clark do this?

20. To the Radical Zen-ists...

21. http://bit.ly/nFqO57

22. The 9th Aphorism
Although
practicality
beats
purity.