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Python Functions, Packing, and Unpacking Getting Info In and Out of Functions Multiple Arguments and Parameters

Posted by Stephani Dudrak
Stephani Dudrak
1,614 Points

Why are we reopening Workspace?

Not a question about what we're learning, a question about the setup. Why do I have to close and open the workspace for every single video? It's annoying and takes time, and it seems like we can just continue to use the same workspace for each bit that builds on the last video.

Ryan Carson
Ryan Carson
23,287 Points

Thanks Jeff Muday - great comment. You summed it up perfectly.

Daniel Ruus
Daniel Ruus
6,607 Points
Daniel Ruus
Daniel Ruus
6,607 Points

I agree, I don't see the value in opening a new workspace for every part of the course. It wasn't needed in the previous courses in this learning path so why here? Of course, if there are new files, but since it isn't, why?

2 Answers

Jeff Muday
MOD
Jeff Muday
Treehouse Moderator 28,716 Points
Jeff Muday
Jeff Muday
Treehouse Moderator 28,716 Points

Good catch.

Some of the workspaces start with a different set of initial files and might frustrate students if the resource files didn't match with the video instruction.

You don't always have to follow the particular convention-- in fact if you have a good laptop or workstation, I think you can learn even more by working on your own configured development environment. Download all the resources and you have a great opportunity to layout the project in your own way.

At some point you will want to create a portfolio of work separate from Treehouse, so practicing deployment at https://pythonanywhere.com or https://repl.it might be nice choices.

On your own computer, you can go old-school and use Atom or even Notepad. But an IDE is what you will use as a professional developer. PyCharm EDU is excellent, my favorite is WingWare, but another solid contender (a little more difficult to set up) is Visual Studio Code from Microsoft. All these aforementioned are multi-platform, Linux, MacOS, and Windows.

If you're into open source check out this link:

https://opensource.com/resources/python/ides

Good luck with your Python journey!

Jeff Muday
MOD
Jeff Muday
Treehouse Moderator 28,716 Points
Jeff Muday
Jeff Muday
Treehouse Moderator 28,716 Points

I concur with Daniel Ruus's questioning of redundant code. In the end, I usually only save one workspace per course (if I save anything at all). But I like the option of having multiple workspaces.

Good luck with your programming endeavors!

Daniel Ruus
Daniel Ruus
6,607 Points
Daniel Ruus
Daniel Ruus
6,607 Points

Thanks Jeff! It's really fun to start learning something new. Turning on some ambient music, having a cup of coffee, and figuring out how Python works :)