Brian Okken
The Python Test Podcast hosted by Brian Okken
A farewell to a fun 10 years. Also, I should have tested it better. :) In the audio I got the numbers wrong. Doh! This is episode 238, not 237. Oh well. I'll still be around, of course, at: pythontest.com - where I write about developing software with tests pythonbytes.fm - Python news and headlines, delivered directly to your earbuds Thanks for all the fun over the last 10 years. I wish you the best.
In this episode, Brian interviews Sebastián Ramírez, creator of FastAPI, about its rapid rise in developer popularity and the launch of FastAPI Cloud. Sebastian explains how FastAPI Cloud addresses deployment challenges small teams face. He shares his transition from open-source to startup founder, focusing on simplifying deployment against the complexity of tools like Kubernetes. Links: FastAPI Cloud FastAPI SQLModel Typer OpenAPI Pydantic Sequoia Open Source Fellowship
In this episode, host Brian Okken and guest Adam Johnson explore essential Git features, highlighted by Adam's updated book, "Boost Your Git DX." Key topics include "cherry picking" for selective commits "git stash" for managing in-progress work "git diff", and specifically its `--name-only` flag, which provides a streamlined method for developers to identify which files have changed, which can be used to determine which tests need to be run "git bisect" for efficiently pinpointing bugs. This conversation offers valuable strategies for developers at any skill level to enhance their Git proficiency and optimize their coding workflows. Links: Boost Your Git DX - Adam's book
In this episode, special guest Adam Johnson joins the show and examines pytest-django, a popular plugin among Django developers. He highlights its advantages over the built-in unittest framework, including improved test management and debugging. Adam addresses transition challenges, evolving fixture practices, and offers tips for optimizing test performance. This episode is a concise guide for developers looking to enhance their testing strategies with pytest-django. Links: pytest-django - a plugin for pytest that provides a set of useful tools for testing Django applications and projects.
pytest-metadata is described as a plugin for pytest that provides access to test session metadata. That is such a humble description for such a massively useful plugin. If you're already using pytest-html, you have pytest-metadata already installed, as pytest-metadata is one of the dependencies for pytest-html. However, pytest-metadata is very useful even on its own. Links: pytest-metadata - The plugin we're talking about in this episode pytest-base-url - Adds the base URL to the metadata. pytest-html - Displays the metadata at the start of each report. See S2:E6: pytest-html - a plugin that generates HTML reports for test results pytest-reporter-html1 - Presents metadata as part of the report. pytest-selenium - Adds the driver, capabilities, and remote server to the metadata. If you've got other plugins that work well with pytest-metadata, please let me know.
pytest-check is a pytest plugin that allows multiple failures per test. Normally, a test function will fail and stop running with the first failed assert. That's totally fine for tons of kinds of software tests. However, there are times where you'd like to check more than one thing, and you'd really like to know the results of each check, even if one of them fails. pytest-check allows multiple failed "checks" per test function, so you can see the whole picture of what's going wrong. Links: pytest-check Top pytest plugins
AI is helping people write code. Tests are one of those things that some people don't like to write. Can AI play a role in creating automated software tests? Well, yes. But it's a nuanced yes. Anthony Shaw comes on the show to discuss the topic and try to get AI to write some test for my very own cards project. We discuss: The promise of AI writing your tests for you Downsides to not writing tests yourself Bad ways to generate tests Good ways to ask AI for help in writing tests Tricks to get better results while using copilot and other AI tools Links: The cards project A video version of this discussion: Should AI write tests?
pytest-repeat is a pytest plugin that makes it easy to repeat a single test, or multiple tests, a specific number of times. works fine on Python 3.14 is tested on Python 3.9-3.14 probably works fine still on 3.7 & 3.8 This episode also discusses the attempted April Fools episode. Links: pytest-repeat The April Fools episode: Python 3.14 won't repeat with pytest-repeat
pytest-repeat is a pytest plugin that makes it easy to repeat a single test, or multiple tests, a specific number of times. Note: This was an April Fools attempt, so the statement ... "Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to work with Python 3.14, even though there is no rational reason why it shouldn't work." ... is NOT true. Listen to the NEXT episode to get an explanation Links: pytest-repeat Next episode: pytest-repeat - works fine on Python 3.14
pytest-html has got to be one of my all time favorite plugins. pytest-html is a plugin for pytest that generates a HTML report for test results. This episode digs into some of the super coolness of pytest-html. pytest-html repo readme with screenshot enhancing reports pytest-metadata
Markdown reports as either text or markdown tables. Two fun plugins discussed. Links: pytest-md-report pytest-md Top pytest Plugins
This episode is a replay of a 2021 interview I did with Michael Foord. We lost Michael in January, and I'd like to revisit this interview as a tribute. Michael Foord was a pivotal figure in the Python community and the creator of the mock library that's now unittest.mock. But he did so much more as well. His contributions continue to resonate within the developer community. This interview is just a small peek at his influence. In this episode Introduction to Michael Foord The Mock Library Origins Mocking and Testing Philosophy Career Path and Consulting Understanding Mocking The Power of Patch Testing Strategies and Design Mocking External Dependencies Teaching Testing and Mocking python.org has put up an "In memoriam" page for Michael Foord, and many people have shared stories and memories. Links: In memoriam: Michael Foord 1974-2025 30 best practices for software development and testing
pytest-mock is currently the #3 pytest plugin. pytest-mock is a wrapper around unittest.mock. In this episode: Why the pytest-mock plugin is awesome What is mocking, patching, and monkey patching What, if any, is the difference between mock, fake, spy, stub. Why we might need these in testing Some history of mock in Python and how mock became unittest.mock From unittest.mock patch.object patch.object with autospec using these as context managers pytest-mock: The mocker fixture Cleanup in teardown Using mocker.patch, mocker.spy, and mocker.stub Why it's awesome and why you might want to use it over straight unittest.mock Links: top pytest plugins list pytest-mock documentation unittest.mock Podcast episode discussing unittest.mock with Michael Foord monkeypatch
pytest-cov is a pytest plugin that helps produce coverage reports using Coverage.py. In this episode, we'll discuss: what Coverage.py is why you should measure code coverage on both your source and test code what pytest-cov is extra features pytest-cov gives you over and above coverage.py and generally why using both is awesome Links: coverage.py pytest-cov how to set up context reports Top pytest Plugins Errata: I mentioned that Coverage has the ability to show context (which line is covered by which test) for the past year or so. However, that feature was released in Oct 2018. coverage 5.0 alpha That's over 6 years. Oops. Sorry Ned.
This episode kicks off a series on pytest plugins. In this episode: Introduction to pytest plugins The pytest.org pytest plugin list Finding pytest related packages on PyPI The Top pytest plugins list on pythontest.com Exploring popular plugins Learning from plugin examples Links: Top pytest plugins list pytest.org plugin list Top PyPI Packages And links to plugins mentioned in the show can be found at pythontest.com/top-pytest-plugins
Taking notes well can help to listen better, remember things, show respect, be more accountable, free up mind space to solve problems. This episode discusses the benefits of writing things down preparing for a meeting taking notes in meetings reviewing notes for action items, todo items, things to follow up on, etc. taking notes to allow for better focus writing well structured emails writing blog posts and books
In this episode we're talking about importing part of a package into another part of the same package. We'll look at: `from . import module` and `from .module import something` and also: `import package` to access the external API from with the package. Why would we use `import package` if `from . import api` would work fine?
We've got some code we want to test, and some tests. The tests need to be able to import the code under test, or at least the API to it, in order to run tests against it. How do we do that? How do we set things up so that our tests can import our code? In this episode, we discuss two options: Installing the code under test as a pip installable package with `pip install -e /path/to/local/package`. Using the pythonpath pytest setting.
PyCon US is just around the corner. I've asked Rob Ludwick to come on the show to discuss how to get the most out of your PyCon experience. There's a lot to do. A lot of activities to juggle, including actual juggling, which is where we start the conversation. Even if you never get a chance to go to PyCon, I hope this interview helps you get a feel for the welcoming aspect of the Python community. I recorded this interview as an episode for one of my other podcasts, Python People. But I think it's got some great pre-conference advice, so I'm sharing it here on Python Test as well. We talk about: - Juggling at PyCon - How to get the most out of PyCon - Watching talks - Hallway track - Open spaces - Lightening talks - Expo hall / vendor space - Poster sessions - Job fair - A welcoming community - Tutorials - Sprints - But mostly about the people of Python and PyCon. "Python enables smart people to work faster" - Rob Ludwick
I'm starting a SaaS project using Django, and there are tons of decisions right out of the gate. To help me navigate these decisions, I've brought on Cory Zue. Cory is the creator of SaaS Pegasus, and has tons of experience with Django. Some of the topics discussed: Building Django applications SaaS Pegasus placecard.me What boilerplate projects are Django cookiecutter Cookiecutter Which database to use, probably PostgreSQL Authentication choises, probably Allauth Docker, Docker for development, Docker for deployment Deployment targets / hosting services. Render, Heroku, Fly.io, for PaaS options. Front end frameworks. Bootstrap, Tailwind, DaisyUI, TailwindUI HTMX vs React vs straight Django templates Rockets Font Awesome and of course, SaaS Pegasus