My code refactoring algorithm

You're looking at a block of Python code. It's not immediately obvious what it does. It's sort of a mess and you realize it needs to be refactored. But how? What mental algorithm do you use?

Practical guidelines for beautiful Python code

Every now and then Liraz and I find ourselves chatting about how much we love Python, but more so the lessons we have learned from coding, and how to apply them to create beautiful Python code. I've tried to refine some of the "lessons" into practical guidelines that I apply religiously to all new code I write, and the refactoring of old code I written.

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Programming insight that helped unblock me

I'm finding a big part of the context switch involved in getting back to a high level of productivity on my programming is relearning old lessons.

In particular one of the most important lessons is to figure out how to systematically break down different goals into separate steps in a way that allows you to concentrate your full brain power on each of those steps in succession rather than trying to get it all done at once.