studio status report: 2020-09
month 9 of 2020 was about exploding into the world of Python
It is a misunderstanding to assume that the inclusion of Python in my studio is about learning a new programming language for the sake of some kind of polyglot discipline. In my studio, Python is a publication tool, a data visualization tool, an audio analysis and synthesis tool, a computational animation tool and an image manipulation tool.
I have been using Python as a strong wrapper, curling around ImageMagick in order to generate images for the Songhay.Player Stills API. It appears that almost all of my image editing work of my internet lifetime can be automated with Wand wrapped around ImageMagick. This is a new way for me to think about scripting. Python the next level beyond PowerShell here in this studio. Based on my current level of ignorance, Python is my AppleScript.
When the issue dedicated to getting up to speed with Wand closes, the Songhay.Player Stills API will move closer to operational status.
Jupyter Central has become, well, central
Now that I consider myself a decent Python script writer, it is clear to me that interactive notebooks will be the next level beyond markdown in my studio. Today, I flippantly assume that my Jupyter Central repository will be come huge in the coming years.
For example, I found out quite by accident that pandas is pretty much my replacement for a spreadsheet. This implies that my open source “office suite” has nothing to do with the traditional Linux Desktop offerings. Today, my office suite looks like this:
| application name | replaces which office app |
|---|---|
| Visual Studio Code | Microsoft Word |
| Markdown ecosystem | Microsoft Word, Visio, OneNote, Access, FrontPage 😬 |
| Jupyter notebook ecosystem | Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel |
Although I still use Microsoft Office for personal-mostly-juvenile-adult-consumer stuff, all professional publication will be almost completely open source.
sketching out a development schedule (revision 11)
The schedule of the month:
- add Stills API to
Songhay.Player(b-roll player) 🕸🌩 - consider upgrading to .NET Core 3.0
- use
@songhay/indexas a side-car app for “Day Path” and “the rasx() context” 🚛📦 - add proposed content Web component
- use the learnings from existing npm packages to build
@songhay/player-audio-???📦✨ - modernize the kinté hits page into a progressive web app 💄✨
- convert Day Path Blog and SonghaySystem.com to HTTPs by default 🔐
- use the learnings of previous work to upgrade and re-release the kinté space 🚀