Does using modules in my Python code look more professional?

1 points by comatory 11y ago ↗ HN

I'm fairly new to programming but I've managed to program little app in Python. I'd like to apply for entry level dev job and of course I want to show my code.

However it needs some serious refactoring and since I can't code everyday for many hours (my current day job) I want to be most efficient.

When I started coding the app I lacked some knowledge. The app has CLI. I wrote custom parser for that and later found out that there are modules out there that can handle it (argparse).

Now my question is: Does it look better if I use existing module than my own custom solution?

The advantage to custom solution is that it's already written, it works well and I also made tests for it. The downside is, I'm not 100% if my custom solution is quality code.

1 comment

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cylogenix 11y ago ↗

I think that really you need to ask if using external modules is ideal for your application. The way i read your message is that you feel you are cheating because you are using something else. Lets put it in another perspective: Lets take inkscape for example, the devs would not have got as far with it if they were not using cairo. You are not only saving yourself time in achieving what you set out to do but you are also showing apreciation for someone elses effort. As long as you respect licences and give adequate attribution then that is perfectly fine. Another point to make is why reinvent the wheel. If there is a good reason for it then by all means. You have an advantage with libs that if you have a prob with it then someone else should be able to help. Sorry if there are spelling and gramatical errors - my phone typing isnt exactly good hah