Python Bytes is a weekly podcast hosted by Michael Kennedy and Brian Okken. The show is a short discussion on the headlines and noteworthy news in the Python, developer, and data science space.

#472 Monorepos

March 09, 2026 00:28:52 5.36 MB ( 33.3 MB less) Downloads: 0
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Brian #1: Setting up a Python monorepo with uv workspaces

  • Dennis Traub
  • The 3 things
    • Give the Root a Distinct Name
    • Use workspace = true for Inter-Package Deps
    • Use importlib Mode for pytest

Michael #2: cattrs: Flexible Object Serialization and Validation

  • cattrs is a Swiss Army knife for (un)structuring and validating data in Python.
  • A natural alternative/follow on from DataClass Wizard
  • Converts to ←→ from dictionaries
  • cattrs also focuses on functional composition and not coupling your data model to its serialization and validation rules.
  • When you’re handed unstructured data (by your network, file system, database, …), cattrs helps to convert this data into trustworthy structured data.
  • Batteries Included: cattrs comes with pre-configured converters for a number of serialization libraries, including JSON (standard library, orjson, UltraJSON), msgpack, cbor2, bson, PyYAML, tomlkit and msgspec (supports only JSON at this time).

Brian #3: Learning to program in the AI age

  • Jose Blanca
  • “I teach a couple of introductory Python courses and I've been thinking about which advice to give to my students, that are studying how to program for the first time. I have collected my ideas in these blog posts”
    • Why learning to program is as useful as ever, even with powerful AI tools available.
    • How to use AI as a tutor rather than a shortcut, and why practice remains the key to real understanding.
    • What the real learning objectives are: mental models, managing complexity, and thinking like a software developer.

Michael #4: VS Code extension for FastAPI and friends

  • Enhances the FastAPI development experience in Visual Studio Code
  • Path Operation Explorer: Provides a hierarchical tree view of all FastAPI routes in your application.
  • Search for routes: Use the Command Palette and quickly search for routes by path, method, or name.
  • CodeLens links appear above HTTP client calls like client.get('/items'), letting you jump directly to the matching route definition.
  • Deploy your application directly to FastAPI Cloud from the status bar with zero config.
  • View real-time logs from your FastAPI Cloud deployed applications directly within VS Code.
  • Install from Marketplace.

Extras

Brian:

Joke: Saas is dead