Hi there, When I see an if-statement with multiple elifs in my code, it almost always triggers an investigation. Is there some way to rewrite this to make the logic simpler? Is there a chance that in the future I'll need to add even more complexity? If so, I'll try to redesign the code so that I don't need that chain of if-elif statements. In this week’s video, I cover a design pattern that helped me eliminate many of those chains from a project + at the same time made the code easier to...
12 days ago • 1 min read
Hi there, I just published a new video about Python 3.14, and no, it’s not just about the version number lining up with π (though that does make me feel more complete). The new release brings a bunch of improvements, but I decided to focus on the features I personally love and that I actually use in my day-to-day work. Here’s what I cover in the video: A small but beautiful improvement to exception syntax (fewer parentheses!) Native Zstandard compression with way better performance than gzip...
19 days ago • 1 min read
Hi there, When you start a new Python project, it often begins as a single file. Before you know it, that file turns into a tangle of routes, configs, and ad-hoc fixes. Scaling that into something a team can maintain is tough. In my latest video, I show you the anatomy of a scalable Python project. We’ll cover folder structure, config management, logging, testing, and how to set up pyproject.toml, .python-version, Docker, and docker-compose for smooth local and production environments. I’ll...
26 days ago • 1 min read
Hi there, You’ve probably heard of the SOLID principles... and maybe even felt guilty for not applying them more. But how useful are they really when you’re writing Python? In my latest video, I take a simple but realistic example and implement it three ways: A messy, all-in-one class that gets the job done A cleaner, class-based version that follows SOLID principles A lightweight, functional approach that may be more Pythonic In the end, the important thing is to understand where design...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Hi there, You’ve probably heard it before: "Singletons are an anti-pattern!" And… yes. They often are. Especially when they’re used to add global state to your app and create coupling and bugs. But... there’s a different side of the Singleton pattern. In this week’s video, I cover why Singletons get a bad reputation. I'll also show you a practical use case where Singleton might actually be helpful. Enjoy the video, and hope you have a great weekend. Cheers, Arjan Do you enjoy my content on...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Hi there, You’ve probably noticed this by now: LLM prototypes are easy to build. But as soon as you try to turn them into actual production LLM systems… a lot more goes into it. In this week’s video, I walk through how to structure AI agents in Python using design patterns like Chain of Responsibility, Observer, and Strategy. I’ll build a fully functional travel assistant using Pydantic AI and explore how to make your agent pipelines more maintainable, testable, and modular. Hope you enjoy...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Hi there, I have to admit, I often forget how powerful the Python standard library is. Whenever I'm working on some project, I have to remind myself to consider whether something I need is already there, ready for me to use. So, in this week’s video, I’m looking at 10 of the most useful and underrated modules in Python’s standard library, including pathlib, heapq, graphlib, and more. These tools can help you write cleaner, faster, and more maintainable code without adding a single dependency....
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Hi there, If you’ve been experimenting with trying to integrate AI into your code, you’ve probably run into the same problem I have: unstructured, unpredictable output. And the other way around: how do you let AI agents interact with your own code? That’s where Pydantic AI comes in. In this week's video, I show how to use Pydantic AI to embed an LLM agent directly into your Python app: with structured input, validated output, and access to real business logic. What I love about this approach...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Hey there, We all want to grow: as developers, as professionals, as people. But there’s one habit that can keep you from reaching your full potential. I’ve struggled with it my whole career, and I’ve seen countless other developers fall into the same trap: making assumptions and never questioning them. Early in my startup days, I dismissed React because I thought it wasn’t worth my time. I was wrong. More recently, I almost ignored AI coding tools for the same reason. These moments taught me...
2 months ago • 1 min read