In this lesson you’ll get an introduction into the Python linter PyLint. Throughout the course you’ll work with this linter.
If you want to learn more about PEP 8, make sure to check out our course about Writing Beautiful Pythonic Code With PEP 8
PyLint Code Linter Overview
00:00 Today I want to show you how to install Pylint. Pylint is a really well-known linter for Python, like I said earlier. Pylint has a number of very useful features. Number one, it can check your Python code for compliance with the PEP 8 style guide, which is a very common style guide that’s often used on Python projects, so I would highly recommend that you learn more about it. And Pylint can help you make sure that the Python code it runs on actually follows the PEP 8 style guide.
00:31 Pylint can also find and tell you about certain classes of errors that might be in your code. Things like unused variables, stuff that I mentioned before.
00:41 And it has some more, like, really interesting features. For example, it can also generate UML diagrams and it is very customizable in general. I think that’s one of the potential downsides of Pylint—that there’s a huge number of settings you can play with, so it might take you a while to find the optimum setting.
00:59 But once you’ve got it set up well—or you’re just running with the default configuration, which is also a viable option—then it’s a really great tool that provides you with a lot of helpful feedback and will help you write better code and cleaner Python code.
Become a Member to join the conversation.