The Python Podcast.__init__ - Morepath with Martijn Faassen

Jan 07 2017 65 mins 1

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Summary

Python has a wide and growing variety of web frameworks to choose from, but if you want one with super powers then you need Morepath. This week Martijn Faassen shares the story of how Morepath was created, how it differentiates itself from the other available options, and how you can use it to power your next project.

Brief Introduction

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Your host as usual is Tobias Macey and today I’m interviewing Martijn Faassen about the Morepath web framework.

Interview with Martijn Faassen

Introductions

How did you get introduced to Python?

What is Morepath and what problem were you trying to solve when you created it?

The tag line for the Morepath project is that it’s a web microframework with superpowers. What is special or different about it that sets it apart from the other options in the Python ecosystem?

It can be difficult to convince someone to migrate to a new framework, particularly if there is a lack of supporting ecosystem. What are some of the motivating factors for a developer to switch to Morepath if they already have experience with one of the more widely used frameworks?

What does the internal architecture for Morepath look like and what are some of the challenges that you have faced while building it?

One of the features is the automatic link generation for ensuring that you don’t end up with dead links. Is there any support for permalinks or redirects so that if you refactor your site people won’t end up at a path that no longer exists?

In the documentation you make a number of references to the fact that Morepath is a routing based framework. Can you explain what you mean by that and how it differs from a traversal based framework?

Part of the core elements of Morepath are your libraries Reg and Dectate. Can you describe each of them and explain some of how they came to be created?

Morepath has a different conception of models than most frameworks that I’ve dealt with in that they aren’t necessarily associated with any form of database. Can you explain why that is and some of the patterns that it allows for?

The method for extending and reusing applications built in Morepath is through subclassing the objects and overriding specific methods. What is it about this approach that you found to be more flexible than the alternatives exhibited by other frameworks?