• It allows you to filter by returned values of object methods.
• It searches for the term anywhere in the value.
• It does a case in-sensitive search.
• It does some basic value clean up.

The code is commented fairly extensively so you should be able to figure out what I’m doing.

import re

FILTER_RE = re.compile('[-[\]{}()*+?.,\\^$|#\s]')
REPLACE_WITH = ''
def filter_helper(object_list, attr, term):
    """
    Helper method for filtering object_lists.

    @param  object_list     An array of objects to filter.
    @param  attr            An attribute on the object to filter the list by.
    @param  term            The filter term to look for in the attribute.
    @return The filtered list
    """

    # remove special characters from the filter term
    escaped_term = FILTER_RE.sub(REPLACE_WITH, term)

    def compare(x):
        """
        Function that compares the value to the filter term.

        @param  x    The object we are looking at.
        @return True if we have a match otherwise False.
        """

        # get the attribute off the object
        v = getattr(x, attr)

        # attribute is a method so get the return value
        if callable(v): v = v()

        # remove special characters from the attribute value
        ev = FILTER_RE.sub(REPLACE_WITH, v)

        # if the term is an exact match or the escaped term is in the escaped attr
        if term == v or re.search(escaped_term, ev, re.I):
            return True
        return False

    # run the compare function through the list to create the filtered list
    return filter(compare, object_list)

To use the helper you would do something like:

object_list = Users.all().fetch(1000)
filtered = filter_helper(object_list, 'display_name', 'Rich')

This would filter a list of users to only users with the word “rich” in it’s display name.

You can download the full source here.

• It allows you to sort by returned values of object methods.
• It allows you to sort the objects in ascending or descending value order.
• It allows sorting by multiple attributes.
• It does some basic value clean up before sorting for sort consistency.

The code is commented fairly extensively so you should be able to figure out what I’m doing.

def sort_helper(object_list, sort_list, db_field_map=None):
    """
    Helper method for sorting object_lists.

    @param  object_list     An array of objects to sort.
    @param  sort_list       An array of names to sort by.
    @param  db_field_map    An optional dictionary that maps a sort name to an object's property or method.
    @return The sorted list
    """

    def clean(x):
        """
        Function that cleans the value to sort by.

        @param  x    The attribute on the object.
        @return The cleaned up value for sorting.
        """

        # attribute is a method so get the returned value
        v = x() if callable(x) else x

        # attribute is a string so convert it to lower case
        if type(v) == str or type(v) == unicode:
            v = v.lower()

        # attribute is a datetime so convert it to an epoch value
        elif type(v) == datetime.datetime:
            v = time.mktime(v.timetuple())

        # return the value
        return v

    # reverse the sort order so we get the correct sub-sorting
    sort_order = reversed(sort_list)

    # Generate the actual list of attributes we'll be sorting by
    for sort_item in sort_order:

        # -name so sort this attribute descending
        if sort_item[0] == '-':
            base_sort_item = sort_item[1:]
            reverse = True

        # Otherwise sort in ascending order
        else:
            base_sort_item = sort_item
            reverse = False

        # Check if the name is in the db field map
        if db_field_map:
            if not base_sort_item in db_field_map:
                continue
            db_field = db_field_map[base_sort_item]
        else:
            db_field = base_sort_item

        # Do the actual sort now
        try:
            object_list = sorted(object_list, key=lambda x: clean(getattr(x, db_field)), reverse=reverse)
        except Exception, e:
            logging.exception('sort_helper - %s' % unicode(e))

    return object_list

To use the helper you would do something like:

object_list = Users.all().fetch(1000)
sorted = sort_helper(object_list, ['-created', 'display_name'])

This would sort a list of users in decending created order then ascending display name.

You can download the full source here.

1. My desktop is littered with different todo lists (Work, Home, Consulting, etc…). I’m going to get these cleaned off my desktop and into a comprehensive list where I can then focus on completing one of these tasks at a time.
2. The open source community has a saying “Release early and release often”. I’m going to take this saying to heart but in the form of communication. I’m going to communicate early and often. Expect to see a lot more blog posts, tweets, status updates and the like from me in 2011. My goal is 1 blog post and 3 tweets a day.
3. I want to work more. This seems like a strange goal since most people make resolutions to work less. I plan to work an extra 14 hours a week for the next 4 months. There are a couple of really simple explanations for this goal:
   • We are in the process of building a new house and I want to make sure to cover the expenses until our old house is sold.
   • I have a couple of personal projects that I’ve been meaning to work on but just haven’t found the time to do.
   • I want to finish up some of the projects I’m working on so I can focus on my next resolution.
4. Spend more time with my family is always a perennial resolution for most people and it’s made my list as well. If I can pull off my previous resolution then I’ll have more free time. That free time is going to be spent with my wife and kids. I’m going to take those extra 2ish hours a day to play with my kids.
5. I’ve lost close to 40 pounds before. I’m about 15 pounds heavier now then I was after that first weight lose. My next goal is 4 fold and must go hand in hand to achieve it.
   • Walk on the treadmill at least 3 times a week.
   • Eat at least 2 fruits and vegetables a day.
   • Decrease my portion sizes by 1/3.
   • Lose 40 pounds by the end of the year. Sticking with these first 3 goals will get me down those 40 pounds. That would put me on or about where my original weight lose goal was.
6. At this point in my life I’ve been a smoker longer than I haven’t been. Once we’ve settled into the new house and things have calmed down it’s time to come up with a working quit plan that I can stick with.

These are some lofty goals for the next year, but they should be eminently doable with a strong commitment on my part and support from friends and family.

I contacted Mediacom to find out if service was available for our new home. They responded that our house was not serviceable. The image below (from connect iowa) illustrates why this is so frustrating. The red square is the lot we are building on. The red/pink overlay is where cable is available. I bet there isn’t a thousand feet between the two.

We’ve decided to go with the “Estate Gray” for the shingles.

We have decided to go with “Whiskers” and “Atrium White” for the outside colors.

The front door will be a “Cut Crystal Series” door with sidelights. We are planning on doing the front door in a burgundy or navy color.

** note pictures are not of the actual construction or products