Pytool Package

pytool is a collection of often used helper methods and classes that make life easier or fill in gaps in the Python Standard Library.

Pytool is compatible with and tested against Python 3.8 and higher. End of life Python versions are not supported.

Note

Pytool 4.x is a major release that is not backwards compatible with earlier versions. It now requires Python 3.8 or higher, and adds Python 3 type annotations among other improvements. New features will only be added to the 4.x release line.

Pytool's source is hosted on Github: https://github.com/shakefu/pytool

Any comments, issues or requests should be submitted via Github: https://github.com/shakefu/pytool/issues

Features

Pytool provides a rich set of utilities across several key areas:

Command Line Tools (pytool.cmd)

• Create robust command-line applications with minimal boilerplate, featuring built-in subcommand support and automatic help generation
• Seamless integration with argparse for argument parsing, with automatic support for configargparse when available
• Built-in signal handling for graceful process management and reloading
• Console script entry point support for easy distribution and installation
• Automatic environment variable integration through configargparse

Language Utilities (pytool.lang)

• Namespace class for creating flexible, nested data structures with dot-notation access and automatic nesting
• singleton and hashed_singleton decorators for efficient instance management and caching
• classproperty decorator for creating class-level properties, filling a gap in Python's standard library
• get_name utility for detailed frame inspection and debugging
• UNSET sentinel value for clear handling of optional parameters

Time Management (pytool.time)

• Comprehensive UTC-aware datetime handling with proper timezone support
• Timer class for precise performance measurements and benchmarking
• ago() helper for intuitive relative time calculations with flexible time unit support
• Week-based time calculations for scheduling and reporting
• Robust timezone conversion utilities with daylight savings handling

JSON Handling (pytool.json)

• Enhanced JSON serialization with built-in support for:
  • Datetime objects with proper timezone handling
  • BSON ObjectId types for MongoDB integration
  • Custom object serialization via the for_json() protocol
• Intelligent fallback between simplejson and stdlib json for optimal performance
• Consistent datetime formatting across different JSON implementations

Text Processing (pytool.text)

• Terminal-aware text wrapping that adapts to your console width
• Smart column width detection with fallback options
• Intelligent indentation preservation for code and documentation
• Paragraph-aware text formatting that maintains document structure
• Automatic handling of mixed indentation styles

Proxy Objects (pytool.proxy)

• ListProxy for transparent list manipulation with custom behavior modification
• DictProxy for dictionary behavior modification without copying data
• Support for custom JSON serialization of proxy objects
• Efficient memory usage through reference-based operations
• Seamless integration with existing list and dict operations

Documentation

Read the complete documentation on Read the Docs!

Installation

Pytool is available on PyPI for your installation ease.

pip install pytool

Usage

Pytool is a collection of common and useful functions designed to help your code be easier to read, write and maintain. The API is well documented with examples of how they might be used.

See the complete documentation on Read The Docs for more information.

Contributors

• shakefu (creator, maintainer)
• dshen109 (contributor)
• abendig