Blog.

One of the reasons I like Linux is that it makes batch editing of files much easier. Where once I would have had to write a Python script to edit multiple files, now I can (after much Googling) write a simple(ish) command in the terminal to do the same. One example is renaming files.

For some work I'm doing, I realised that I'd given a parameter a name that was different from previously, which resulted in thousands of text files with the incorrect name. Which seemed like a good opportunity to learn how to use the Linux rename command.

Here's a short snippet of Python code that was I very pleased with. It converts a list of coordinates, such as this:

[(10, 200), (12, 220), (15, 180)]

Into the d attribute of an SVG path, such as this:

"M10 200 L12 220 L15 180"

I've started work on a program I've been meaning to make for a while: an SVG optimiser. I've often found myself spending a lot of time tidying, simplifying and compressing SVGs created by Inkscape or Illustrator. Sometimes, changes are merely aesthetic, e.g. reducing numbers from an unnecessary six decimal places to one, or removing unused attributes. These changes make it easier to read the file, and can reduce its size noticeably. Other changes are more practical, such as removing transforms which otherwise make it difficult to see where paths and shapes are actually placed.

In 2011 I seemed to spend a lot of time trying to make various numbers increase, such as my Khan Academy energy points, StackOverflow points, and blog visitors. This may be a result of the increasing "gamification" of websites, or maybe just that I'm so easily drawn in by such mechanics.