Published on

Q&A with Armin Ronacher

Software development consultant in London, Python developer

My name is Armin Ronacher.  I'm the creator of the Flask python web framework and many other Python libraries.  By day I'm a bit of a software development consultant and primarily work with Fireteam, an online services company for computer games in London. When I'm not programming I might be giving talks about development or write articles about the same.

What inspired you to become a developer?

It's hard to say now but it just started at one point and I stuck to it.  For me the transition from doing this for fun to it becoming my profession was steady and I can't exactly pinpoint when it became serious.  I got a lot of encouragement through my Open Source work and that motivated me to do more.

What tools do you use to organize your work?

The vast majority of what I do, I can do from my Macbook.  I have used 15" Macbook Pro's in the past but I recently changed over to a 13" one because I wanted to be a bit more mobile.  For all my programming I use variations of Vim (MacVim for the most part).  It's not a perfect editor but it has worked well for me for the last few years and there is very little reason to change.

Unfortunately since I work in computer games, for some work I am bound to a Windows PC.  When I work from home I have a Samsung TV hooked up to my development kits and a Windows PC.  I do however not program from that but use Microsoft's remote desktop to remote control Visual Studio so I can debug on my (for game development underpowered) Macbook.  That way I can easily switch between backend and game work and it does not cause me much friction.  I can stick to the same screen and keybaord and I can also hide away my PC in a different corner of the flat

Version control wise git is my tool of choice, other things I'm using daily are Python, SSH and openconnect and a terminal emulator.  For presentations I'm sticking to Keynote.

What is your ideal work environment?

I'm not super obsessed with a specific environment in the physical sense.  If it wouldn't be for some hardware and good internet connection requirements I would be absolutely happy to work from my laptop from anywhere.  What I have currently works well for me.

Where does your work inspiration come from?

I just enjoy my work and I like exploring and learning new things.

Who are the developers you admire most?

Not so sure about admiration but there are always people to look up to.  For me that would probably be Chris Butcher of Bungie.  Not just probably but definitely