2025-03-01 –, Main Hall (LH 111)
This talk demonstrates how Unix's file abstraction philosophy, "Everything is a file", remains profoundly relevant today, using Python as our lens. We'll journey from traditional files to system devices, showing how the same simple read/write interface elegantly handles tasks from HTTP responses to GPIO control.
By connecting Python's file-like abstraction to Unix's "Everything is a file" philosophy, this presentation offers modern developers a fresh perspective on this time-tested design principle. Whether working with cloud storage, hardware interfaces, or system monitoring, understanding file-like objects reveals powerful patterns for building flexible and maintainable systems. Join us to discover how this fundamental concept remains remarkably relevant in today's Python ecosystem, from IoT devices to cloud platforms.
In the era of cloud computing, the fundamental concept of "files" might seem antiquated to modern developers. However, Python's 'file-like' object pattern reveals that the Unix philosophy of "Everything is a file" remains remarkably relevant and powerful.
Unix's elegant philosophy of "Everything is a file" represents one of computing's most powerful abstractions, where files serve not just as data stores but as universal interfaces. This design principle enables everything from hardware control to process inspection, creating a consistent interface layer across diverse system components.
Through Python's file-like objects, we can explore and appreciate this timeless philosophy in a modern context. This talk demonstrates how Unix's file abstraction philosophy remains profoundly relevant today, using Python's ecosystem as our lens. We'll journey from traditional files to system devices, showing how the same simple read/write interface elegantly handles tasks from HTTP responses to GPIO control.
For developers born into the cloud era, this exploration offers valuable insights into a fundamental design philosophy that has shaped computing for decades. By examining concrete Python implementations - from BytesIO to USB device control - we'll uncover how this principle continues to influence modern system design, demonstrating why "Everything is a file" remains a powerful paradigm for tackling today's programming challenges.
Intermediate
Category:Beginner and General Programming
Younggun Kim is a PSF Fellow and a startup CTO from South Korea. He loves making things with computers and he loves people making things with computers as well.
Also, he is well known for having a maximum unsigned sense of coding humor +1. Occasionally, he prefixes his age with '0x', cleverly using hexadecimal notation to rejuvenate himself.
In 2014, Younggun founded PyCon Korea alongside amazing community members in Korea. He served as the first Asian board director of the PSF in 2016.