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Regarding a Python project: "We want to pass various linters like flake8. I don't expect this to be an issue, but I'll have it in my back-pocket if the customer challenges anything."

Clarification: I know what a linter is. My confusion is around the client's wording, especially "pass". I think of linters in terms of "use" and "use it in my IDE". Do you think he means "pass" as in "do not use"?

ScotterMonkey
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Typically, in software projects with continuous integration (CI) pipelines configured, people will configure unit tests, linters, and possibly auto-formatters as steps of the CI pipeline. If the linters find any problems, or if the auto-formatters produce any changes, then those steps would fail.

Thus: "We want to pass various linters like flake8" means "we want flake8 to find no problems when we run it on our code."

asthasr
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  • THANK YOU for saving me having to ask the client a question that could cause him to question my ability! Of course and probably obviously, I'm not a super experienced Python coder. – ScotterMonkey Mar 03 '22 at 14:38
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    No problem, @ScotterMonkey. I'll point out that this is not limited to Python, though, e.g. in Rust `cargo fmt --check` will exit with a `0` if it wouldn't reformat the code or `1` if it would. Same thing works with `eslint`'s `--fix-dry-run` option in the JavaScript/TypeScript ecosystem. – asthasr Mar 03 '22 at 15:27