A blog post about how I'd refactor Spheri
Spheri is a web app that uses local weather information to generate song recommendations. Someone experiencing thundersnow can expect a different recommendation than someone experiencing clear conditions at 72℉.
Link to the deployed web app: https://spheri.app/
Alternative link: https://spheri.uk.r.appspot.com/
Link to r/Python post (500+ upvotes, 80 comments!): https://www.reddit.com/r/Python/comments/zb6ro9/i_got_laid_off_in_midoctober_and_decided_to_teach/
I was the ten-year-old who begged to stay up past 11 pm so I could watch meteorologist Steve Pool talk about El Niño, dew points, and the jet stream. Even though I did not take up meterology as an adult, the weather has a big impact on my mood. I wanted to create something that would help me find new music that matches whatever weather vibes I'm experiencing.
This app solves a problem my wife and I have. There is so much music on Spotify, that it's hard to choose which new songs to listen to. I find myself listening to the same playlists over and over again.
I also built this project so I could cement my Python, Flask, git/GitHub, Bootstrap, APIs, unit testing, and Google Cloud deployment skills.
├── LICENSE.txt
├── Dockerfile
├── README.md
├── .github/workflows
│ └── ci.yml
├── app
│ ├── constants.py
│ ├── main.py
│ ├── requirements.txt
│ └── templates
│ ├── empty.html
│ ├── error.html
│ ├── form.html
│ └── layout.html
├── assets
│ └── images
│ └── recommendation.png
├── env.sample
├── requirements.txt
├── tests
│ └── test_main.pyIf you want to see how the app looks to users, you can visit [http://spheri.app]
To run in a local environment:
- Fork the code
- Create and activate a Python virtual environment (if you need to install Python 3.x, visit [https://www.python.org/downloads/]):
$ python -m venv venv
$ source venv/bin/activate- Update
pipand install the required dependencies:
(venv) $ pip install -U pip
(venv) $ pip install -r requirements.txt- Create a '''config.py''' file with the proper keys
- Create a new app at [https://developer.spotify.com/dashboard/applications].
- Create a '.env' file
- Fill in the client id and client secret:
CLIENT_ID=''
CLIENT_SECRET=''- Sign up for a free WeatherStack API account [https://weatherstack.com/product]
- Add your WeatherStack access key to the .env file:
ACCESS_KEY=''
CLIENT_ID=''
CLIENT_SECRET=''- Start the Flask server:
(venv) $ python main.py
* Serving Flask app "main" (lazy loading)
* Environment: production
WARNING: This is a development server. Do not use it in a production deployment.
Use a production WSGI server instead.
* Debug mode: on
* Running on http://127.0.0.1:8080/ (Press CTRL+C to quit)
* Restarting with stat
* Debugger is active!
* Debugger PIN: 339-986-221- Open a browser to the specified local address and port (Usually http://127.0.0.1:8080/). Voila!
Tests are located in tests/test_main.py. After you create your virtual environment and install the required packages, you can run test_main.py.
A user can enter a valid U.S. zipcode, submit the zipcode, and receive a readout of local weather conditions as well as a song recommendation (via Spotify's recommendation API). A 30-second preview of the song can be accessed via the player. If a user clicks on the album art or the artist link, the corresponding Spotify track page will open.
Useful links:
- Cory Schafer's Flask tutorial [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwZwr5Tvyxo&list=PL-osiE80TeTs4UjLw5MM6OjgkjFeUxCYH]
- Bukola's Automate Spotify with Python [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7J_qcttfnJA]
- Freecodecamp's APIs for Beginners [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZvSYJDk-us]
- Automate the Boring Stuff with Python [https://automatetheboringstuff.com/#toc]
- Marwonn's Spotify Playlist Analyzer [https://github.com/marwonn/spotify-playlist-generator-analyzer]
- Many thanks to my Code Mentor Greg [https://www.codementor.io/@ggorlen]. I had a thorny design issue because I didn't know I was going to use Flask when I started the project. Greg gave me strategies for how to refactor my existing code to include Flask. I was able to do the rest of the project without issues after a few pointers.
- Thanks to @BurningSquid for contributing thoughtful issues!
GNU General Public License v3.0 [https://choosealicense.com/licenses/gpl-3.0/]