PEP8 and PyQt, how to reconcile

Question

I'm starting to use PyQt in some projects and I'm running into a stylistic dilemma. PyQt's functions use camel case, but PEP8, which I prefer to follow, says to use underscores and all lowercase for function names. So on the one hand, I can continue to follow PEP8, meaning that my code will have mixed functions calls to camel case and underscore functions, and even my classes will have mixed function names, since I'll need to be overloading functions like mousePressEvent. Or, I can break PEP8 and adopt camel case for all my function names in the name of consistency.

I realize this is subjective and it's really just what I personally prefer, but I like to hear from others about what they do and why they chose to do it that way.

Answer 1

In your shoes, I wouldn't fight your framework, just like, as a general principle, I don't fight City Hall;-). I happen to share your preference for lowercase-with-underscore function names as PEP 8 specifies, but when I'm programming in a framework that forces a different capitalization style, I resign myself to adopting that style too, since I can't convince the framework to adopt the "better" style, and style inconsistencies (haphazard mixes of different styles) are really worse.

Of course, some mixage is inevitable if you're using more than one framework... e.g., PyQt with its camelcase, and standard Python library functions with their lowercase and underscores!-). But since frameworks like Qt are often intended to be extended by subclassing, while the standard Python library has less aspects of such a design, in most case where the capitalization style is forced (because you need to override a method, so you can't choose a different capitalization), it will be forced to camelcase (by Qt), only rarely to lowercase (by the standard Python library). So, I think that adopting Qt style in this case is still the lesser evil.

Answer 2

Use what fits best.

If your subclassing Qt classes, or have a function heavling integrated with them UseCamelCase.

Otherwise, use_underscores.

Answer 3

Maybe sensible use of modules to separate the styles in different modules can help. At least try to modularize basic PEP8 style code to own module of helper functions.