Introduction: Put Your Code in a Box, Properly Indented, on Instructables

By Me at one of my favorite web
About: For now see me at: http://www.opencircuits.com/User:Russ_hensel

When I first wrote code it was on punch cards and you could not indent. Now you can, and code that is not indented is not often worth the effort of reading. In Python if the indentation is not right the code will not run right. Still there is a lot of code published on instructables that is not indented. That is a shame. Fixing it is not hard.

Step 1: Fail

This instructable has been fine in the editor, but viewing on line the editor apparently has made some tweaks to the code and the formatting is now trashed, I have fixed several times but it will not stick. I will look into it and see if I can fix it. Anyone else got some tips. If I cannot fix it I will un-publish it. Continue if you want to imagine that it worked

Step 2: For Example

Here I put in a box and pasted the code in ( and the reader can copy it out, formatted ):


class RunningAve:
    """
    proof and test in some other place
    tuples? no
    for long, could add and subtract from ends

    """
    #TIME    = 0
    #COUNT   = 1

    def __init__( self, length  ):

        self.val_len   = length
        self.ix_now    = 0

        self.values    = [ 0. ] * self.val_len
        self.ave_len   = 0

    # -----------------------------------------------
    def add_val( self, new_val ):

        """
        return new average after adding value
        value should not be a repeat


        """
        self.ix_now += 1

        # instead of this load the whole list with first value ???
        if self.ave_len < self.val_len:
            self.ave_len += 1              # less smooth at begin, but not at 0


        if self.ix_now >= self.val_len:
           self.ix_now = 0

        self.values[self.ix_now] = new_val

        retval =  0.
        for val in self.values:
            retval  += val

        return ( retval/self.ave_len )

Without the box the pasted code looks like this( it could be cleaned up with a lot of manual work for example:

)

class RunningAve:
""" perform running average """

def __init__( self, length ): self.val_len = length self.ix_now = 0 self.values = [ 0. ] * self.val_len self.ave_len = 0 # ----------------------------------------------- def add_val( self, new_val ): """ return new average after adding value value should not be a repeat """ self.ix_now += 1 # instead of this load the whole list with first value ??? if self.ave_len < self.val_len: self.ave_len += 1 # less smooth at begin, but not at 0 if self.ix_now >= self.val_len: self.ix_now = 0 self.values[self.ix_now] = new_val retval = 0. for val in self.values: retval += val return ( retval/self.ave_len )

Some people get around the problem of pasting in code with screen shots, but you cannot scroll these, include more than one screen of code, or let the reader copy formatted code out of the instructable, the box lets you do all of this.

Step 3: Tools and Materials

  • Pro membership ( just write a good instructable that for inscrutable reasons is favored by the site managers and get one free ) You need this to get access to the html editor feature.

Step 4: ​Do It

In the editor put in some of your regular text above and below where you want the boxed indented code, you do not need much text but it is hard to insert before or after the box if you do not do this.

Then press the “</>” icon. This will take you into a mess of HTML for the page. Be careful it is easy to loose your way. Then insert the text in the attached file ( I cannot put it in a box for you to copy because the HTML does not like HTML inside of it - at least as far as I have figured it out, plus the editor likes to change things around. )

Then exit the HTML using the "</>" icon again. You should see the box. Now that you have it you should be able to type in it, cut and paste with it, publish some descent looking code with it. Done.

And Hey! Instructables why not make this easy for everyone.

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