Jessica's blog

In this post, I will go through how I was able to install flask-mysqldb after going through lots of trial and error. I wanted to install flask-mysqldb to connect the Flask API to the MySQL database we were planning on using.

To install flask-mysqldb, the command to run is:

pip install flask_mysqldb

Yet, when I ran it, I kept receiving these errors:

jessicapeng@Jessicas-MacBook-Pro-2 ~ % pip install flask_mysqldb
Collecting flask_mysqldb
  Using cached Flask-MySQLdb-0.2.0.tar.gz (2.1 kB)
Collecting Flask>=0.10
  Using cached Flask-1.1.2-py2.py3-none-any.whl (94 kB)
Collecting mysqlclient
  Using cached mysqlclient-1.4.6.tar.gz (85 kB)
    ERROR: Command errored out with exit status 1:
     command: /System/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/Resources/Python.app/Contents/MacOS/Python -c 'import sys, setuptools, tokenize; sys.argv[0] = '"'"'/private/var/folders/__/j8b0d7wn7_796hd4c4x56f040000gn/T/pip-install-rCiijx/mysqlclient/setup.py'"'"'; __file__='"'"'/private/var/folders/__/j8b0d7wn7_796hd4c4x56f040000gn/T/pip-install-rCiijx/mysqlclient/setup.py'"'"';f=getattr(tokenize, '"'"'open'"'"', open)(__file__);code=f.read().replace('"'"'\r\n'"'"', '"'"'\n'"'"');f.close();exec(compile(code, __file__, '"'"'exec'"'"'))' egg_info --egg-base /private/var/folders/__/j8b0d7wn7_796hd4c4x56f040000gn/T/pip-pip-egg-info-0D9Xsz
         cwd: /private/var/folders/__/j8b0d7wn7_796hd4c4x56f040000gn/T/pip-install-rCiijx/mysqlclient/
    Complete output (12 lines):
    sh: mysql_config: command not found
    sh: mariadb_config: command not found
    sh: mysql_config: command not found
    Traceback (most recent call last):
      File "<string>", line 1, in <module>
      File "/private/var/folders/__/j8b0d7wn7_796hd4c4x56f040000gn/T/pip-install-rCiijx/mysqlclient/setup.py", line 16, in <module>
        metadata, options = get_config()
      File "setup_posix.py", line 61, in get_config
        libs = mysql_config("libs")
      File "setup_posix.py", line 29, in mysql_config
        raise EnvironmentError("%s not found" % (_mysql_config_path,))
    EnvironmentError: mysql_config not found
    ----------------------------------------
ERROR: Command errored out with exit status 1: python setup.py egg_info Check the logs for full command output.

In the error, it indicated that  mysql_config: command not found so I found this thread referring to it in my search: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/7475223/mysql-config-not-found-when-installing-mysqldb-python-interface

In the thread, it mentions to use  apt-get but I had trouble running this command in terminal, and I learned that  apt-get is only for debian and ubuntu, whereas yum is for centos/fedora/redhat distribution. I decided to use brew which is a 3rd party community doing unix-like things on macOS.

When I attempted to install with brew using this command:

brew install mysql-client

I received these errors:

mysql-client is keg-only, which means it was not symlinked into /usr/local,
because it conflicts with mysql (which contains client libraries).If you need to have mysql-client first in your PATH run:
  echo 'export PATH="/usr/local/opt/mysql-client/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrcFor compilers to find mysql-client you may need to set:
  export LDFLAGS="-L/usr/local/opt/mysql-client/lib"
  export CPPFLAGS="-I/usr/local/opt/mysql-client/include"

Which essentially tells me to put it into my .zshrc folder. That is done through this command:

echo 'export PATH="/usr/local/opt/mysql-client/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc

This briefly translates to:

“Please update my STARTUP config, and when I start a new terminal, in that terminal, update my PATH”

Note: Just editing .zhrc does not affect current window

Afterwards, a new terminal must be opened (my previous mistake with checking in the same terminal window and being confused that no path had been added) in order to check the path with:

echo $PATH

I was able to see the path added after:

(base) jessicapeng@Jessicas-MacBook-Pro ~ % echo $PATH
/usr/local/opt/mysql-client/bin:/Users/jessicapeng/opt/anaconda3/bin:/Users/jessicapeng/opt/anaconda3/condabin:/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.8/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/local/go/bin

Afterwards, when I tried to install flask-mysqldb with the command:

pip install flask-mysqldb

It worked and installed flask-mysqldb successfully! Afterwards, I was able to run the flask program I had built!

This took me hours of stack overflow,  so hopefully it’s helpful for those who have run into the same problem with installing flask-mysqldb!

Recently, I tried to clone a repository I was working on in GitHub that I had created, but I received the following error:

Permission denied (publickey).
fatal: Could not read from remote repository.Please make sure you have the correct access rights
and the repository exists.

Apparently, I needed to create an SSH key and add it to Github SSH Keys in order to access the repository. To do this, I followed these instructions (on https://github.com/facebookresearch/deepmask/issues/23):

Generate SSH key using ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "[email protected]".
Copy the output of cat id_rsa.pub
Paste the above copied output into your Github profile -> Settings -> SSH and GPG Keys -> Add new SSH key

Regarding this, I created an SSH key, but couldn’t find it, so I ended up following the path: /Users/jessicapeng/.ssh/id_rsa.pub and I ran command cat .ssh/id_rsa.pub once I was in the directory jessicapeng in order to get it. Then, I followed the instructions and went to my Github Profile > Settings> SSH and GPG Key > Add SSH Key. And afterwards, I was able to successfully clone it and use git with it!

Networks

• • How can 2 computers talk to each other? 
    • through network
    • most people buy a wireless router to connect  things together
• LAN = Local Area Network
• • • combination of router, computer systems, wireless router
• NIC = Network Interface Card
• • • ear and mouth of a computer: receive and transmit information
• WAN = Wide Area Network
• • • connect networks across multiple cities, countries, etc;
    • to connect network in buildings and different floors (creating a small WAN): 
      • connect all systems on a floor with a router
      • connect all floors in a building with another router
• Mac Address
• • • how computers identify or communicate with each other
    • unique to each computer’s network interface card
    • format: 00:00:AB:13:5A:2C, or 0000.AB13.5A2C
      • represented in hexadecimals
      • 6 bytes long, 48 bits
  • Computer’s Communicating
    • computers share a medium
• Collision Detection/Avoidance
• • originally: A talks to B, while B is talking to A, then there is interference and A’s message to B is lost
  • now: before C sends data to A, sees if there is a conversation going on with A, and only sends when A is free

I just learned that to run a python module from the terminal, the command line is:  python -m <name_of_module>

I needed to learn this command because while I was grading for my python course, I had to run the module through an outside terminal because I had just reinstalled Anaconda-Navigator and Spyder and the graph that is supposed to be plot after running the module was not showing up because it was hidden, so I ran it on terminal to make sure it wasn’t the student’s code that broke.  Beforehand we always ran the modules with run -m <name_of_module> but when I tried those commands in the Mac terminal it didn’t work. I also was confused what -m meant before, but now I understand it means to run a python module!

I like to watch Ted Talks on my free time or when I’m passing time (like eating, washing dishes, doing chores, etc;) because it makes me feel like my time isn’t wasted and that I’m learning. I like to go to sleep everyday knowing that I have at least improved myself and my life in some way–whether it be socially where I’ve built stronger relationships or caught up with people, academically where I’ve completed assignments or psets, hobbies-wise where I’ve improved either in motor skills such as dance or skateboarding, creation-wise where I was able to make, edit, or produce something, knowledge where I’ve learned things that I can apply to my life. Recently, since my school has ended, the academic aspect has escaped me so I have “free time” but I am still often dissatisfied because I spend a lot of it in idleness and not really improving myself. Sometimes I feel like having too many things I want to do limit me and make me decide to do none or scatter myself too thinly between multiple goals, whereas if I just focused on one thing I could complete it and get really good at it. So, in an attempt to try to go to sleep feeling more satisfied with myself and my self-growth, I listened to a few Ted Talks while washing the dishes today.

One that I really liked was called “How to stop screwing yourself over.” The speaker was a woman who is basically a “life coach” for people to “get anything they want in life” which could be to lose weight, to make 3x the amount of money they currently are, to buy a house, to find romance. At first, the occupation “life coach” sounds like farce so I wasn’t too interested, but I really enjoyed her TedTalk. I’ve linked it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp7E973zozc

One thing she taught that really resonated with me was called the “5 second rule.” She said that if you have an impulse to do something such as to change your lifestyle or pursue a goal, then you must marry it with action within 5 seconds, or else your brain kills the idea. Depending on the what the thought is, the action doesn’t have to be huge–it could be simply writing a note, sending an email. The thought could be as small as going up to volunteer for something on stage or bigger like learning a new skill or huge like starting a life in a new country. I thought about the countless times I’ve tried to do things, but haven’t ever “gotten to it” because right after I had the impulse to do something, I feel extremely motivated and pumped, and then when I don’t act on it, it never gets done.

So, after listening to her speech, I responded to all my emails (that I haven’t in a while), finished my logo for CPEG, did some iMovie editing on the coding youtube video I wanted to post, and more largely started an eBay account and posted my first item. Making an eBay account is something I’ve wanted to do for a really long time. Even though I had this spur of inspiration and motivation, I wasn’t sure how long it would last, so I am really hoping I can keep aiming for my goals.

Install MariaDB: sudo apt install mariadb-server

Connect to MariaDB: sudo mysql

Show databases available: show databases;

Select ‘mysql’ database: use mysql;

Show tables in a database: show tables;

Retrieve everything: SELECT * FROM user;

Retrieve only some columns: SELECT host, user, password FROM user;

Creating table (named ‘user_review’): Inserting into a table:

INSERT INTO user_review (reviewer_name, star_rating, details) VALUE (‘Chris’, ‘4’, ‘A little bitter.’);

INSERT INTO user_review (reviewer_name, star_rating, details) VALUE (‘Linda’, ‘5’, ‘Essential for living.’);

List all rows and columns of a table: DESCRIBE user_review;

Hi guys! Currently working on renovating my website (which you can check out here: jessicapeng.com), so I decided to share an extremely useful tool I am using for CSS and formatting things on the website: https://css-tricks.com/snippets/css/a-guide-to-flexbox/

I especially like this website because it formats the properties you use for the parent of the flex container on the left and the properties for children (inside the parent containers) on the right so you don’t have to frantically scroll through lots of syntax and information to find the distinctions and syntax. It looks like this:

One of the really useful tools I found was the magic of warp! I didn’t know flex had the property where they could not only help you align everything in 1 row, but they actually allow images to warp one-by-one to the bottom if there’s not enough space. This is so incredibly convenient because I no longer to hard-code the responsiveness of each element and redesign at each px size of the website. Flex does this for me!

This was the css of outside container or div that contained the images I wanted to align:

.container 

{

          display: flex;

           align-items: center;

           justify-content: center;

}

This allowed all the images in my container  to be aligned in a row, and centered all the elements inside the container (vertically and horizontally I believe).

Another really useful tool to learn flexbox froggy that has a 24 exercises to do with aligning frogs on lilypads that help you practice the syntax and functions of flex. Before I really start web development again, I might have to redo those exercises. Link to flexbox froggy: https://flexboxfroggy.com/ 

What it looks like: