Python Data Analysis Cookbook

Setting up a test web server

In Chapter 1, Laying the Foundation for Reproducible Data Analysis, we discussed why unit testing is a good idea. Purists will tell you that you only need unit tests. However, the general consensus is that higher-level testing can also be useful.

Obviously, this book is about data analysis and not about web development. Still, sharing your results or data via a website or web service is a common requirement. When you mine the Web or do something else related to the Web, it often becomes necessary to reproduce certain use cases, such as login forms. As you expect of a mature language, Python has many great web frameworks. I chose Flask, a simple Pythonic web framework for this recipe because it seemed easy to set up, ...