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Dev tools · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to I am building a new Python library to read/write PDF files

Hi HN! This is my pet project, written from scratch because there is so much to discover and learn in the process. The focus is on simplicity and incremental updates. Progress is slow because I do not have much spare time to work on this, but I would love to hear some feedback. Regards

This is a Python library for reading and writing PDF files, built from scratch by a developer focused on learning and simplicity. The project prioritizes straightforward functionality with gradual improvements, though… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. I am building a new Python library to read/write PDF files launched in 2022; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

  1. 1

    Hey HN! I wrote a book on programming called The Elements of Code. I put the entire book online here: https://elementsofcode.io/ When mentoring (usually new) programmers, I noticed there were a few common mistakes that seemed to account for about 80% of the complexity in their code. I couldn’t find a concise guide to fixing those mistakes, so I decided to write one. The title is an homage to The Elements of Style by Strunk and White, which is the classic guide for communicating well using prose. That guide is quite tactical in nature, and I wanted to parallel its focus in The…

    2021 · pragprog.com · its alternatives →

  2. 2

    Hi everyone! I just released the Practical Python Projects book! (https://practicalpython.yasoob.me) I am happy to announce the first version as a release candidate. I have poured a lot of love into writing this book and would love to hear what you guys think. (A limited 100% off and discount coupons at the end) This is not a pure beginner book. The book does assume some background Python knowledge. You need to know the basics like methods, functions, classes, and such. If I use something that is not typically covered in beginner Python books, I will explain it before I use it.…

    2021 · practicalpython.yasoob.me · its alternatives →

  3. 3

    been working on this for nearly a year

    2023 · github.com · its alternatives →

  4. 4

    I've always thought that extensive reading was best suited for the realm of paper. As a result, I've created a command-line interface (CLI) tailored for my own use and decided to make it open source. I welcome any feedback you may have. [Edit] Sample PDF :: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n7M1TKOptSsYiibrbvV_Yojx53T...

    2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

  5. 5PA

    TL;DR: https://pyflo.net is a free, interactive guide to learning Python Hi Everyone, I am a CS educator who has taught a variety of university courses, including many on introductory Python programming. Over the past few years, I've written down a number of Python programming lessons and has culminated into Pyflo.net. This tool is a completely free, introductory guide to learning Python. It is more-or-less an intro programming textbook, but with a few twists, including: * It is totally free. You don't even have to give me your email to use it * The lessons are short and…

    2023 · pyflo.net · its alternatives →

  6. 6

    Write, run, debug, embed and share your Python code

    2022 · its alternatives →

  7. 7

    Hi everyone, I built PlutoPrint because I needed a simple way to generate beautiful PDFs and images directly from HTML with Python. Most of the tools I tried felt heavy, tricky to set up, or produced results that didn’t look great, so I wanted something lightweight, modern, and fast. PlutoPrint is built on top of PlutoBook’s rendering engine, which is designed for paged media, and then wrapped with a Python API that makes it easy to turn HTML or XML into crisp PDFs and PNGs. I’ve used it for things like invoices, reports, tickets, and even snapshots, and it can also integrate with Matplotlib…

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

  8. 8

    A tool for refurbishing and modernizing Python codebases - dosisod/refurb

    2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

  9. 91P

    2021 · learnbyexample.github.io · its alternatives →

  10. 10PP
  11. 11MF

    Hey HN. I've just launched my very first webappp and would love your feedback. http://www.7bks.com It's a book list sharing website - kind of like playlists for bookworms. The site is built on pyton/appengine - and I learned to code in under 4 weeks to build the site. There's more details on the background of the site here: http://www.7bks.com/blog/179001 I've also published the full Python code for the site here: https://gist.github.com/670034 Feedback is really important to me and I want to work hard to make the site better so any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated. Contact…

    2010 · 7bks.com · its alternatives →

  12. 12IW

    Background: I've been working on a book to help developers learn and write idiomatic Python. It's taken far longer than I imagined, but today I made it available for purchase (http://www.jeffknupp.com/writing-idiomatic-python-ebook). The automated build and test system I'm using is ridiculous. It uses: virtualenv, tox, pytest, coverage, doctest, pandoc, make, xelatex, makeindex, and a ~200 line Python script to collect and format the output. The details of the build/test system I created are described in detail here:…

    2013 · jeffknupp.com · its alternatives →

  13. 13

    fast, rust based epub library for python. Contribute to arc53/fast-ebook development by creating an account on GitHub.

    Apr 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

  14. 14

    DEPCRECATED/UNMAINTAINED - A Python library to make debugging with print statements simpler and more effective. - alixander/PyScribe

    2015 · github.com · its alternatives →

  15. 15

    Your first Python programs make pictures on a canvas. Learn calls, values, variables, and a loop before adding one click handler.

    17d ago · scimigo.com · its alternatives →

  16. 16

    Throughout my career, while exploring different programming languages, I realized that having a quick reference was essential for refreshing my memory on the fly. So I developed a habit: for every new language I learned, I’d build a reference file (like python_reference.py) that documented everything from basic syntax to advanced features. Now, a decade later, these files have become my go-to resource. They’ve helped me study for interviews, revisit old projects after years, and now, in the AI era where generating code in unfamiliar languages is more common than ever, I think they’re more…

    2025 · referencecollection.com · its alternatives →

  17. 17

    Start coding today! Learn Python from the ground up with this easy-to-follow, hands-on guide.

    2012 · manning.com · its alternatives →

  18. 18SA
  19. 19

    an extensible multi-markup reader in less than 100 lines of python code - markup.py

    2020 · gist.github.com · its alternatives →

  20. 20

    Python stream processing for humans. Contribute to omegaml/minibatch development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2020 · github.com · its alternatives →

  21. 21PP
  22. 22AW

    Hey, I've made a pdf reader with ai assistance, you can quickly ask questions about the text and the images, and it will have context about all of your reading material so you can ask questions freely, try it now, I'm in open beta to find bug and get feedback. upcoming features: - Highlighting - Highlighting with Notes - Bibliography - Automatic Reference file opening - Improved UX and robustness currenlty alot of bugs so please let me know if you found any. feedback appreciated

    2025 · pdf-hub.com · its alternatives →

  23. 23

    Library to query python dicts. Contribute to cyberlis/dictquery development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2018 · github.com · its alternatives →

  24. 24AC

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