Hello, I am Paul Hallett 👋 ![[paul.jpg]] ## Software I’m a software developer. I write code. Almost entirely in [Python](https://www.python.org/). My favourite technology is probably [HTTP](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP). I like to explore how we use it with [Hypermedia](https://hypermedia.systems/), to build brilliant web services. I think it’s a technology we often forget about due to too many abstractions. There is a lot more we can do with it than we realise. When I build web applications I tend to use [Django](https://www.djangoproject.com/). Though I’ve also [Flask](https://flask.palletsprojects.com/en/3.0.x/) and [FastAPI](https://fastapi.tiangolo.com/) a fair bit too. I’ve been using [React](https://react.dev/), [TypeScript](https://www.typescriptlang.org/), and [HTMX](https://htmx.org/) a lot on the front end recently. My career has mostly focused on _internal customer tools_ - the “back office” functions that aren’t always seen by the average consumer. I’ve developed a knack for befriending and building trust with internal customers and teasing requirements out of them. I'm currently a Senior Software Engineer at [Kraken](https://kraken.tech), the technology behind [Octopus Energy](https://octopus.energy/). ### Projects My current project is [Clientele](https://github.com/phalt/clientele) - which is solving a bug bear I've had for years with OpenAPI Python clients. I intend for it to be the most lovable API Client experience available in the Python ecosystem. You can read about the latest changes here: [[Clientele 0.7.0 released]].  In 2014 I created [PokeAPI](https://pokeapi.co/) to demonstrate good HTTP API design. At the time, nothing like [OpenAPI](https://www.openapis.org/) existed. PokeAPI was supposed to be a "pure" HTTP API with hyperlinks to other resources. However, it got more popular due to the subject of it's data - Pokemon. It now has over 2.5 **billion** API calls a month. I'm not kidding. Over the years we've gained members and we have built it in a way so that we need less and less time to maintain it. ## Photography I also take photos. Specifically, I like to use old [analog](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympus_Pen_F) [film](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leica_M6) cameras. They offer an experience unlike anything we get with modern digital cameras. I love capturing a moment, and anticipating how it’ll look when I get it developed. Then I get to relive that whole experience a second time when the photos come back to me. I think this process creates better memories - I don't get distracted by the digital camera obsessing over the perfect shot, and what I get back has imperfections that make it unique and special. 👈 You can view some of my photos on this website. ## Nintendo 3DS & Pokémon I absolutely adore the Nintendo DS/3DS era of handheld consoles. I think it is probably the best handheld console of all time. That's a sentiment shared by a lot of people. I'm also a big fan of the Pokémon series. So much so that I [built an API for it that got popular](https://pokeapi.co). I currently own 5 different consoles from that era. They are all different models, different software, and even some modded ones. I'll document them on here sometime. There is a host of writing I have done my the journey I started in 2022 to relive the games. ## Writing As you see, I like to write a lot. I rarely publish what I write, though. I’ve [blogged](https://github.com/phalt/blog/tree/master/content/post) for years. Tearing down a site when I get bored, then starting up a new one later on. The same will probably happen to this content. Digital copy isn’t permanent. So I journal a lot in hand written books. I hope to one day read them back and reminisce. I've also been writing a novel on-and-off for about a decade now. It's a cyberpunk / solarpunk / modern space age kinda thing. Maybe one day I'll chuck up some of the content on here so people can read it. ## Contact You can get in contact with me through these various places: - [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/paulatreides.bsky.social) - [Email](mailto:[email protected]) - [GitHub](https://github.com/phalt)