--- title: Taking Generators Too Far: Writing a PDF from Scratch in... description: PDFs are everywhere, but the file format itself feels like a black box. What better way to demystify it than to write a PDF writer from scratch? Here's the... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/taking-generators-too-far-writing-a-pdf-from-scratch-in-python---arie-bovenberg-puqisbk1v twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Taking Generators Too Far: Writing a PDF from Scratch in Python - Arie Bovenberg | daily.dev og:description: PDFs are everywhere, but the file format itself feels like a black box. What better way to demystify it than to write a PDF writer from scratch? Here's the... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/taking-generators-too-far-writing-a-pdf-from-scratch-in-python---arie-bovenberg-puqisbk1v og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/pUQiSbk1V.png og:image:alt: Taking Generators Too Far: Writing a PDF from Scratch in Python - Arie Bovenberg og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Taking Generators Too Far: Writing a PDF from Scratch in Python - Arie Bovenberg **[PyCon US](https://daily.dev/sources/pyconus)** · 26 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary PDFs are everywhere, but the file format itself feels like a black box. What better way to demystify it than to write a PDF writer from scratch? Here's the twist: we'll use generators all the way down—streaming every byte without ever assembling the full document in memory. At first, this seems like a natural fit. But PDFs fight back: forward references, cross-reference tables, and content lengths that need to be known before the content exists. Each of these challenges forces us to discover a new way to keep things streaming. This talk walks through the problem-solving journey step by step. You'll pick up practical techniques—composing generators, managing dependencies in streaming pipelines, and knowing when "too far" is actually just far enough—all while building something real. You'll also walk away with a surprising appreciation for what's inside every PDF you've ever opened. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Governing Security in the Age of Infinite Signal](https://daily.dev/posts/governing-security-in-the-age-of-infinite-signal-qhihbir44) · Snyk · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [No one has a good plan for how AI companies should work with the government](https://daily.dev/posts/no-one-has-a-good-plan-for-how-ai-companies-should-work-with-the-government-nkajqoze1) · TechCrunch · 0 upvotes · 1 comments --- [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/taking-generators-too-far-writing-a-pdf-from-scratch-in-python---arie-bovenberg-puqisbk1v) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Taking Generators Too Far: Writing a PDF from Scratch in Python - Arie Bovenberg","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/taking-generators-too-far-writing-a-pdf-from-scratch-in-python---arie-bovenberg-puqisbk1v","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/taking-generators-too-far-writing-a-pdf-from-scratch-in-python---arie-bovenberg-puqisbk1v"},"datePublished":"2026-09-23T16:06:41.162Z","dateModified":"2026-09-23T17:53:51.733Z","description":"PDFs are everywhere, but the file format itself feels like a black box. What better way to demystify it than to write a PDF writer from scratch?\n\nHere's the...","image":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/AeZWJuq9G4k/sddefault.jpg","thumbnailUrl":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/AeZWJuq9G4k/sddefault.jpg","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"PyCon US","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"PyCon US","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--DLedNxG1--/f_auto,q_auto/v1777800767/logos/pyconus?_a=BAMAMiWQ0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/pyconus"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/taking-generators-too-far-writing-a-pdf-from-scratch-in-python---arie-bovenberg-puqisbk1v","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"","timeRequired":"PT26M","video":{"@type":"VideoObject","name":"Taking Generators Too Far: Writing a PDF from Scratch in Python - Arie Bovenberg","description":"PDFs are everywhere, but the file format itself feels like a black box. What better way to demystify it than to write a PDF writer from scratch?\n\nHere's the...","thumbnailUrl":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/AeZWJuq9G4k/sddefault.jpg","uploadDate":"2026-09-23T16:06:41.162Z","duration":"PT26M","url":"https://api.daily.dev/r/pUQiSbk1V","embedUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/embed/AeZWJuq9G4k"}} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"PyCon US","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/pyconus"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Taking Generators Too Far: Writing a PDF from Scratch in Python - Arie Bovenberg"}]} ```