models.py

from app.extensions import db

class Article(db.Model):
    """ database representation of an article """
    id = db.Column(db.Integer, primary_key=True)
    title = db.Column(db.String(128))
    subtitle = db.Column(db.String(512))
    body = db.Column(db.Text())
    votes = db.Column(db.Integer, default=1)
    views = db.Column(db.Integer, default=1)
    timestamp = db.Column(db.DateTime, default=datetime.utcnow)

    def popularity(self, gravity=1.8):
        """ uses hacker news popularity rating """
        submit_delta = (self.timestamp - datetime.utcnow()).total_seconds()
        time_decay = submit_delta / 120
        popularity = (self.views - 1) / (time_decay + 2) ** gravity
        return popularity

views.py

from flask import render_template

from app.articles.models import Article
from app.articles import bp

@bp.route('/')
def front_page():
    """ sort the articles by popularity and put them on page """
    sorted_articles = Article.query.order_by(popularity()).all()
    return render_template('/articles/front_page.html')