Display content in two-column layout in PyLaTeX?

Question

How to use \usepackage{multicol} in PyLaTex? What to write in python?

\begin{multicols}{2}
Column 1
\columnbreak
Column 2
\end{multicols}

I have found a way to display content in two-columns using PyLaTex, but I am unsure if it is the best programmatic way to do it.

What is the best PyLaTex way for displaying content in two-column?

The PyLaTeX code is as follows:

from pylatex import Document, Section, Subsection, Command
from pylatex.utils import italic, NoEscape
from pylatex.package import Package
from pylatex import PageStyle, Head, MiniPage, Foot, LargeText, \
        MediumText, LineBreak, simple_page_number
from pylatex.utils import bold


lorem = '''
Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere
cubilia Curae; Phasellus facilisis tortor vel imperdiet vestibulum. Vivamus et
mollis risus. Proin ut enim eu leo volutpat tristique. Vivamus quam enim,
efficitur quis turpis ac, condimentum tincidunt tellus. Praesent non tellus in
quam tempor dignissim. Sed feugiat ante id mauris vehicula, quis elementum nunc
molestie. Pellentesque a vulputate nisi, ut vulputate ex. Morbi erat eros,
aliquam in justo sed, placerat tempor mauris. In vitae velit eu lorem dapibus
consequat. Integer posuere ornare laoreet.

Donec pellentesque libero id tempor aliquam. Maecenas a diam at metus varius
rutrum vel in nisl. Maecenas a est lorem. Vivamus tristique nec eros ac
hendrerit. Vivamus imperdiet justo id lobortis luctus. Sed facilisis ipsum ut
tellus pellentesque tincidunt. Mauris libero lectus, maximus at mattis ut,
venenatis eget diam. Fusce in leo at erat varius laoreet. Mauris non ipsum
pretium, convallis purus vel, pulvinar leo. Aliquam lacinia lorem dapibus
tortor imperdiet, quis consequat diam mollis.

Praesent accumsan ultrices diam a eleifend. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in
faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Suspendisse accumsan
orci ut sodales ullamcorper. Integer bibendum elementum convallis. Praesent
accumsan at leo eget ullamcorper. Maecenas eget tempor enim. Quisque et nisl
eros.

'''


if __name__ == '__main__':
    geometry_options = {"top":"3.5cm","bottom":"3.5cm", "left":"3.7cm",\
            "right":"4.7cm", "columnsep":"30pt"}
    doc = Document('test', geometry_options=geometry_options)

    doc.preamble.append(Command('usepackage', 'multicol'))

    doc.append(NoEscape(r'\begin{multicols}{2}'))
    doc.append(NoEscape(lorem))
    doc.append(NoEscape(r'\end{multicols}'))
    doc.generate_pdf(clean_tex=False)
    doc.generate_tex()

    tex = doc.dumps()

Pdf output of my code:

Answer 1

You could define a new environment with Environment.

from pylatex import UnsafeCommand
from pylatex.base_classes import Environment
from pylatex.utils import NoEscape

class MultiColumnEnvironment(Environment):

    _latex_name = 'MultiColumn'
    packages = [Package('multicol')]

def main():
    geometry_options = {"top":"3.5cm","bottom":"3.5cm", "left":"3.7cm",\
        "right":"4.7cm", "columnsep":"30pt"}
    doc = Document('test', geometry_options=geometry_options)

    ...

    new_env = UnsafeCommand('newenvironment', 'MultiColumn',
                            extra_arguments=[r'\begin{multicols}{2}', r'\end{multicols}'])
    doc.append(new_env)

    with doc.create(MultiColumnEnvironment()) as environment:
        environment.append(NoEscape(lorem))


if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()