Python Tips and Tricks

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Today were going to talk about some tips and tricks that will make your coding experience a little less painful. Because let’s face it, sometimes programming can feel like pulling teeth without anesthesia.

First things first: comments. You might be thinking, “Who needs comments? I write clean code!” Well, my friend, you may want to reconsider that stance. Comments are not just for lazy programmers who don’t know how to write clear and concise code (although they can certainly help with that). They serve a crucial purpose in helping others understand what the ***** is going on in your code.

Let me give you an example:

# This function takes two lists as input, finds their intersection, and returns it
def find_intersection(list1, list2):
    # Create a set from each list to make finding the intersection easier
    set1 = set(list1) # creates a set from the first list
    set2 = set(list2) # creates a set from the second list
    
    # Find the intersection using the & operator (which is equivalent to set.intersection())
    result = set1 & set2 # finds the intersection of the two sets using the & operator
    
    return list(result) # converts the resulting set back into a list and returns it

Now, let’s say you’re working on a project with someone else and they come across this function in your codebase. They might not be familiar with the `set()` constructor or the `&` operator for finding intersections of sets. By adding comments to explain what each line does, you make it much easier for them (and future versions of yourself) to understand how the function works and why certain decisions were made.

Another tip: use whitespace liberally! This is not a novel, people. We’re writing code here, not prose. By breaking up your code into smaller chunks with plenty of white space, you make it much easier for others (and future versions of yourself) to read and understand what’s going on.

Here’s an example:

# This function takes a list as input and returns the length of that list
def get_list_length(my_list):
    # Initialize a variable called 'count' with a value of zero
    count = 0
    
    # Loop through each item in the list using a for loop
    for item in my_list:
        # If the current item is not equal to another specific item, increment the counter by one
        if item != 'banana':
            count += 1 # Increment the counter by one for each item in the list that is not equal to 'banana'
    
    return count # Return the final count, which represents the length of the list without 'banana' items

In this example, we’ve added whitespace around each line and after each colon. This makes it much easier for someone (or future versions of yourself) to understand what’s going on at a glance.

Finally, docstrings! Docstrings are essentially comments that go above your functions or classes. They serve as documentation for others who might be using your code in the future. Here’s an example:

# This function calculates the average of a list of numbers
def calculate_average(numbers):
    # The function takes in a list of numbers as a parameter
    # and returns the average of those numbers as a float value
    
    # Initialize a variable to store the sum of the numbers
    total = sum(numbers)
    # Initialize a variable to store the count of numbers in the list
    count = len(numbers)
    # Calculate the average by dividing the total by the count
    average = float(total) / count
    # Return the average
    return average

In this example, we’ve added a docstring that explains what the function does. This makes it much easier for someone (or future versions of yourself) to understand how the function works and why certain decisions were made.

Some tips and tricks for writing cleaner code with Python. Remember: comments, whitespace, and docstrings are your friends. Use them liberally and often. And if someone ever gives you a hard time about using too many comments or docstrings, just remind them that they’re not lazy programmers they’re thoughtful ones!

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