Starting up a series of Python language

Posted on Thu 30 July 2020 in Programming • 2 min read •

Python is an example of language design done well. The language is equally suited for learning as the first computer language (for kids) and running enterprise-level code (as done in many startups and established companies) at the same time. However, this incredible approachability of the language leads to very low quality of code (due non-pythonic way of writing code) and many misinterpretations about it. This series about generic python show use-cases and examples of pythonic code, which are clear and effective.

Let us start with Zen of Python by Tim Peters, which can be accessed by code import this in python interpreter. The principles are:

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Beautiful is better than ugly.
Explicit is better than implicit.
Simple is better than complex.
Complex is better than complicated.
Flat is better than nested.
Sparse is better than dense.
Readability counts.
Special cases aren't special enough to break the rules.
Although practicality beats purity.
Errors should never pass silently.
Unless explicitly silenced.
In the face of ambiguity, refuse the temptation to guess.
There should be one-- and preferably only one --obvious way to do it.
Although that way may not be obvious at first unless you're Dutch.
Now is better than never.
Although never is often better than *right* now.
If the implementation is hard to explain, it's a bad idea.
If the implementation is easy to explain, it may be a good idea.
Namespaces are one honking great idea -- let's do more of those!

We will use these principles as general guidance in this series.