Pythonic Programming
by Thomas Heinrichsdobler
1. Syntax
1.1. use parenthesis for long-line wrapping
1.2. use r"C:\temp.txt" for raw strings
1.2.1. Backslashes not interpreted as escapes
1.2.2. ideal for Windows file paths
1.3. use "".join(list) to join a list of strings
1.3.1. add spaces or commas as needed
1.3.1.1. " ".join(list)
1.3.1.2. ", ".join(list)
1.3.2. use generator functions
1.3.2.1. "".join(fn(i) for i in items)
1.4. use collections.defaultdict() to create dictionaries with default factory functions
1.5. use locals() for named string formatting
1.6. Use a list comprehension when a computed list is the desired end result.
1.6.1. [n ** 2 for n in range(10) if n % 2]
1.6.2. all values calculated at once
1.6.3. greedy evaluation
1.7. Use a generator expression when the computed list is just an intermediate step.
1.7.1. values calculated as needed
1.8. use lists instead of concatenating strings using the "+=" operator.
1.8.1. huge memory saver
1.8.2. huge speed improvement
1.8.3. can be joined before output