Effective Python

Each item in Slatkins Effective Python teaches a self-contained lesson with its own source code. This makes the book random-access: Items are easy to browse and study in whatever order the reader needs. I will be recommending Effective Python to students as an admirably compact source of mainstream advice on a very broad range of topics for the intermediate Python programmer.

Brandon Rhodes, software engineer at Dropbox and chair of PyCon 2016-2017

Its easy to start coding with Python, which is why the language is so popular. However, Pythons unique strengths, charms, and expressiveness can be hard to grasp, and there are hidden pitfalls that can easily trip you up.

Effective Python will help you master a truly Pythonic approach to programming, harnessing Pythons full power to write exceptionally robust and well-performing code. Using the concise, scenario-driven style pioneered in Scott Meyers best-selling Effective C++, Brett Slatkin brings together 59 Python best practices, tips, and shortcuts, and explains them with realistic code examples.

Drawing on years of experience building Python infrastructure at Google, Slatkin uncovers little-known quirks and idioms that powerfully impact code behavior and performance. Youll learn the best way to accomplish key tasks, so you can write code thats easier to understand, maintain, and improve.

Key features include

• Actionable guidelines for all major areas of Python 3.x and 2.x development, with detailed explanations and examples
• Best practices for writing functions that clarify intention, promote reuse, and avoid bugs
• Coverage of how to accurately express behaviors with classes and objects
• Guidance on how to avoid pitfalls with metaclasses and dynamic attributes
• More efficient approaches to concurrency and parallelism
• Better techniques and idioms for using Pythons built-in modules
• Tools and best practices for collaborative development
• Solutions for debugging, testing, and optimization in order to improve quality and performance