What is Pythonic code?

2 days ago

Pythonic code refers to code that follows the idioms, conventions, and best practices of the Python programming language. It is code that is readable, concise, and efficient, leveraging Python’s built-in features and structures in an optimal way.

Characteristics of Pythonic Code

Readability – Code should be clear and easy to understand.
Conciseness – Avoid unnecessary complexity.
Utilization of Built-in Functions – Use Python’s standard library effectively.
Use of Python-Specific Constructs – List comprehensions, generators, and unpacking.
Following PEP 8 Guidelines – Python Enhancement Proposal (PEP 8) sets coding style guidelines.

Examples of Pythonic vs Non-Pythonic Code

Looping Over a List

🔴 Non-Pythonic (C-style loop):

my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] for i in range(len(my_list)): print(my_list[i])

✅ Pythonic (Direct Iteration):

for num in my_list: print(num)

Using List Comprehensions

🔴 Non-Pythonic (Using a loop to create a list):

squared_numbers = [] for num in range(10): squared_numbers.append(num ** 2)

✅ Pythonic (Using List Comprehension):

squared_numbers = [num ** 2 for num in range(10)]

Pythonic Code in Data Processing

Python is widely used in data science, machine learning, and big data processing. Writing Pythonic code helps in efficient handling of large datasets.

Reading a CSV File Efficiently

🔴 Non-Pythonic (Manual Iteration with open() and split())

data = [] with open(“data.csv”, “r”) as file: for line in file: data.append(line.strip().split(“,”))

✅ Pythonic (Using Pandas Library)

import pandas as pd df = pd.read_csv(“data.csv”)

Why Pythonic?

Uses a built-in library optimized for data handling.
More readable and requires fewer lines of code.

Using Generators for Efficient Data Processing

🔴 Non-Pythonic (Using Lists for Large Data Processing)

def squares(n): result = [] for i in range(n): result.append(i ** 2) return result squared_values = squares(1000000) # Consumes a lot of memory

✅ Pythonic (Using Generators)

def squares(n): for i in range(n): yield i ** 2 # Generates values one at a time squared_values = squares(1000000) # Saves memory

Why Pythonic?

Saves memory by generating data on demand.
More efficient for large datasets.

Data Filtering Using filter()

🔴 Non-Pythonic (Using a loop to filter data)

numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10] even_numbers = [] for num in numbers: if num % 2 == 0: even_numbers.append(num)

✅ Pythonic (Using filter())

even_numbers = list(filter(lambda x: x % 2 == 0, numbers))

Why Pythonic?

Uses a built-in function for better efficiency.
Reduces lines of code.

Writing Pythonic Code

Use built-in functions and libraries (e.g., sum(), map(), filter()).
Leverage list comprehensions instead of manual loops.
Use generators for memory efficiency in large-scale data processing.
Follow PEP 8 guidelines for readability.
Utilize context managers (e.g., with open() instead of open() and close()).

Concept	Non-Pythonic	Pythonic
Looping	`for i in range(len(list))`	`for item in list`
List Creation	Using loops to append	List comprehension
Dictionary Creation	Using loops to add key-values	Dictionary comprehension
Multiple Iterables	Using `range(len())`	Using `zip()`
Indexing	Using `range(len())`	Using `enumerate()`
String Formatting	String concatenation	Using f-strings
File Handling	Using `open()` and `close()`	Using `with open()`
Filtering	Using loops to filter	Using `filter()`
Duplicates Removal	Using loops to check	Using `set()`

By writing Pythonic code, you can make your programs more readable, efficient, and maintainable, especially when dealing with large-scale data.

What is Pythonic code?

Characteristics of Pythonic Code

Examples of Pythonic vs Non-Pythonic Code

Looping Over a List

Using List Comprehensions

Pythonic Code in Data Processing

Reading a CSV File Efficiently

Using Generators for Efficient Data Processing

Data Filtering Using filter()

Writing Pythonic Code

You might also find the following intriguing: