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Mastering Python 2E

You're reading from   Mastering Python 2E Write powerful and efficient code using the full range of Python's capabilities

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Product type Paperback
Published in May 2022
Last Updated in May 2022
Publisher Packt
ISBN-13 9781800207721
Length 710 pages
Edition 2nd Edition
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Author (1):
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Rick Hattem Rick Hattem
Author Profile Icon Rick Hattem
Rick Hattem
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Table of Contents (21) Chapters Close

Preface 1. Getting Started – One Environment per Project 2. Interactive Python Interpreters FREE CHAPTER 3. Pythonic Syntax and Common Pitfalls 4. Pythonic Design Patterns 5. Functional Programming – Readability Versus Brevity 6. Decorators – Enabling Code Reuse by Decorating 7. Generators and Coroutines – Infinity, One Step at a Time 8. Metaclasses – Making Classes (Not Instances) Smarter 9. Documentation – How to Use Sphinx and reStructuredText 10. Testing and Logging – Preparing for Bugs 11. Debugging – Solving the Bugs 12. Performance – Tracking and Reducing Your Memory and CPU Usage 13. asyncio – Multithreading without Threads 14. Multiprocessing – When a Single CPU Core Is Not Enough 15. Scientific Python and Plotting 16. Artificial Intelligence 17. Extensions in C/C++, System Calls, and C/C++ Libraries 18. Packaging – Creating Your Own Libraries or Applications 19. Other Books You May Enjoy
20. Index

Summary

The Python metaclass system is something every Python programmer uses all the time, perhaps without even knowing about it. Every class is created through some (subclass of) type, which allows for endless customization and magic.

Instead of statically defining your class, you can now have it created as you normally would and dynamically add, modify, or remove attributes from your class during definition; very magical but very useful. The magic component, however, is also the reason why metaclasses should be used with a lot of caution. While they can be used to make your life much easier, they are also among the easiest ways of producing completely incomprehensible code.

Regardless, there are some great use cases for metaclasses, and many libraries such as SQLAlchemy and Django use metaclasses to make your code work much more easily and arguably better. Actually comprehending the magic that is used inside is generally not needed for the usage of these libraries, which...

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