Programming Style

• Like in any language, style and form makes a BIG difference. One could say that it doesn’t matter once it works, however, that is a very narrow way to understand human expression…

• Sometimes there are multiple ways to write code that works, but many of them are not be hospitable. As an example:

prime_numbers = [x for x in range(2, 101) if all(x % y != 0 for y in range(2, int(x**0.5) + 1))

This is very concise, however, it is not readable. It is a monster of an expression!

What would happen if we just rewrite it like this?

def is_prime(n):
    if n <= 1:
        return False
    for i in range(2, int(n**0.5) + 1):
        if n % i == 0:
            return False
    return True

prime_numbers = [x for x in range(2, 101) if is_prime(x)]

It is more code, however, it is much more readable… (Don’t care about not understanding all the syntax now, we’ll see that later).

• Some programming style tips:
  • Lack of comments is a problem. But too much commenting is also a problem.
  • Bad naming of variables and functions: for example, abstract names as “variable1”, or names that don’t reflect exactly what is their purpose.
  • Spacing usually doesn’t matter for the working of code, but it can be a problem for reading.
  • Follow community standards. Read other people’s code and learn. Develop a common understanding.
    • Isn’t it good to find yourself in known territory, with same languages, habits, food?
    • An interesting question: could there be some “strange” habits in Python programming for people with cultural backgrounds different from American, white and men?

Python has a nice style guide available. It is good to consult it once in a while.