title: Writing Python Functions That Don't Suck date: 2015-08-27 18:36 categories: python function iyp
Functions are one of the fundamental building blocks of most programming languages. They are the simplest form of abstraction, the concept upon which modern programming is built.
So you better know how to write them well.
What differentiates a "good" Python function from a crappy one? You'd be surprised at how many definitions of "good" one can use. For our purposes, I'll consider a Python function "good" if it can tick off the items on this checklist:
- Has a single responsibility
- Sensibly named
- Includes a docstring
- Returns a value
- Is idempotent
- Is no longer than 50 lines
For many of you, this list may seem overly draconian. I promise you, though, if your functions follow these rules, your code will be so beautiful it will make unicorns weep.
Below, I'll devote a section to each of the items, then wrap things up with how they work in harmony to create "good" functions.
A function should do one, and only one, thing. Calculate