Python Screencasts

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Screencast Topics

13 mins

Tuple Unpacking

It's tempting to reach for indexes when working with tuples, lists, and other sequences, but if we know the shape of the tuple we're working with, we can unpack it instead.

Tuple unpacking (aka "multiple assignment" or "iterable unpacking") is often underutilized by new Python programmers.

34 mins

Modules

Modules are the tool we use for breaking up our code into multiple files in Python. When you write a .py file, you're making a Python module. You can import your own modules, modules included in the Python standard library, or modules in third-party packages.

10 mins

Command-Line Programs

A .py file can be used as a module or as a "script" which is run from your operating system's command-line/terminal. Python is a great programming language for making command-line scripts.

16 mins

Comprehensions

In Python it's very common to build up new lists while looping over old lists. Partly this is because we don't mutate lists very often while looping over them.

Because we build up new lists from old ones so often, Python has a special syntax to help us with this very common operation: list comprehensions.

15 mins

Variable Scope

Python has 4 scopes: local, enclosing, global, and built-ins. Python's "global" variables are only global to the module they're in. The only truly universal variables are the built-ins.

19 mins

Generator Expressions

List comprehensions make new lists. Generator expressions make new generator objects. Generators are iterators, which are lazy single-use iterables. Unlike lists, generators aren't data structures. Instead they do work as you loop over them.

12 mins

Properties

We don't use getter and setter methods in Python. Instead we make properties.

Properties allow us to customize what happens when you access an attribute and what happens when you assign to an attribute.

16 mins

Generator Functions

Generator functions look like regular functions but they have one or more yield statements within them. Unlike regular functions, the code within a generator function isn't run when you call it! Calling a generator function returns a generator object, which is a lazy iterable.

11 mins

Installing Python Packages

Python's standard library includes a lot of helpful modules. But often Python code depends on third-party packages. What are the best practices when working with third party packages in Python?

10 mins

Inheritance

Classes can inherit functionality from other classes in Python. Class inheritance can be helpful, but it can also be very complex.

19 mins

Strings

Regardless of what you're doing in Python, you almost certainly use strings all the time. A string is usually the default tool we reach for when we don't have a more specific way to represent our data.

20 mins

Conditionals

Conditionals statements (if statements) are useful for making a branch in our Python code. If a particular condition is met, we run one block of code, and if not then we run another block.

13 mins

Context Managers

A context manager as an object that can be used with Python's with blocks. You can make your own context manager by implementing a __enter__ method and a __exit__ method.

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My name is Trey Hunner. I do corporate Python training for teams and I teach Python online through Python Morsels.

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