I can’t really think of any reason why Python needs the del keyword (and most languages seem to not have a similar keyword). For instance, rather than deleting a variable, one could just assign None to it. And when deleting from a dictionary, a del method could be added. Is there a reason to keep … Read more
Why does the following behave unexpectedly in Python? >>> a = 256 >>> b = 256 >>> a is b True # This is an expected result >>> a = 257 >>> b = 257 >>> a is b False # What happened here? Why is this False? >>> 257 is 257 True # Yet … Read more
Dictionaries are insertion ordered as of Python 3.6. It is described as a CPython implementation detail rather than a language feature. The documentation states: dict() now uses a “compact” representation pioneered by PyPy. The memory usage of the new dict() is between 20% and 25% smaller compared to Python 3.5. PEP 468 (Preserving the order … Read more
What is the purpose of __slots__ in Python — especially with respect to when I would want to use it, and when not? 12 s 12 In Python, what is the purpose of __slots__ and what are the cases one should avoid this? TLDR: The special attribute __slots__ allows you to explicitly state which instance … Read more
I would like to understand how the built-in function property works. What confuses me is that property can also be used as a decorator, but it only takes arguments when used as a built-in function and not when used as a decorator. This example is from the documentation: class C: def __init__(self): self._x = None … Read more
I would like to understand how the built-in function property works. What confuses me is that property can also be used as a decorator, but it only takes arguments when used as a built-in function and not when used as a decorator. This example is from the documentation: class C: def __init__(self): self._x = None … Read more
It is my understanding that the range() function, which is actually an object type in Python 3, generates its contents on the fly, similar to a generator. This being the case, I would have expected the following line to take an inordinate amount of time because, in order to determine whether 1 quadrillion is in … Read more
