8 Handy Python Tricks for Better Code Readability and Efficiency

1. Use underscores to separate large numbers – Improves human readability of big integers. Example: num = 1000000000 Formatted versions:

num1 = 1_000_000_000  # Western style

num2 = 10_0000_0000  # Chinese style

Both print as 1000000000 1000000000.

2. Convert a list to an immutable "frozenset" – frozenset is hashable and cannot be modified, making it usable as a dictionary key.

f_set = frozenset([1, 2, 3, 4])
for n in f_set:
    print(n)

Output:

1
2
3
4

To convert back to a mutable list and add elements:

lst = list(f_set)
lst.append(5)
print(lst)

Result: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].

3. Swap dictionary keys and values – Use a dictionary comprehension.

dictionary = {"a": 1, "b": 2, "c": 3}
reversed_dictionary = {v: k for k, v in dictionary.items()}
print(reversed_dictionary)

Output: {1: 'a', 2: 'b', 3: 'c'}. Note that duplicate values keep the last key.

4. Generate a specific range of odd/even numbers – Use range with a step.

for n in range(10, 20, 2):
    print(n)

Output: 10 12 14 16 18.

5. Safely access a missing dictionary key – Prevent KeyError by using defaultdict or dict.get.

from collections import defaultdict
person_info = defaultdict(str)
person_info["name"] = "Maishu"
person_info["sex"] = "Male"
print(person_info["age"])  # Returns empty string instead of error

defaultdict

can be initialized with int, list, set, etc., to provide appropriate default values.

6. Locate the installation path of a Python module – Print the module object.

import requests
print(requests)

Typical output:

<module 'requests' from 'D:\\Python311\\Lib\\site-packages\\requests\\__init__.py'>

7. Extract all middle elements of a list – Use extended unpacking.

_, _, *elements, _, _ = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12]
print(elements)

Result: [3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10].

8. Assign multiple variables from a list (or tuple) – Direct unpacking.

my_variables = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
a, b, c, d, e = my_variables
print(a, b, c, d, e)
# Output: 1 2 3 4 5

The same works with tuples:

my_variables = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
print(type(my_variables))  # <class 'tuple'>
a, b, c, d, e = my_variables
print(a, b, c, d, e)

These eight concise tricks help Python developers write clearer, safer, and more efficient code.