Python How To’s
A collection of small, useful, how to’s for Python.
How to Check if a List, Tuple or Dictionary is Empty in Python
The preferred way to check if any list, dictionary, set, string or tuple is empty in Python is to simply use an if statement to check it. For example, if we define a function as such: [python] def is_empty(any_structure): if any_structure: print(‘Structure is not empty.’) return False else: print(‘Structure is empty.’) return True [/python] It […]
Read MoreHow to Implement an ‘enum’ in Python
What is enum and why we need it? An enumerated type, a.k.a. enum, is a data type consisting of a set of named values called elements, members or enumerators of the type. These enumerated named values function as constants in the computing language. For example, a COLOR enum may include named values such as RED, […]
Read MoreHow to Get an Attribute from an Object in Python
Once we know how to check if an object has an attribute in Python, the next step is to get that attribute. In Python, besides the normal dot-style attribute access, there’s a built-in function, getattr, which is also very useful for accessing an attribute. Python’s Getattr The built-in function getattr(object, name[, default]) returns the value […]
Read MoreHow to Check if an Object has an Attribute in Python
Since everything in Python is an object and objects have attributes (fields and methods), it’s natural to write programs that can inspect what kind of attributes an object has. For example, a Python program could open a socket on the server and it accepts Python scripts sent over the network from a client machine. Upon […]
Read MoreHow to Get and Format the Current Time in Python
Time Review Time as we know is represented by several components, some of which are numerical such as seconds, minutes and hours while others are strings such as timezone, AM and PM. Python provides an arsenal of utilities when dealing with time objects and strings. Therefore, it is relatively easy to get and format the […]
Read MoreHow to Sort Python Dictionaries by Key or Value
Note: If you want to sort a list, tuple or object in Python, checkout this article: How to Sort a List or Tuple in Python The dict (dictionary) class object in Python is a very versatile and useful container type, able to store a collection of values and retrieve them via keys. The values can be objects of any type […]
Read MoreHow to Traverse a Directory Tree in Python – Guide to os.walk
When you use a scripting language like Python, one thing you will find yourself doing over and over again is walking a directory tree, and processing files. While there are many ways to do this, Python offers a built-in function that makes this process a breeze. What is the os.walk() Function? The walk function is […]
Read MoreHow to Create a Thread in Python
Introduction to Python threads What are threads? Simply put, try to imagine them as running several programs concurrently, in a single process. When you create one or more threads in your program, they get executed simultaneously, independent of each other, and most importantly, they can share information among them without any extra difficulty. These features […]
Read MoreHow to Create a Python Package
Using packages is an essential part of Python programming. If packages didn’t exist, programmers would need to spend a lot of time rewriting code that’s been written before. Picture a scenario where you have to write a parser every time you want to use one – it would waste a lot of time and effort, […]
Read MoreHow to Install Virtualenv (Python)
Note: Edited comments about the –no-site-packages argument now being default, thanks to @dideler on Twitter. Python is a very powerful scripting language. The language has lots of Python packages you can install and use in your projects. Sometimes, you may have different projects that need different versions of the same package/module. For example, let’s say […]
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