Measure Time in Python – time.time() vs time.clock()

A prerequisite before we dive into the difference of measuring time in Python is to understand various types of time in the computing world. The first type of time is called CPU or execution time, which measures how much time a CPU spent on executing a program. The second type of time is called wall-clock […]

Select a random item from a list/tuple/data stucture in Python

One of the most common tasks that requires random action is selecting one item from a group, be it a character from a string, unicode, or buffer, a byte from a bytearray, or an item from a list, tuple, set, or xrange. It’s also common to want a sample of more than one item. Don’t […]

How to Check if a File Exists in a Directory with Python

With Python there are several methods which can be used to check if a file exists, in a certain directory. When checking if a file exists, often it is performed right before accessing (reading and/or writing) a file. Below we will go through each method of checking if a file exists (and whether it is […]

Introduction to Python Classes (Part 1 of 2)

Classes are a way of grouping related bits of information together into a single unit (also known as an object), along with functions that can be called to manipulate that object (also known as methods). For example, if you want to track information about a person, you might want to record their name, address and […]

The Odds & Ends of Python Regular Expressions

In the first two parts of this series, we looked at some fairly advanced usage of regular expressions. In this part, we take a step back and look at some of the other functions Python offers in the re module, then we talk about some common mistakes people regularly (ha!) make. Useful Python Regular Expression […]

Fun With Python Function Parameters

Virtually every programming language has functions and procedures, a way of separating out a block of code that can be called many times from different places in your program, and a way to pass parameters into them. Python is no different, so we’ll quickly run over the standard stuff that most languages have, then take […]

Python Tips and Tricks