How Do You Choose Python Function Names? :

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July 10, 2024
How Do You Choose Python Function Names?
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One of the hardest decisions in programming is choosing names. Programmers often use this phrase to highight the challenges of selecting Python function names. It may be an exaggeration, but there’s still a lot of truth in it.

There are some hard rules you can’t break when naming Python functions and other objects. There are also other conventions and best practices that don’t raise errors when you break them, but they’re still important when writing Pythonic code.

Choosing the ideal Python function names makes your code more readable and easier to maintain. Code with well-chosen names can also be less prone to bugs.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn about the rules and conventions for naming Python functions and why they’re important. So, how do you choose Python function names?

In Short: Use Descriptive Python Function Names Using snake_case

In Python, the labels you use to refer to objects are called identifiers or names. You set a name for a Python function when you use the def keyword.

When creating Python names, you can use uppercase and lowercase letters, the digits 0 to 9, and the underscore (_). However, you can’t use digits as the first character. You can use some other Unicode characters in Python identifiers, but not all Unicode characters are valid. Not even 🐍 is valid!

Still, it’s preferable to use only the Latin characters present in ASCII. The Latin characters are easier to type and more universally found on most keyboards. Using other characters rarely improves readability and can be a source of bugs.

Here are some syntactically valid and invalid names for Python functions and other objects:

Name Validity Notes
number Valid
first_name Valid
first name Invalid No whitespace allowed
first_10_numbers Valid
10_numbers Invalid No digits allowed at the start of names
_name Valid
greeting! Invalid No ASCII punctuation allowed except for the underscore (_)
café Valid Not recommended
你好 Valid Not recommended
hello⁀world Valid Not recommended—connector punctuation characters and other marks are valid characters

However, Python has conventions about naming functions that go beyond these rules. One of the core Python Enhancement Proposals, PEP 8, defines Python’s style guide, which includes naming conventions.

According to PEP 8 style guidelines, Python functions should be named using lowercase letters and with an underscore separating words. This style is often referred to as snake case. For example, get_text() is a better function name than getText() in Python.

Function names should also describe the actions being performed by the function clearly and concisely whenever possible. For example, for a function that calculates the total value of an online order, calculate_total() is a better name than total().

You’ll explore these conventions and best practices in more detail in the following sections of this tutorial.

What Case Should You Use for Python Function Names?

Several character cases, like snake case and camel case, are used in programming for identifiers to name the various entities. Programming languages have their own preferences, so the right style for one language may not be suitable for another.

Python functions are generally written in snake case. When you use this format, all the letters are lowercase, including the first letter, and you use an underscore to separate words. You don’t need to use an underscore if the function name includes only one word. The following function names are examples of snake case:

  • find_winner()
  • save()

Both function names include lowercase letters, and one of them has two English words separated by an underscore. You can also use the underscore at the beginning or end of a function name. However, there are conventions outlining when you should use the underscore in this way.

You can use a single leading underscore, such as with _find_winner(), to indicate that a function is meant only for internal use. An object with a leading single underscore in its name can be used internally within a module or a class. While Python doesn’t enforce private variables or functions, a leading underscore is an accepted convention to show the programmer’s intent.

A single trailing underscore is used by convention when you want to avoid a conflict with existing Python names or keywords. For example, you can’t use the name import for a function since import is a keyword. You can’t use keywords as names for functions or other objects. You can choose a different name, but you can also add a trailing underscore to create import_(), which is a valid name.

You can also use a single trailing underscore if you wish to reuse the name of a built-in function or other object. For example, if you want to define a function that you’d like to call max, you can name your function max_() to avoid conflict with the built-in function max().

Unlike the case with the keyword import, max() is not a keyword but a built-in function. Therefore, you could define your function using the same name, max(), but it’s generally preferable to avoid this approach to prevent confusion and ensure you can still use the built-in function.

Double leading underscores are also used for attributes in classes. This notation invokes name mangling, which makes it harder for a user to access the attribute and prevents subclasses from accessing them. You’ll read more about name mangling and attributes with double leading underscores later.

Read the full article at https://realpython.com/python-function-names/ »

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July 10, 2024 at 07:30PM
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