How to Write Beautiful Python Code With PEP 8
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PEP 8, sometimes spelled PEP8 or PEP-8, is the official style guide for Python code. PEP 8 gives guidelines on naming conventions, code layout, and other best practices. Guido van Rossum, Barry Warsaw, and Alyssa Coghlan wrote it in 2001 with a focus on enhancing code readability and consistency. By adhering to PEP 8, you ensure that your Python code is readable and maintainable, which helps with collaboration and professional development.
By the end of this tutorial, you’ll understand that:
- PEP 8 is a guide for writing clean, readable, and consistent Python code.
- PEP 8 is still relevant in modern Python development.
- Following PEP 8 is recommended for all Python developers.
- Python uses snake case for variable names—lowercase words separated by underscores.
- Python function names should also use snake case.
- Class names in Python use camel case, with each word starting with a capital letter.
PEP stands for Python Enhancement Proposal, and there are many PEPs. These documents primarily describe new features proposed for the Python language, but some PEPs also focus on design and style and aim to serve as a resource for the community. PEP 8 is one of these style-focused PEPs.
In this tutorial, you’ll cover the key guidelines laid out in PEP 8 and explore beginner to intermediate programming topics. You can learn about more advanced topics by reading the full PEP 8 documentation.
Get Your Code Click here to download the free sample code that shows you how to write PEP 8 compliant code.
Take the Quiz: Test your knowledge with our interactive “How to Write Beautiful Python Code With PEP 8” quiz. You’ll receive a score upon completion to help you track your learning progress:
Interactive Quiz
How to Write Beautiful Python Code With PEP 8In this quiz, you'll test your understanding of PEP 8, the Python Enhancement Proposal that provides guidelines and best practices on how to write Python code. By working through this quiz, you'll revisit the key guidelines laid out in PEP 8 and how to set up your development environment to write PEP 8 compliant Python code.
Why We Need PEP 8
“Readability counts.”
— The Zen of Python
PEP 8 exists to improve the readability of Python code. But why is readability so important? Why is writing readable code one of the guiding principles of the Python language, according to the Zen of Python?
Note: You may encounter the term Pythonic when the Python community refers to code that follows the idiomatic writing style specific to Python. Pythonic code adheres to Python’s design principles and philosophy and emphasizes readability, simplicity, and clarity.
As Guido van Rossum said, “Code is read much more often than it’s written.” You may spend a few minutes, or a whole day, writing a piece of code to process user authentication. Once you’ve written it, you’re never going to write it again.
But you’ll definitely have to read it again. That piece of code might remain part of a project you’re working on. Every time you go back to that file, you’ll have to remember what that code does and why you wrote it, so readability matters.
It can be difficult to remember what a piece of code does a few days, or weeks, after you wrote it.
If you follow PEP 8, you can be sure that you’ve named your variables well. You’ll know that you’ve added enough whitespace so it’s easier to follow logical steps in your code. You’ll also have commented your code well. All of this will mean your code is more readable and easier to come back to. If you’re a beginner, following the rules of PEP 8 can make learning Python a much more pleasant task.
Note: Following PEP 8 is particularly important if you’re looking for a development job. Writing clear, readable code shows professionalism. It’ll tell an employer that you understand how to structure your code well.
If you have more experience writing Python code, then you may need to collaborate with others. Writing readable code here is crucial. Other people, who may have never met you or seen your coding style before, will have to read and understand your code. Having guidelines that you follow and recognize will make it easier for others to read your code.
Naming Conventions
“Explicit is better than implicit.”
— The Zen of Python
When you write Python code, you have to name a lot of things: variables, functions, classes, packages, and so on. Choosing sensible names will save you time and energy later. You’ll be able to figure out, from the name, what a certain variable, function, or class represents. You’ll also avoid using potentially confusing names that might result in errors that are difficult to debug.
One suggestion is to never use l, O, or I single letter names as these can be mistaken for 1 and 0, depending on what typeface a programmer uses.
For example, consider the code below, where you assign the value 2 to the single letter O:
O = 2 # ❌ Not recommended
Doing this may look like you’re trying to reassign 2 to zero. While making such a reassignment isn’t possible in Python and will cause a syntax error, using an ambigious variable name such as O can make your code more confusing and harder to read and reason about.
Naming Styles
Read the full article at https://realpython.com/python-pep8/ »
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January 12, 2025 at 07:30PM
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