Book Image

Functional Python Programming, 3rd edition - Third Edition

By : Steven F. Lott
Book Image

Functional Python Programming, 3rd edition - Third Edition

By: Steven F. Lott

Overview of this book

Not enough developers understand the benefits of functional programming, or even what it is. Author Steven Lott demystifies the approach, teaching you how to improve the way you code in Python and make gains in memory use and performance. If you’re a leetcoder preparing for coding interviews, this book is for you. Starting from the fundamentals, this book shows you how to apply functional thinking and techniques in a range of scenarios, with Python 3.10+ examples focused on mathematical and statistical algorithms, data cleaning, and exploratory data analysis. You'll learn how to use generator expressions, list comprehensions, and decorators to your advantage. You don't have to abandon object-oriented design completely, though – you'll also see how Python's native object orientation is used in conjunction with functional programming techniques. By the end of this book, you'll be well-versed in the essential functional programming features of Python and understand why and when functional thinking helps. You'll also have all the tools you need to pursue any additional functional topics that are not part of the Python language.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
Preface
16
Other Books You Might Enjoy
17
Index

3.4 Using tuples and named tuples

Since Python tuples are immutable objects, they’re another excellent example of objects suitable for functional programming. A Python tuple has very few methods, so almost everything is done using prefix syntax. There are a number of use cases for tuples, particularly when working with list-of-tuple, tuple-of-tuple, and generator-of-tuple constructs.

The typing.NamedTuple class adds an essential feature to a tuple: names to use instead of cryptic index numbers. We can exploit named tuples to create objects that are accretions of data. This allows us to write pure functions based on stateless objects, yet keep data bound into tidy object-like packages. The collections.namedtuple() can also be used to define an immutable class of objects. This lacks a mechanism for providing type hints, making it less desirable than the typing.NamedTuple class.

The decision to use a tuple or typing.NamedTuple object is entirely a matter of convenience. As an example...