5 Best Practices for Writing Clean and Maintainable Python Code

Discover the power of Python, it allows you to write code quickly and efficiently, saving time and effort. Whether you are building a web application, developing artificial intelligence algorithms, or analyzing data to make informed decisions.

It is important to write and maintain code properly because clean, well-structured code is easier to understand, collaborate with, and maintain over time. Additionally, it makes it easier to detect and fix errors, improves code efficiency, enables better scalability, and encourages good programming practices, resulting in more robust software development.

1. Use Meaningful Variable and Function Names

Use descriptive names for variables, functions, and classes. This makes your code more readable and helps others understand its purpose. Avoid using single-letter variable names or cryptic abbreviations.

Before ❌

a = "John"
b = "Doe"
c = a + b
print(c)

After ✅

name = "John"
last_name = "Doe"
full_name = a + b
print(full_name)

2. Modular and Reusable Code

Break your code into smaller, modular functions and classes that perform a single, well-defined task. This makes your code easier to test, debug, and maintain. Avoid writing long, monolithic functions that do too many things at once.

# Long functions ❌
def calculation():
    # Complex data and boilerplate
    num1=2
    num2=1
    num1=3
    num2=4
    print(num1 + num2)
    print(num1 - num2)
    print(num1 / num2)
    print(num3 + num4)
    print(num3 - num4)
    print(num3 / num4)

# Modular functions to allow logic reuse ✅
def add(num1,num2):
    return num1 + num2

def substract(num1,num2):
    return num1 - num2

def divide(num1,num2):
    return num1 / num2

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3. Document Your Code

Use docstrings to document your functions, classes, and modules. Docstrings provide a way to describe what your code does and how to use it. This helps other developers understand your code without having to read through its implementation. Also, consider adding comments to explain complex or non-intuitive parts of your code.

def save_user(name: str,last_name: str):
    """
    This function saves and prints the user in the db        
    :param name: str
    :param last_name: str
    :return: None
    """
    # Join the user names to store in one DB column ✅
    full_name = name + last_name
    print(full_name)

4. Exception Handling

Use try-except blocks to handle exceptions and errors gracefully. This prevents your code from crashing and makes it more robust. Always try to anticipate potential errors and handle them appropriately in your code.

Use logs instead of prints
- Here you can use the logging module, which allows you to log the timestamps and line number at which the error occurred.

import logging // module

logging.info('Informative Message') // ℹ
logging.debug('Debugging') // ⚠
logging.critical("Critical Message") // !

5. Naming Conventions

The naming convention in Python is crucial since clear and descriptive names make it easier to understand the code. Good naming helps other developers quickly understand the purpose of variables, functions and classes. Additionally, following naming conventions like PEP 8 promotes consistency and readability in shared code.

*Type*	Convention
Module	snake_case
Class	PascalCase
Functions	snake_case
Methods	snake_case
Type variables	PascalCase
Constants	UPPERCASE
Package	snake_case

--------------- Constants -----------
colors = ["red","blue"] ❌
COLORS = ["red","blue"] ✅

--------------- Methods/Functions -----------
getUser(): ❌
get_user(): ✅

--------------- Class -----------
class translateService: ❌
class TranslateService:: ✅

Conclusion

In conclusion, adopting and maintaining good programming practices not, only improves the quality and efficiency of our code but also makes our lives as developers easier. By writing clean, readable, and well-structured code, we are not only doing our teammates and our future selves a favor, but we are also building a solid foundation for the growth and evolution of our projects.