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About this skill
This skill provides guidance on modern Python programming patterns and best practices, including type hints, async programming, and Pythonic idioms. It helps developers write more maintainable and efficient Python code by demonstrating proper use of typing, dataclasses, decorators, and other language features. Use this skill when working with Python codebases that require improved code quality, type safety, or adherence to contemporary development standards.
SKILL.md
Python
Overview
Modern Python development patterns including type hints, async programming, and Pythonic idioms.
Type Hints
Basic Types
from typing import (
Optional, Union, List, Dict, Set, Tuple,
TypeVar, Generic, Callable, Any,
Literal, TypedDict, Protocol
)
from dataclasses import dataclass
from datetime import datetime
# Basic type hints
def greet(name: str) -> str:
return f"Hello, {name}!"
# Optional (can be None)
def find_user(user_id: str) -> Optional['User']:
return users.get(user_id)
# Union types
def process(value: Union[str, int]) -> str:
return str(value)
# Python 3.10+ union syntax
def process_new(value: str | int | None) -> str:
return str(value) if value else ""
# Collections
def process_items(
items: List[str],
mapping: Dict[str, int],
unique: Set[str],
pair: Tuple[str, int]
) -> None:
pass
# Python 3.9+ built-in generics
def process_items_new(
items: list[str],
mapping: dict[str, int],
unique: set[str]
) -> None:
passAdvanced Types
# TypeVar for generics
T = TypeVar('T')
K = TypeVar('K')
V = TypeVar('V')
def first(items: list[T]) -> T | None:
return items[0] if items else None
# Generic classes
class Repository(Generic[T]):
def __init__(self) -> None:
self._items: dict[str, T] = {}
def get(self, id: str) -> T | None:
return self._items.get(id)
def save(self, id: str, item: T) -> None:
self._items[id] = item
# TypedDict for structured dicts
class UserDict(TypedDict):
id: str
name: str
email: str
age: int # Required
nickname: str # Required
class PartialUserDict(TypedDict, total=False):
nickname: str # Optional
# Literal types
Mode = Literal["read", "write", "append"]
def open_file(path: str, mode: Mode) -> None:
pass
# Protocol (structural typing)
class Readable(Protocol):
def read(self) -> str: ...
def process_readable(source: Readable) -> str:
return source.read()
# Callable types
Handler = Callable[[str, int], bool]
AsyncHandler = Callable[[str], 'Awaitable[bool]']
def register_handler(handler: Handler) -> None:
passDataclasses
from dataclasses import dataclass, field, asdict, astuple
from typing import ClassVar
from datetime import datetime
@dataclass
class User:
id: str
email: str
name: str
created_at: datetime = field(default_factory=datetime.now)
tags: list[str] = field(default_factory=list)
_cache: dict = field(default_factory=dict, repr=False, compare=False)
# Class variable (not instance field)
MAX_TAGS: ClassVar[int] = 10
def __post_init__(self):
# Validation after init
if len(self.tags) > self.MAX_TAGS:
raise ValueError(f"Too many tags (max {self.MAX_TAGS})")
# Frozen (immutable)
@dataclass(frozen=True)
class Point:
x: float
y: float
def distance_from_origin(self) -> float:
return (self.x ** 2 + self.y ** 2) ** 0.5
# Slots for memory efficiency
@dataclass(slots=True)
class LightweightUser:
id: str
name: str
# Convert to dict/tuple
user = User(id="1", email="test@example.com", name="Test")
user_dict = asdict(user)
user_tuple = astuple(user)Decorators
from functools import wraps
from typing import TypeVar, Callable, ParamSpec
import time
P = ParamSpec('P')
R = TypeVar('R')
# Basic decorator
def timer(func: Callable[P, R]) -> Callable[P, R]:
@wraps(func)
def wrapper(*args: P.args, **kwargs: P.kwargs) -> R:
start = time.perf_counter()
result = func(*args, **kwargs)
elapsed = time.perf_counter() - start
print(f"{func.__name__} took {elapsed:.4f}s")
return result
return wrapper
# Decorator with arguments
def retry(max_attempts: int = 3, delay: float = 1.0):
def decorator(func: Callable[P, R]) -> Callable[P, R]:
@wraps(func)
def wrapper(*args: P.args, **kwargs: P.kwargs) -> R:
last_exception: Exception | None = None
for attempt in range(max_attempts):
try:
return func(*args, **kwargs)
except Exception as e:
last_exception = e
if attempt < max_attempts - 1:
time.sleep(delay)
raise last_exception
return wrapper
return decorator
# Class decorator
def singleton(cls):
instances = {}
@wraps(cls)
def get_instance(*args, **kwargs):
if cls not in instances:
instances[cls] = cls(*args, **kwargs)
return instances[cls]
return get_instance
# Usage
@timer
@retry(max_attempts=3, delay=0.5)
def fetch_data(url: str) -> dict:
# ... fetch logic
pass
@singleton
class Database:
def __init__(self, connection_string: str):
self.connection_string = connection_stringAsync Programming
import asyncio
from typing import AsyncIterator
import aiohttp
# Async function
async def fetch_url(url: str) -> str:
async with aiohttp.ClientSession() as session:
async with session.get(url) as response:
return await response.text()
# Parallel execution
async def fetch_all(urls: list[str]) -> list[str]:
tasks = [fetch_url(url) for url in urls]
return await asyncio.gather(*tasks)
# With error handling
async def fetch_all_safe(urls: list[str]) -> list[str | None]:
tasks = [fetch_url(url) for url in urls]
results = await asyncio.gather(*tasks, return_exceptions=True)
return [r if isinstance(r, str) else None for r in results]
# Async context manager
class AsyncDatabase:
async def __aenter__(self) -> 'AsyncDatabase':
await self.connect()
return self
async def __aexit__(self, exc_type, exc_val, exc_tb) -> None:
await self.disconnect()
async def connect(self) -> None:
print("Connecting...")
async def disconnect(self) -> None:
print("Disconnecting...")
# Async generator
async def paginate(
fetch_page: Callable[[int], 'Awaitable[list[T]]']
) -> AsyncIterator[T]:
page = 1
while True:
items = await fetch_page(page)
if not items:
break
for item in items:
yield item
page += 1
# Using async for
async def process_all_items():
async for item in paginate(fetch_page):
await process_item(item)
# Semaphore for rate limiting
async def fetch_with_limit(urls: list[str], max_concurrent: int = 10):
semaphore = asyncio.Semaphore(max_concurrent)
async def fetch_limited(url: str) -> str:
async with semaphore:
return await fetch_url(url)
return await asyncio.gather(*[fetch_limited(url) for url in urls])Context Managers
from contextlib import contextmanager, asynccontextmanager
from typing import Generator, AsyncGenerator
# Class-based context manager
class Timer:
def __init__(self, name: str):
self.name = name
self.start: float = 0
self.elapsed: float = 0
def __enter__(self) -> 'Timer':
self.start = time.perf_counter()
return self
def __exit__(self, exc_type, exc_val, exc_tb) -> None:
self.elapsed = time.perf_counter() - self.start
print(f"{self.name}: {self.elapsed:.4f}s")
# Generator-based context manager
@contextmanager
def timer(name: str) -> Generator[None, None, None]:
start = time.perf_counter()
try:
yield
finally:
elapsed = time.perf_counter() - start
print(f"{name}: {elapsed:.4f}s")
# Async context manager
@asynccontextmanager
async def async_timer(name: str) -> AsyncGenerator[None, None]:
start = time.perf_counter()
try:
yield
finally:
elapsed = time.perf_counter() - start
print(f"{name}: {elapsed:.4f}s")
# Usage
with timer("operation"):
do_something()
async with async_timer("async_operation"):
await do_something_async()Itertools and Generators
from itertools import (
chain, islice, groupby, takewhile, dropwhile,
combinations, permutations, product, accumulate
)
from typing import Iterator, Iterable
# Generator function
def fibonacci() -> Iterator[int]:
a, b = 0, 1
while True:
yield a
a, b = b, a + b
# Take first n
first_10_fib = list(islice(fibonacci(), 10))
# Generator expression
squares = (x ** 2 for x in range(10))
# Chain multiple iterables
all_items = chain(list1, list2, list3)
# Group by
data = [
{"type": "a", "value": 1},
{"type": "a", "value": 2},
{"type": "b", "value": 3},
]
for key, group in groupby(sorted(data, key=lambda x: x["type"]), key=lambda x: x["type"]):
print(f"{key}: {list(group)}")
# Batching
def batch(iterable: Iterable[T], size: int) -> Iterator[list[T]]:
iterator = iter(iterable)
while batch := list(islice(iterator, size)):
yield batch
# Sliding window
def sliding_window(iterable: Iterable[T], size: int) -> Iterator[tuple[T, ...]]:
from collections import deque
iterator = iter(iterable)
window = deque(islice(iterator, size), maxlen=size)
if len(window) == size:
yield tuple(window)
for item in iterator:
window.append(item)
yield tuple(window)Error Handling
from typing import TypeVar, Generic
from dataclasses import dataclass
T = TypeVar('T')
E = TypeVar('E', bound=Exception)
# Custom exceptions
class AppError(Exception):
def __init__(self, message: str, code: str):
super().__init__(message)
self.code = code
class ValidationError(AppError):
def __init__(self, message: str, fields: dict[str, list[str]]):
super().__init__(message, "VALIDATION_ERROR")
self.fields = fields
# Result type pattern
@dataclass
class Ok(Generic[T]):
value: T
def is_ok(self) -> bool:
return True
def is_err(self) -> bool:
return False
@dataclass
class Err(Generic[E]):
error: E
def is_ok(self) -> bool:
return False
def is_err(self) -> bool:
return True
Result = Ok[T] | Err[E]
def parse_int(s: str) -> Result[int, ValueError]:
try:
return Ok(int(s))
except ValueError as e:
return Err(e)
# Exception chaining
try:
process_data()
except ValueError as e:
raise AppError("Failed to process data", "PROCESS_ERROR") from eRelated Skills
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