20 Python Tricks Every Pro Should Know to Write Smarter Code

1. Swapping Variables Without a Temporary Variable

Instead of using a temporary variable for swapping:

a, b = 5, 10 a, b = b, a print(a, b)

2. Using List Comprehensions for Cleaner Code

Replace verbose loops with a one-liner:

squares = [x**2 for x in range(5)] print(squares)

3. The zip() Function for Pairing Data

Easily combine two lists into pairs:

names = ["Alice", "Bob"]
ages = [25, 30]
combined = dict(zip(names, ages))
print(combined)

4. Using * to Unpack

You can unpack lists, tuples, or ranges with *:

numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
first, *middle, last = numbers
print(first, middle, last)

5. The Walrus Operator (:=)

Introduced in Python 3.8, it allows assignment within expressions:

if (n := len("Python")) > 5:
    print(f"String is long: {n}")

6. Dictionary Comprehensions

Quickly generate dictionaries:

squares = {x: x**2 for x in range(5)}
print(squares)

7. Merging Dictionaries