The Art of Clean Code

Making Your Code Shine

You can write code that works, but is it Professional? In Python, we have an official style guide called PEP 8. Following these rules makes your code easier for others to read and easier for you to maintain.

Key PEP 8 Rules

1. Naming Conventions

• Variables & Functions: Use snake_case (lowercase with underscores).
• Classes: Use PascalCase (Capitalize every word).
• Constants: Use UPPERCASE_WITH_UNDERSCORES.

2. Indentation & Spacing

• Always use 4 spaces for indentation.
• Surround top-level functions and classes with two blank lines.
• Use one blank line between methods inside a class.

3. Maximum Line Length

Limit all lines to a maximum of 79 characters. This ensures code can be read easily on small screens or in side-by-side windows.

The Zen of Python

Python has a set of guiding principles. You can see them by running import this in any Python terminal.

“Simple is better than complex.” “Readability counts.” “Beautiful is better than ugly.”

Professional Tooling

Pro developers don’t memorize every rule; they use tools called Linters (like flake8 or pylint) and Formatters (like Black) that automatically check and fix their code style.

Interactive Practice

Which of these is more “Pythonic”?

1. def calculateArea(r): return 3.14*r**2
2. def calculate_area(radius): return 3.14 * (radius ** 2)