Pythonic Patterns in Python
From the Python cheat sheet · Best Practices · verified Jul 2026
Pythonic Patterns
Write idiomatic Python code.
python
# Swap variables
a, b = b, a
# Ternary
x = "yes" if condition else "no"
# Check empty
if not items: # not len(items) == 0
# EAFP over LBYL
try:
value = d[key]
except KeyError:
value = default💡 EAFP (try/except) is more Pythonic than LBYL (check before acting)
⚡ Use _ as a throwaway variable for values you don't need
📌 "Explicit is better than implicit" — readability counts (PEP 20)
🟢 Run "import this" in the REPL to read The Zen of Python
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