Optimising Python

Exercises, examples and other material relating to training module Y305. This topic is presented on public course Intermediate Python

Background

For those Python programs where you're compute bound or handling very large data flows, you may want to consider and learn some of the techiques covered in this module.

Articles and tips on this subject		updated
4088	Some tips and techniques for huge data handling in Python Python's an excellent tool for handling huge data sets and long-running programs, although some of the elements of the language that you'll use for such work aren't exactly things we teach on our Introduction to Python courses. Yesterday, however, I was teaching an Intermediate Python course, and had ...	2013-05-18
3766	Python timing - when to use a list, and when to use a generator If you're going to cook dinner for the family, it's much more efficient to cook everyone's meal together. If you're a family of four, you won't want to cook four separate pans of carrots, but rather you'll want to cook them all together. But now imagine you're holding a carrot street party, and providing ...	2012-06-16 (longer)
2462	Python - how it saves on compile time Python is interpreted every time you run the code ... or that's the simple first story you're told. But really it's not that simple ... and not that inefficient. When you run a Python program, it is not interpreted line by line as you run it - it is interpreted all at once before it's run at all, ...	2009-10-20
2369	Using a cache for efficiency. Python and PHP examples Ask yourself "how long is it (in seconds) from 5.36 a.m. and 20 seconds to 6.04 a.m. and 39 seconds". Have you worked that out? Now - how long is it (in seconds) from 5.36 a.m. and 20 seconds to 6.04 a.m. and 39 seconds. Got that? And how long is it (in seconds) from 5.36 a.m. and 20 seconds to 6.04 ...	2009-08-23 (longer)
2277	Python classes / courses - what version do we train on? Usually, the release number of a programming language that's used on a 'first level' course doesn't make a big difference as the changes tend to be quite minor - after all, languages cannot change much for who would develop e piece of code using a syntax that was likely to go out of date? But that's ...	2009-07-11

Examples from our training material

dave	load a list then iterate through it
jenny	iterate through a file using a generator
longjob	Long job, showing interactive monitoring
slowcoach	Analysing visit lengths to web site - no cache
visitors	Analysing visit lengths to web site - using cache

Background information

Some modules are available for download as a sample of our material or under an Open Training Notes License for free download from [here].

Topics covered in this module

The timeit Module.
Optimizing Regular Expressions and Strings.
Optimizing Dictionary Lookups and List Operations.
Caching and saving recalculations within Python classes.
Building Tuned Pythons

Complete learning

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