Python — PEP 8

• Page Contents
• Page Summary

• Important Sources

Overview

Python has specific styling and formatting conventions that are outlined in the PEP 8 style guide. These conventions help maintain consistency and readability in your code. Here's a list of some important Python styling and formatting rules from PEP 8:

1. Indentation and Whitespace:
   • Use 4 spaces per indentation level.
   • Never mix tabs and spaces.
   • Limit all lines to a maximum of 79 characters.
   • Break lines after binary operators and open parentheses.
   • Use blank lines to separate functions, classes, and logical sections.
2. Imports:
   • Import modules individually, avoiding wildcard imports (from module import *).
   • Place imports at the top of the file.
   • Separate imports into standard library imports, related third-party imports, and local application/library imports.
3. Naming Conventions:
   • Use lowercase with underscores for function and variable names (my_function, variable_name).
   • Use CapWords (CamelCase) for class names (MyClass).
   • Use uppercase for constants (MY_CONSTANT).
4. Whitespace in Expressions and Statements:
   • Avoid extraneous whitespace.
   • Do not put spaces around list indexes, function/method calls, or keyword arguments.
5. Comments:
   • Use comments to explain code that might not be obvious.
   • Comments should be complete sentences and follow a capitalization and punctuation pattern.
   • Avoid unnecessary comments and keep them up-to-date.
6. Docstrings:
   • Use docstrings to document modules, classes, methods, and functions.
   • Follow the conventions in PEP 257 for docstring formatting.
7. Operators:
   • Use a single space around operators (=, +, ``, etc.) for improved readability.
8. Function and Method Definitions:
   • Separate function definitions with two blank lines.
   • Use descriptive function and method names.
   • Use the def keyword, followed by a space, and follow with an opening parenthesis.
9. Strings:
   • Use single quotes for string literals whenever possible.
   • Triple-quoted strings are used for docstrings and multiline strings.
10. Formatting Strings (f-strings):
    • Use f-strings to format strings with variables and expressions.
    • Example: name = "Alice"; age = 30; print(f"My name is {name} and I am {age} years old.")

Remember, adhering to consistent styling and formatting helps improve code readability and collaboration. For more detailed examples and explanations, you can refer to the PEP 8 style guide.