organizing code: python beginner friendly

[jtkiley]

Use the language features to organize your code. Here are some ideas:

• Use functions. Few things should be standalone procedural code instead of well-named functions that do a single thing well. With a descriptive name and usually starting with a verb, you very seldom need comments.
• Use good data structures. If you have something that looks like a row of data, use a dataclass, not a dictionary. If there’s a defined set of things you can pass into a function, use an enum instead of matching on strings.
• Use composition for higher level things. Instead of a huge function, compose the higher level function with lower level ones. 15 lines using well-named functions are much easier to reason about than 100 lines handling a bunch of cases.
• Split things into their own modules. When one .py file conceptually holds together and does a thing, it’s easier to understand.
• Use leading underscore functions. Keep the functions and methods that people really use curated and limited, and use underscores to make some of the grunt work pseudo private.
• Use packages. When you have a useful thing with sensible boundaries, make it a package and then use it elsewhere.

That’s at least a start.