Advanced
Advanced Python Skills
These skills are considered advanced and will be useful for more advanced data analysis tasks.
Object-Oriented Programming
- Understand the basics of object-oriented programming (OOP) and how to apply it in Python.
- Create and use classes to encapsulate related data and functionality.
- Use inheritance and polymorphism to extend existing classes and create new ones.
Functional Programming
- Understand the principles of functional programming and how to use functional programming concepts in Python.
- Use lambda functions and higher-order functions to create more expressive and powerful code.
- Apply functional programming techniques to data processing and analysis tasks.
Decorators
- Understand what decorators are and how to use them to modify the behavior of functions and methods.
- Use built-in Python decorators like
@property,@staticmethod, and@classmethod. - Create custom decorators to add functionality to your code.
Generators and Iterators
- Understand the difference between generators and iterators and how to use them in Python.
- Use generators to lazily generate and process data without creating large in-memory data structures.
- Implement custom iterators to provide custom ways of iterating over data.
Concurrency and Parallelism
- Understand the difference between concurrency and parallelism and how to achieve both in Python.
- Use threads and processes to perform multiple tasks simultaneously.
- Use asynchronous programming techniques to handle I/O-bound tasks efficiently.
Performance Optimization
- Understand how to optimize Python code for performance.
- Use profiling tools to identify performance bottlenecks in your code.
- Apply performance optimization techniques like caching, memoization, and vectorization to speed up your code.
Independent Study
Books remain a surprisingly cost-effective investment.
When you’re ready to truly master this powersful language, consider investing in a top-rated book like “Fluent Python” by Luciano Ramalho. The second edition is current, published in March 2022 covering up to Python 3.10 for the newest features.
Or High Performance Python: Practical Performant Programming for Humans by Micha Gorelick and Ian Ozsvald covering high-performance options for processing big data, multiprocessing, and more.