7 Uses of Underscore in Python
Must-know for Python programmers.
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7 Uses of Underscore in Python
Underscore (_) has so many usages in Python.
Today, I want to walk you through 7 of them.
#1) Retrieve the last computed value
You can retrieve the last computed value, as demonstrated below:
This works both in a script (.py) and an interactive environment like Jupyter Notebook.
#2) Placeholder for loop variable
Instead of explicitly declaring a loop variable, you can also run loops as follows:
#3) Digit separator
When declaring large numbers, it can be difficult to interpret them. Underscore simplifies this:
#4-7) Declaring names
We can also use underscore while naming objects.
A single leading underscore is used to declare variables for internal use. Thus, they cannot be imported during wild imports (
from file import *)
A single trailing underscore is used to avoid conflict with reserved keywords, as depicted below:
Double leading underscores are used to invoke name mangling. This way, one can prevent direct access to private variables outside a class:
Finally, double leading and trailing underscores, as you may already know, are used to define magic methods:
This is a guide on the 20 most common magic methods in Python:
Done!
These were the 7 elegant ways to use the underscore keyword in Python.
👉 Over to you: What other usages have I missed?
Thanks for reading!
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