Good Uses for Decorators
Explore common scenarios where Python decorators improve code quality by transforming function signatures, tracing execution, validating parameters, and simplifying repetitive logic. Learn how to apply decorators intentionally to create cleaner, more maintainable software that adheres to sound design principles.
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Let's take a look at some common patterns that make good use of decorators. There are common situations for when decorators are a good choice.
Although there are countless applications that decorators can be used for, we will just enumerate the most common or relevant ones:
Transforming parameters: Changing the signature of a function to expose a nicer API, while encapsulating details on how the parameters are treated and transformed underneath. We must be careful with this use of decorators, because it's only a good trait when it's intentional. That means, if we are explicitly using decorators to provide a good signature for functions that had a rather convoluted one, then it's a great way of achieving cleaner code by means of decorators. If, on the other hand, the signature of a function changed inadvertently because of a decorator, then that's something we would want to avoid.
Tracing code: Logging the execution of a function with its parameters. There are multiple libraries that provide tracing capabilities, and they often expose such functionality ...