Python Internals and Protocols
Understand lazy computation, function objects, Python protocols, and evidence-driven performance work.
Functions, objects, and tests. You understand Python basics.
Reason about lazy iteration with generators, understand decorators and function wrapping, implement Python protocols (__len__, __iter__), and measure performance before optimizing.
Read in order, or jump to what you need.
Every lesson builds on the one before it. Open any lesson to read the explanation, run the examples, and try the practice challenges.
- 12.01Iterators and Generators4 min
Build lazy data flows and reason precisely about consumption, state, and resource lifetime.
- 12.02Closures and Decorators4 min
Use retained lexical state and transparent wrappers while preserving signatures, return values, and failures.
- 12.03The Data Model and Dunder Methods4 min
Make small domain objects cooperate with Python syntax through coherent, minimal protocols.
- 12.04Memory and Performance4 min
Measure representative work, identify allocation and algorithmic costs, and preserve correctness while optimizing.
Ready to move on?
Demonstrate iterator consumption, preserve a wrapped function's metadata with functools.wraps, and measure execution time before proposing any optimization.
Open the module self-check