Skip to content

Python
PSF
Docs
PyPI
Jobs
Community

python™
Donate
Search This Site

Socialize

About
Downloads
Documentation
Community
Success Stories
News
Events

Python>>> Python Developer's Guide>>> PEP Index>>> PEP 20 -- The Zen of Python

PEP 20 -- The Zen of Python

PEP: 20
Title: The Zen of Python
Author: tim.peters at gmail.com (Tim Peters)
Status: Active
Type: Informational
Created: 19-Aug-2004
Post-History: 22-Aug-2004

Contents

Abstract
The Zen of Python
Easter Egg
References
Copyright

Abstract

Long time Pythoneer Tim Peters succinctly channels the BDFL's guiding principles
for Python's design into 20 aphorisms, only 19 of which have been written down.
The Zen of Python

Beautiful is better than ugly.

Explicit is better than implicit.
Simple is better than complex.
Complex is better than complicated.
Flat is better than nested.
Sparse is better than dense.
Readability counts.
Special cases aren't special enough to break the rules.
Although practicality beats purity.
Errors should never pass silently.
Unless explicitly silenced.
In the face of ambiguity, refuse the temptation to guess.
There should be one-- and preferably only one --obvious way to do it.
Although that way may not be obvious at first unless you're Dutch.
Now is better than never.
Although never is often better than *right* now.
If the implementation is hard to explain, it's a bad idea.
If the implementation is easy to explain, it may be a good idea.
Namespaces are one honking great idea -- let's do more of those!

Easter Egg

>>> import this

References

Originally posted to comp.lang.python/python-list@python.org under a thread

called "The Way of Python"
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.lang.python/B_VxeTBClM0/L8W9KlsiriUJ

Copyright

This document has been placed in the public domain.

Source: https://github.com/python/peps/blob/master/pep-0020.txt
The PSF

The Python Software Foundation is the organization behind Python. Become a member
of the PSF and help advance the software and our mission.

About
Applications
Quotes
Getting Started
Help
Python Brochure
Downloads
All releases
Source code
Windows
Mac OS X
Other Platforms
License
Alternative Implementations
Documentation
Docs
Audio/Visual Talks
Beginner's Guide
Developer's Guide
FAQ
Non-English Docs
PEP Index
Python Books
Python Essays
Community
Community Survey
Diversity
Mailing Lists
IRC
Forums
 PSF Annual Impact Report
Python Conferences
Special Interest Groups
Python Logo
Python Wiki
Merchandise
Community Awards
Code of Conduct
Success Stories
Arts
Business
Education
Engineering
Government
Scientific
Software Development
News
Python News
PSF Newsletter
Community News
PSF News
PyCon News
Events
Python Events
User Group Events
Python Events Archive
User Group Events Archive
Submit an Event
Contributing
Developer's Guide
Issue Tracker
python-dev list
Core Mentorship
Report a Security Issue

Help & General Contact

Diversity Initiatives
Submit Website Bug
Status

Copyright ©2001-2020. Python Software Foundation Legal Statements Privacy Policy

Powered by Heroku

wkwkwkw adkafj aljfa,af aojfamf afafnaf janfkamfpfa mjafn f

, lajf af.,mlajf,. afljamf afjafm afljaf jamnf;almfla ,amflajlnafa