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Blog of David Culley#

  • 3 min read

Start using named tuples instead of regular Python tuples

If you're a Python developer, you surely must've seen code like this:

height = person[2]

This code snippet is not easily understandable. What is person? Is it a list, a tuple, something else? What does the value stored at index 2 represent? You can probably figure out relatively quickly from skimming over the code you're working with if person is a tuple. But still, what is it that is stored at index 2 of that tuple? In this particular case we were lucky enough that the variable was named height, which enabled us to guess that it must be the person's height that is stored at index 2. But more often than not you'll see nondescript code such as h = person[2]. Can you still guess correctly that it's the person's height that is stored at index 2? Can you rule out with absolute certainty that it isn't a Boolean that specifies whether the person is hungry or not? To be sure you'd have to comb through the code to find out. That's why the code snippet above is not easily readable. Wouldn't it be much easier if the code author had written explicitly what that value person[2] is meant to represent? If the author had written person.height instead of person[2]? You can do exactly that with named tuples.

  • 15 min read

Learning How to Learn

Do you still remember what you learned four semesters ago? No? How about one semester ago? No? Well, how did you study the material? By reading and re-reading textbooks, while annotating and highlighting interesting parts, as most students do? I hate to break it to you, but such so-called passive learning techniques aren't successful learning strategies, as you have experienced firsthand. Even taking notes and summarizing passages in your own words isn't an optimal study method. Read on to learn what are the best study strategies (backed by evidence) and what's the only way to ensure high learning retention rates so that you actually remember what you're studying

  • 13 min read

Haskell’s foldl and foldr Explained

If you want to (or have to) learn Haskell, you can't avoid the two functions foldl and foldr. They are two of the most powerful tools in Haskell's toolbox. However, they continue to confuse beginners and experts alike, so here's my take on making these functions a little more accessible.