🚀 Learning Python Basics in Public: Tuples, Lists, Dicts, Functions, and More

By Nishant Kumar – Follow my journey @LumenX21

📌 Why I’m Writing This

I recently started learning core Python concepts like data structures, functions, and comprehensions—and I decided to learn in public. This is a recap of what I’ve learned so far, explained in my own words with code examples. If you're just getting started or revisiting the basics, this is for you!

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1. 🧱 Basic Data Structures

🧊 Tuples

• Immutable, ordered collection

• Use them when you want to ensure the data doesn’t change

pythonCopyEditpoint = (10, 20)
x, y = point  # unpacking
print(x, y)

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📋 Lists

• Mutable and ordered

• Great for dynamic data

pythonCopyEditfruits = ['apple', 'banana']
fruits.append('mango')
fruits.remove('banana')
fruits.insert(1, 'orange')
fruits.sort()
print(fruits)

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🗂️ Dictionaries

• Key-value pairs

• Super useful for mappings

pythonCopyEditperson = {'name': 'Alice', 'age': 25}
person['age'] = 26  # update
person['city'] = 'Delhi'  # add new
print(person)

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🔢 Sets

• Unordered, no duplicates

• Good for membership tests and math ops

pythonCopyEdita = {1, 2, 3}
b = {2, 3, 4}
print(a | b)  # union
print(a & b)  # intersection

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2. ⚙️ Functions and Parameters

📌 Function Basics

pythonCopyEditdef greet(name):
    return f"Hello, {name}!"

✨ Default Arguments

pythonCopyEditdef greet(name="world"):
    return f"Hello, {name}!"

⚡ Lambda Functions

pythonCopyEditsquared = lambda x: x * x
print(squared(4))

📦 args and *kwargs

pythonCopyEditdef show(*args, **kwargs):
    print(args)
    print(kwargs)

🧼 Decorators

pythonCopyEditdef decorator(func):
    def wrapper():
        print("Before function")
        func()
        print("After function")
    return wrapper

@decorator
def hello():
    print("Hello!")

hello()

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3. 🔁 Comprehensions

✅ List

pythonCopyEditsquares = [x * x for x in range(5)]

✅ Dictionary

pythonCopyEditeven_map = {x: x % 2 == 0 for x in range(5)}

✅ Set

pythonCopyEditunique = {x for x in [1, 2, 2, 3]}

✅ Nested

pythonCopyEditgrid = [[i * j for j in range(3)] for i in range(3)]

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4. 🧰 Built-in Functions I Found Super Useful

pythonCopyEditnames = ['Alice', 'Bob', 'Charlie']

for i, name in enumerate(names):
    print(i, name)

numbers = [10, 20, 30]
print(sum(numbers), min(numbers), max(numbers))

a = [1, 2]
b = ['a', 'b']
print(list(zip(a, b)))

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💬 Final Thoughts

Learning in public is scary but powerful. Writing this helped reinforce what I learned—and I hope it helps you too.

If you’ve got tips or corrections, please drop them in the comments!

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🙌 Connect With Me

• LinkedIn – Nishant Kumar

• Twitter – @LumenX21

Let’s keep learning and building—in public! 🚀