Not enough developers understand the benefits of functional programming, or even what it is. Author Steven Lott demystifies the approach, teaching you how to improve the way you code in Python and make gains in memory use and performance.

Starting from the fundamentals, this book shows you how to apply functional thinking and techniques in a range of scenarios, with examples centered around data cleaning and exploratory data analysis. You’ll learn how to use generator expressions, list comprehensions, and decorators to your advantage. You don’t have to abandon object-oriented design completely, though – you’ll also see how Python’s native object-orientation is used in conjunction with functional programming techniques.

By the end of this book, you’ll be well versed in the essential functional programming features of Python, and understand why and when functional thinking helps. You’ll also have all the tools you need to pursue any additional functional topics that are not part of the Python language.