Python的哲学

在python命令行中输入import this， 就会打印出一段‘The Zen of Python’的描述:

The Zen of Python, by Tim Peters

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!

这就是python的设计哲学，即’python之禅‘，其中文翻译如下：

python之禅, by Tim Peters

优美胜于丑陋
Beautiful is better than ugly.
明了胜于晦涩
Explicit is better than implicit.
简单胜过复杂
Simple is better than complex.
复杂胜过凌乱
Complex is better than complicated.
扁平胜于嵌套
Flat is better than nested.
间隔胜于紧凑
parse is better than dense.
可读性很重要
Readability counts.
即使假借特例的实用性之名，也不可违背这些规则
Special cases aren't special enough to break the rules.
虽然实用性比纯粹性重要
Although practicality beats purity.
不要包容所有错误（精准地捕获异常）
Errors should never pass silently.
除非你确定需要这样做
Unless explicitly silenced.
当存在多种可能时，不要尝试去猜测
In the face of ambiguity, refuse the temptation to guess.
而是尽量找一种，最好是唯一种明显的解决方案
There should be one-- and preferably only one --obvious way to do it.
虽然这并不容易，因为你不是 Python 之父
Although that way may not be obvious at first unless you're Dutch.
做也许好过不做
Now is better than never.
但不假思索就动手还不如不做
Although never is often better than right now.
如果你无法向人描述你的实现，那肯定不是一个好方案
If the implementation is hard to explain, it's a bad idea.
如果你很容易向人解释你的实现，那么它很可能是个好方案
If the implementation is easy to explain, it may be a good idea.
命名空间是一种绝妙的理念，应当多加利用
Namespaces are one honking great idea -- let's do more of those!

如果说语言是一种工具，那么毫无疑问，不同工具会对思维方式产生不同影响, 也许python程序员大部分有极简主义倾向，讨厌复杂的东西，他们更加关注如何更快地get things done.

python作为一种优雅的工具，有一些独到的优点：

- 简洁    更少的代码， 更多的事情
- 库比较多    大量现成的轮子，更快的get things done
- 语法清晰，可读性高    做一种事情通常只有一种最好的方法

我们应该充分运用这些优点，发挥更高的生产力，接下来的几节将描述致力于简洁性的DRY和KISS原则，以及介绍一些python好用的工具和轮子.