Code Golfing Tricks in Python

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In this tutorial, we will learn basic code golfing tricks in Python.
Code Golfing means writing a statement or expression using a minimum number of characters. In simple words, we can say Code Golfing means to code a given program by using the minimum number of characters. As a result, code optimization can be obtained.

Implementation is the key, so let’s directly jump to the implementation part.

Lists

Printing elements of a list: If we want to print elements of a list, we need to use a for loop but this can also be done using * operator. This same approach can be used to print elements of a set or a tuple.
```
# Print elements of a list using loop
l=[22,45,30,9,4]
for i in l:
    print(i)

# Print elements of a list using *
l=[22,45,30,9,4]
print(*l)
```
Adding elements to a list: Elements in a list can be added by using the append method. But this can also be accomplished by using the += operator.
```
l=[1,2,3,4,5]
ele=6

# Using append method
l.append(ele)

# Using += operator
l+=[ele]
```

Functions

Floor function in Python: Floor function is used to fetch the closest integer less than or equal to a given number. Floor function is present in the “math” module of Python library. The same can also be done by using floor division operator (//).
```
#Using floor function
from math import floor
x=5/3
print(floor(x))

#Using // operator
x=5/3
print(x//1) # We need to use floor division operator with 1
```
Ceil function in Python: Ceil function is used to fetch the closest integer greater than or equal to a given number. Ceil function is also present in the “math” module of Python library. The same can also be done by using floor division operator (//).
```
# Using ceil function
from math import ceil
x=5/3
print(ceil(x))

# Using // operator
x=5/3
print(-(-x//1)) # We need to use floor division operator with 1
```

Loops

Print diagonal elements of a Square Matrix: Diagonal elements can directly be printed by using two for loops. But, we can implement the same by using a single for loop.

l=[[1,2,3],[4,5,6],[7,8,9]]
# Using 2 for loops
for i in range(3):
    for j in range(3):
        if i==j:
            print(l[i][j])

#Using a single for loop
for i in range(3):
    print(l[i][i])

Indexing

Print a string in Reverse: In Python, indexing starts from 0 to n-1 in the forward direction and from -1 to -n in the backward direction. Hence, this backward indexing can be used to print elements of a string. The same approach is valid for lists and tuples.
```
s='CodeSpeedy'
# Without code golfing
for i in range(len(s)-1,-1,-1):
    print(s[i],end='')

# With code golfing
for i in s[::-1]:
    print(i,end='')
```

Assignment

Assigning same values to multiple variables: We can assign the same values to multiple variables with the help of code golfing.
```
# Without code golfing
x,y,z=0,0,0

# With code golfing
x=y=z=0
```
Assigning a single character to multiple variables: We can assign a single character to multiple variables of the same type with the help of code golfing.
```
# Without code golfing
x,y,z='a','b','c'

# With code golfing
x,y,z='abc'
```
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