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James Powell: So you want to be a Python expert? | PyData Seattle 2017

PyData · talk · Watch on YouTube

Python, Ruby & scripting languagesSoftware architecture & design

What it is

James Powell's nearly two-hour PyData talk builds up Python's data model, decorators, generators and context managers, coding live in Vim. It aims to take intermediate programmers toward real Python expertise.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN calls it one of the best technical talks and the clearest explanation of decorators, generators and context managers.

  • 6 people recommended it
  • 6 different months
  • 3 strong recommendations
  • first 2020, last 2026

What HN commenters said

  1. “It's legitimately the best technical talk I think I've seen and I can't recommend it highly enough.”

    Gives core understanding of Python's data model

    mattst88, 2020-05 · Strong recommendation · in “Resources to Learn Python in 2020”

  2. “this python expert video was absolutely amazing done by a true pro.”

    Absolutely amazing Python expert talk by a true pro

    ransom1538, 2020-09 · Strong recommendation · in “YouTube Channels to Level Up Your Programming Skills”

  3. “the best explanation I've seen of decorators, generators and context managers.”

    Explains decorators, generators, context managers and the data model

    charlysl, 2023-07 · Strong recommendation · in “Advanced Python Mastery – A Course by David Beazley”

  4. “I recommend any of the talks by James Powell at PyData.”

    James Powell's PyData talks on Python

    barefeg, 2022-11 · Recommendation · in “Data-Oriented Programming in Python”

  5. “shows you his coding approach in real time on Vim. Plenty of them are on YouTube and are worth a watch.”

    Deep Python talk with live Vim coding

    jphoward, 2023-01 · Recommendation · in “Ask HN: Which book would you recommend for learning Python in detail?”

  6. “I'd recommend watching this PyData talk”

    Understanding Python's data model improves engineering

    kengoa, 2026-01 · Recommendation · in “Ask HN: Reading list for being a better engineer?”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: python, decorators, generators, context managers, pydata

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