python-native

name

python-native

description

STRICT: stdlib idioms are mandatory — reinventing a stdlib feature is a defect, not a style choice. Apply whenever the user writes, refactors, optimizes, or reviews Python, including one-liners and code-review feedback. Verify non-trivial stdlib APIs against docs.python.org with WebFetch (signatures + code examples). Replaces common reinventions: manual dict counters with `Counter`, `dict.setdefault` loops with `defaultdict`, `isinstance` chains with `singledispatch` or `match`/`case`, hand-rolled memoization with `functools.cache`, `os.path.join` with `pathlib.Path`, `sorted(..., reverse=True)[:k]` with `heapq.nlargest`, manual class boilerplate with `dataclass(slots=True, frozen=True)`, `zip(lst, lst[1:])` with `itertools.pairwise`. Covers Python 3.9-3.14 with per-version reference files. Trigger phrases: "write a Python function", "refactor this Python", "Pythonic way to X", "optimize Python code", "make this more Pythonic", "implement X in Python", or any task whose answer involves Python source.

Python Native: Use the Standard Library Before Writing Code

Python's standard library is one of the largest and most polished in any language. Most "utility" code written by AI assistants — custom dispatch tables, ad-hoc memoization, manual grouping loops, hand-rolled context managers, reinvented namedtuples — is already a one-liner in the stdlib.

Core Principle: Before writing a loop, a class, or a helper, ask: "Is this already in functools, itertools, collections, operator, or contextlib?" The answer is "yes" more often than not. Check the stdlib first.

---

Enforcement — strict, not advisory

Every rule in this skill is a requirement. Read every "prefer X" as "emit X".

• Any pattern in §17 or references/anti-patterns.md appearing in emitted code is a defect, same severity as a logic bug. Rewrite before presenting.
• Logic that already exists as a stdlib primitive is replaced at its first occurrence. Your own logic repeated a third time is extracted into one function. Do NOT emit copy-pasted variants of the same block.
• Two passes, every time: the §0 checklist BEFORE writing; a scan against the §17 table AFTER writing.
• Deviating from a rule requires one stated line: the target version lacks the feature, a measured performance need, or the user's explicit instruction. No silent deviations.
• Only the user's explicit instruction and the edited file's existing convention outrank this skill.

Verify APIs in the official docs — WebFetch, not memory

Do NOT emit a stdlib call whose signature, parameter names, defaults, or version availability you are not certain of — fetch the doc page and read its code examples first.

Need	URL
Module API + official code examples	https://docs.python.org/3/library/<module>.html
Behavior on a pinned version	https://docs.python.org/3.<X>/library/<module>.html
What a version added or removed	https://docs.python.org/3/whatsnew/3.<X>.html
Design rationale / edge semantics	https://peps.python.org/pep-XXXX/

• DO determine the target version first: python --version, or requires-python in pyproject.toml.
• DO check references/python-3.<X>.md for version availability before fetching; fetch whatsnew only for detail those files lack.
• DO mirror the documented example closest to the task instead of inventing a shape.
• DO make the fetch prompt ask for the exact signature and the nearest code example, not a summary.
• DO fetch when a behavior detail decides correctness: groupby requires sorted input, tee buffers unevenly-consumed iterators, lru_cache pins self, zip truncates silently without strict=True.
• Do NOT fetch for trivial unambiguous built-ins (len, range, bare enumerate) or an API already verified this session.

---

0. The Mental Checklist (Run This Before Writing Any Python)

Every time you're about to write Python, walk this checklist:

1. Loop building up a dict/list/set? → collections.Counter, defaultdict, comprehension, or itertools.
2. Dispatching on type or value? → functools.singledispatch or match/case (3.10+).
3. Caching results of a pure function? → functools.cache (3.9+) or lru_cache.
4. Sorting/finding by an attribute or key? → operator.itemgetter / attrgetter, not lambda.
5. Combining or slicing iterables? → itertools.chain, islice, pairwise, batched.
6. Managing setup/teardown? → contextlib.contextmanager, ExitStack, suppress, nullcontext.
7. Holding plain data? → dataclasses.dataclass, typing.NamedTuple, or types.SimpleNamespace.
8. Enumerations or flags? → enum.Enum, IntEnum, Flag, StrEnum (3.11+).
9. Filesystem paths? → pathlib.Path, never os.path string juggling.
10. Priority queue / k-smallest / k-largest? → heapq.nsmallest, nlargest, heappush.
11. Sorted insertion / binary search? → bisect.insort, bisect_left, bisect_right.
12. Running statistics? → statistics.mean, median, stdev, fmean, correlation.
13. Cryptographic / token / password use? → secrets, never random.
14. Random sampling without replacement? → random.sample (not a manual loop).

If any answer is "yes", stop and use the stdlib feature. Reinventing it is a defect — rewrite before emitting.

---

1. functools — The Most Under-Used Module

1.1 singledispatch — Polymorphism Without Class Hierarchies

Replace long isinstance chains and visitor patterns with type-dispatched functions.

from functools import singledispatch

@singledispatch
def serialize(value):
    raise TypeError(f"Cannot serialize {type(value).__name__}")

@serialize.register
def _(value: int) -> str:
    return str(value)

@serialize.register
def _(value: list) -> str:
    return "[" + ", ".join(serialize(v) for v in value) + "]"

@serialize.register(dict)
def _(value):
    return "{" + ", ".join(f"{k}:{serialize(v)}" for k, v in value.items()) + "}"

For instance methods, use singledispatchmethod:

from functools import singledispatchmethod

class Renderer:
    @singledispatchmethod
    def render(self, node):
        raise NotImplementedError

    @render.register
    def _(self, node: str):
        return f"<text>{node}</text>"

    @render.register
    def _(self, node: list):
        return "".join(self.render(child) for child in node)

AI anti-pattern: writing if isinstance(x, int): ... elif isinstance(x, list): .... Use singledispatch. It's discoverable, extensible by registration, and removes the chain.

1.2 cache and lru_cache — Memoization in One Decorator

from functools import cache, lru_cache

@cache                      # Python 3.9+, unbounded
def fib(n: int) -> int:
    return n if n < 2 else fib(n - 1) + fib(n - 2)

@lru_cache(maxsize=1024)    # bounded cache for hot paths
def expensive(query: str) -> bytes:
    ...

• cache = lru_cache(maxsize=None), slightly faster — use it when memory is not a concern.
• Arguments must be hashable. Use frozenset, tuple, or convert before calling.
• .cache_info() and .cache_clear() are available on both.

CAVEAT — bound methods: @cache / @lru_cache on instance methods keeps self strongly referenced through the cache key, preventing garbage collection of the instance until the cache is cleared. For per-instance memoization, prefer cached_property. For class-level methods, use bounded lru_cache(maxsize=N), weak-key caches, or explicit cache_clear().

1.3 cached_property — Lazy, Memoized Attributes

from functools import cached_property

class Dataset:
    def __init__(self, path):
        self.path = path

    @cached_property
    def rows(self):
        return self._load()    # runs once, then stored as instance attribute

• Stored in __dict__, so it works only on classes without __slots__ (unless you include __dict__).
• Replace @property + manual _cache attribute pattern entirely.

1.4 partial and partialmethod — Freezing Arguments

from functools import partial

read_utf8 = partial(open, encoding="utf-8")
debug_log = partial(logger.log, logging.DEBUG)

# Use in callbacks and maps:
sorted(items, key=partial(score, weights=w))

Better than lambda because it's introspectable (has .func, .args, .keywords).

1.5 reduce — Last Resort for Accumulators

reduce is rarely needed: sum, min, max, any, all, math.prod cover most cases.

from functools import reduce
from math import prod

prod([1, 2, 3, 4])          # → 24 (prefer this)
reduce(lambda a, b: a * b, [1, 2, 3, 4])  # works, but verbose

Use reduce only when the operation is genuinely non-builtin and a generator/loop wouldn't be clearer.

1.6 wraps, total_ordering, reduce

from functools import wraps, total_ordering

def trace(fn):
    @wraps(fn)                          # preserves __name__, __doc__, __module__
    def inner(*args, **kw):
        print(fn.__name__, args, kw)
        return fn(*args, **kw)
    return inner

@total_ordering                          # Define __eq__ and one of <, <=, >, >= — get the rest for free
class Version:
    def __init__(self, parts): self.parts = parts
    def __eq__(self, other): return self.parts == other.parts
    def __lt__(self, other): return self.parts < other.parts

---

2. itertools — The Iterator Algebra

Iterators are O(1) memory. Use these primitives instead of building lists and re-iterating.

2.1 Combining Iterables

from itertools import chain, zip_longest, product

list(chain([1, 2], [3, 4], [5]))                     # [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
list(chain.from_iterable([[1, 2], [3, 4]]))          # [1, 2, 3, 4]   ← flatten one level
list(zip_longest("ABCD", "12", fillvalue="-"))       # [('A','1'),('B','2'),('C','-'),('D','-')]
list(product([0, 1], repeat=3))                      # all 3-bit tuples

2.2 Slicing and Windowing

from itertools import islice, takewhile, dropwhile, pairwise   # pairwise: 3.10+

islice(iterable, 10)                  # first 10 elements lazily — works on generators
list(pairwise([1, 2, 3, 4]))          # [(1,2), (2,3), (3,4)]
list(takewhile(lambda x: x < 5, [1, 3, 5, 2]))    # [1, 3]

For Python 3.12+: itertools.batched(iterable, n) chunks an iterable into n-tuples.

2.3 Grouping (Replaces Manual defaultdict Loops)

from itertools import groupby
from operator import itemgetter

rows = sorted(rows, key=itemgetter("dept"))     # groupby requires sorted input!
for dept, group in groupby(rows, key=itemgetter("dept")):
    print(dept, list(group))

Common bug: forgetting that groupby only groups adjacent equal keys. Sort first.

2.4 Accumulators and Counters

from itertools import accumulate, count, cycle, repeat

list(accumulate([1, 2, 3, 4]))                      # [1, 3, 6, 10]   running sum
list(accumulate([1, 2, 3, 4], initial=100))         # [100, 101, 103, 106, 110]
list(accumulate([3, 1, 4, 1, 5], max))              # [3, 3, 4, 4, 5]  running max

for i in count(start=1):  ...                       # unbounded counter
for color in cycle(["r", "g", "b"]):  ...           # infinite cycle

2.5 Combinations and Permutations

from itertools import combinations, permutations, combinations_with_replacement

list(combinations("ABC", 2))           # [('A','B'), ('A','C'), ('B','C')]
list(permutations("ABC", 2))           # [('A','B'),('A','C'),('B','A'),...]

Replace any nested loop that filters duplicates with the right combinatoric primitive.

2.6 tee and starmap

from itertools import tee, starmap

a, b = tee(iterator)                       # split one iterator into two independent ones
list(starmap(pow, [(2, 3), (10, 2)]))      # [8, 100]   — like map() but unpacks each tuple

Caveat on tee: when the two consumers advance unevenly, tee accumulates an internal buffer of every element produced since the slower consumer last advanced. On long iterators with skewed consumption, this can blow memory. Use tee only when consumers stay roughly in step, or materialize the iterator into a list explicitly.

---

3. collections — Data Structures You Should Default To

3.1 Counter — Frequency Counting in One Line

from collections import Counter

c = Counter("abracadabra")              # Counter({'a': 5, 'b': 2, 'r': 2, ...})
c.most_common(3)                        # [('a', 5), ('b', 2), ('r', 2)]
c + Counter("aaa")                      # multiset addition
c & Counter("abxxx")                    # multiset intersection
+c                                      # drop zero/negative counts

AI anti-pattern: freq = {}; for x in xs: freq[x] = freq.get(x, 0) + 1. Use Counter(xs).

3.2 defaultdict — Auto-Initialized Dicts

from collections import defaultdict

groups = defaultdict(list)
for user, action in events:
    groups[user].append(action)

graph = defaultdict(set)
for a, b in edges:
    graph[a].add(b)
    graph[b].add(a)

Replaces the dict.setdefault pattern and the if key not in d: d[key] = [] antipattern.

3.3 deque — O(1) Append/Pop at Both Ends

from collections import deque

q = deque(maxlen=1000)                  # bounded ring buffer — drops oldest on overflow
q.appendleft(x); q.pop(); q.rotate(-1)

Use deque for:

• BFS queues
• Sliding windows
• Rolling logs / ring buffers (maxlen)
• Any FIFO — list.pop(0) is O(n).

3.4 ChainMap — Layered Lookups

from collections import ChainMap

config = ChainMap(cli_args, env_vars, defaults)    # lookup falls through in order

Avoid manually merging dicts to implement precedence; ChainMap does it without copying.

3.5 namedtuple (and Why Often dataclass Wins)

from collections import namedtuple

Point = namedtuple("Point", "x y")
p = Point(3, 4)
p.x, p.y, p._asdict(), p._replace(x=10)

• Use namedtuple for immutable lightweight records.
• Use typing.NamedTuple for type hints.
• Use dataclass(frozen=True, slots=True) when you want defaults, methods, or richer behavior.

---

4. operator — Functions for Operators

Replaces tiny lambdas with introspectable, pickleable callables.

from operator import itemgetter, attrgetter, methodcaller, mul

sorted(people, key=attrgetter("age"))                   # vs. lambda p: p.age
sorted(rows, key=itemgetter("dept", "salary"))          # multi-key
list(map(methodcaller("strip"), lines))                 # vs. lambda s: s.strip()
list(map(mul, xs, ys))                                  # elementwise multiply

• itemgetter("a", "b") returns a tuple — useful for sort keys.
• methodcaller("split", ",") is callable; great in map, filter, sort.

---

5. contextlib — Context Managers Beyond with open(...)

5.1 @contextmanager — Build One in 4 Lines

from contextlib import contextmanager

@contextmanager
def timer(label):
    start = time.perf_counter()
    try:
        yield
    finally:
        print(f"{label}: {time.perf_counter() - start:.3f}s")

with timer("load"):
    data = load()

5.2 suppress, nullcontext, closing, redirect_stdout

from contextlib import suppress, nullcontext, closing, redirect_stdout
import io

with suppress(FileNotFoundError):
    os.remove(path)                          # silently no-op if missing

cm = open(path) if log else nullcontext()    # uniform `with` without branching
with cm as f: ...

with closing(urllib.request.urlopen(url)) as resp: ...

buf = io.StringIO()
with redirect_stdout(buf):
    noisy_function()

5.3 ExitStack — Dynamic Stacks of Context Managers

from contextlib import ExitStack

with ExitStack() as stack:
    files = [stack.enter_context(open(p)) for p in paths]   # any number, any order
    process(files)

Replaces deeply nested with blocks and conditional setup/teardown.

---

6. dataclasses — The Right Default for Data Classes

from dataclasses import dataclass, field, asdict, replace

@dataclass(frozen=True, slots=True, kw_only=True)        # slots, kw_only: 3.10+
class Order:
    id: int
    items: tuple[str, ...] = ()                          # tuple, not list — see hash caveat below
    total: float = 0.0

o = Order(id=1, items=("a", "b"), total=9.99)
o2 = replace(o, total=10.5)                              # functional update
asdict(o)                                                # → plain dict

• frozen=True blocks attribute rebinding and auto-generates __hash__ — but the hash succeeds only when every field value is hashable. A list[str] field will pass type checking yet raise TypeError: unhashable type: 'list' at hash time. For hashable records, use immutable field types (tuple, frozenset, str, numbers) or mark mutable fields field(compare=False, hash=False) to keep them out of the generated __hash__ and __eq__.
• slots=True → smaller memory, faster attribute access, no accidental new attrs. Use slots for stable leaf data models.
• kw_only=True → forces keyword args; prevents positional-arg bugs.
• field(default_factory=list) → never use a mutable default directly (default values are evaluated once at class-definition time, so a bare items: list = [] would share one list across all instances).

For inherited or computed fields, use field(init=False, default=...) and __post_init__.

CAVEAT — slots edge cases: multiple inheritance with slots can hit layout conflicts when multiple bases declare their own __slots__ — test before enabling on hierarchical classes. Breaks weakref.ref() unless you pass weakref_slot=True (3.11+). Breaks @cached_property because slots prevents writing to __dict__.

---

7. pathlib — Stop Using os.path Strings

from pathlib import Path

p = Path("/var/log") / "app" / "today.log"          # join with /
p.parent, p.name, p.stem, p.suffix
p.exists(), p.is_file(), p.with_suffix(".bak")
p.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
p.write_text("hello", encoding="utf-8")              # always pass encoding for text files
list(p.parent.glob("*.log"))
list(p.parent.rglob("*.py"))
Path.home(), Path.cwd()

pathlib is OS-agnostic, returns rich objects, and supports operators. There is no good reason to use os.path.join in new code.

---

8. heapq and bisect — Specialized Algorithms

8.1 heapq — Priority Queues and Top-K

import heapq

heap = []
for x in xs:
    heapq.heappush(heap, x)
smallest = heapq.heappop(heap)

heapq.nsmallest(5, items, key=lambda x: x.cost)         # O(n log k), not full sort
heapq.nlargest(10, scores)

AI anti-pattern: sorted(xs)[:k] to get the k smallest, when k is much smaller than n. Use nsmallest(k, xs) — O(n log k), which beats sort for small k and for streaming inputs. When k approaches n (rule of thumb: k ≥ n/3) or you also need the rest of the sequence sorted, plain sorted(xs)[:k] is competitive or faster.

8.2 bisect — Sorted Lists Without Re-Sorting

import bisect

bisect.insort(sorted_list, value)              # insert keeping sort order
i = bisect.bisect_left(sorted_list, value)     # leftmost insertion point
j = bisect.bisect_right(sorted_list, value)    # rightmost — count = j - i

Use bisect for sorted in-memory indexes, range queries, and rank lookups.

---

9. enum — Real Enumerations

from enum import Enum, IntEnum, Flag, auto

class Status(Enum):
    PENDING = auto()
    ACTIVE = auto()
    DONE = auto()

class Permission(Flag):
    READ = auto()
    WRITE = auto()
    EXEC = auto()
    ALL = READ | WRITE | EXEC

Permission.READ | Permission.WRITE   # composable bitfield

• Use Enum for closed sets of named constants.
• Use IntEnum only when integer interop matters.
• Use StrEnum (3.11+) for string-based enums (no manual .value everywhere).
• Use Flag / IntFlag for bitfields.

---

10. typing — Use the Modern Forms

from typing import Protocol, NamedTuple, TypedDict, Literal, Annotated, Self, TypeAlias

# Structural typing — duck typing with checking
class Closeable(Protocol):
    def close(self) -> None: ...

# Lightweight schema for dicts
class User(TypedDict):
    id: int
    name: str

# Constrain accepted values
Mode = Literal["r", "w", "a"]

# Builder pattern with self-type (3.11+)
class Query:
    def where(self, **kw) -> Self: ...
    def order_by(self, key) -> Self: ...

• Built-in generics: list[int], dict[str, int], tuple[int, ...] (3.9+) — no need for List, Dict.
• X | Y union syntax (3.10+) replaces Union[X, Y]. X | None replaces Optional[X].
• TypeAlias (3.10+) for documented aliases; type statement (3.12+).

---

11. match / case — Structural Pattern Matching (3.10+)

def evaluate(node):
    match node:
        case {"op": "add", "left": l, "right": r}:
            return evaluate(l) + evaluate(r)
        case [first, *rest]:
            return [evaluate(first), *map(evaluate, rest)]
        case int() | float():
            return node
        case Point(x=0, y=y):
            return f"on y-axis at {y}"
        case _:
            raise ValueError(node)

• Patterns include literals, types, sequences, mappings, class patterns, OR (|), guards (if).
• Names in patterns bind — case x: matches anything and binds. Use case _: for wildcard.
• Use class patterns to destructure dataclasses by attribute.

---

12. Walrus Operator (:=) — Use Where It Reduces Repetition

# Read in chunks until EOF
while chunk := f.read(4096):
    process(chunk)

# Reuse a computed value in a comprehension
results = [(x, y) for x in xs if (y := compute(x)) is not None]

# Avoid double-call in an if
if (match := pattern.search(line)) is not None:
    use(match.group(1))

Don't use it just to be clever; use it when it removes a duplicated computation.

---

13. f-strings — Use the Full Format Spec

f"{value:>10.2f}"          # right-aligned, width 10, 2 decimals
f"{value:,.0f}"            # thousands separators
f"{value:.2%}"             # percent
f"{n:#06x}"                # 0x00ff
f"{name!r}"                # repr()
f"{obj=}"                  # → "obj=<value>"  (3.8+, great for debug)
f"{dt:%Y-%m-%d}"           # datetime format
f"{a + b = :,}"            # debug + format spec combined

f-strings (3.12+, PEP 701) allow reusing the same quote character inside the expression:

f"{ ", ".join(parts) }"     # outer and inner both double-quoted, SyntaxError before 3.12

---

14. Generators and Comprehensions

• Prefer generator expressions for one-shot iteration: sum(x*x for x in xs) — no list built.
• Use yield from for delegation: yield from inner() is equivalent to a for loop.
• A function with yield is already an iterator; no class needed.
• Generators are O(1) memory — chain them with itertools.chain for streaming pipelines.

def lines_of(path):
    with open(path, encoding="utf-8") as f:
        yield from f                       # yields lines lazily

def non_empty(it):
    return (line.strip() for line in it if line.strip())

for line in non_empty(lines_of("big.txt")):
    process(line)

---

15. Built-in Functions That Are Often Forgotten

Function	What it does that you might re-implement
any(p(x) for x in xs)	Short-circuit "exists" — don't loop and return early manually.
all(...)	Short-circuit "for all".
sum(iter, start=0)	Numeric sums with optional start; start cannot be a string (use ''.join()); for concatenating iterables use itertools.chain.from_iterable. Use math.prod for products.
min(iter, key=, default=) / max(...)	Use key= instead of pre-sorting. default= for empty iterables.
sorted(iter, key=, reverse=)	Stable sort. key is computed once per element.
reversed(seq)	O(1) lazy iterator over a reversible sequence or any object with __reversed__; generators are not reversible — materialize to a list first if needed.
enumerate(iter, start=N)	Pass start= instead of i + offset.
zip(*iters, strict=True)	strict=True (3.10+) raises on length mismatch — use it.
divmod(a, b)	Returns (quotient, remainder) — replaces two operations.
pow(b, e, mod)	Modular exponentiation — vastly faster than (b**e) % mod.
round(x, n)	Banker's rounding by default; pass ndigits for precision.
iter(callable, sentinel)	Loops calling callable() until it returns sentinel.
next(iter, default)	Pass a default to avoid StopIteration handling.
vars(obj)	Inspect attributes — sometimes simpler than .

---

16. Other Stdlib Modules Worth Reaching For

Module	Use when…
statistics	Mean, median, stdev, mode, correlation, linear regression — no need for NumPy on small data.
math	gcd, lcm, isclose, prod, comb, perm, hypot.
secrets	Tokens, passwords, anything security-sensitive. Never random here.
random	Non-security randomness. Use random.choices (weighted), sample (no replacement).
hashlib	Hashing. Use hashlib.file_digest (3.11+) for streaming file hashes.
struct	Pack/unpack binary data.
io.StringIO, io.BytesIO	In-memory file-like objects for testing or pipelines.
tempfile	TemporaryDirectory, NamedTemporaryFile. Don't hand-roll temp files.
shutil	File ops (copy, move, rmtree, which, make_archive).
subprocess	subprocess.run(..., check=True, capture_output=True, text=True).
argparse	Don't parse sys.argv by hand.
logging	Use the logging tree — don't sprinkle print().
json	Use default= hook for custom serializers; indent=2 for human output.
csv	csv.DictReader / DictWriter — never split(",").

---

17. Things AI Routinely Reinvents (Stop Doing These)

This is the post-write scan table: any left-column pattern in emitted code is a bug — replace it with the right column before presenting.

Reinvention	Replace with
Manual freq = {} loop	Counter(iterable)
dict.setdefault(k, []).append(v)	defaultdict(list)
if x not in d: d[x] = …	dict.setdefault or defaultdict
sorted(x)[:k] for k-smallest	heapq.nsmallest(k, x)
sorted(x, reverse=True)[:k] for k-largest	heapq.nlargest(k, x)
list.pop(0) for queues	collections.deque
isinstance chains	functools.singledispatch or match
lambda p: p.attr for sort	operator.attrgetter("attr")
Hand-rolled memo dict	functools.cache / lru_cache
Hand-rolled context manager class	@contextlib.contextmanager
Manual flattening with nested loops	itertools.chain.from_iterable
Manual pairwise loop	itertools.pairwise (3.10+)
Manual chunking loop	itertools.batched (3.12+)
Hand-rolled Result/Maybe for dispatch	match / case
class Foo: __init__: self.x=x; self.y=y; __repr__=...	@dataclass
os.path.join(...) strings	pathlib.Path(...)
Manual try/except for "absent file" deletion	contextlib.suppress(FileNotFoundError)
Hand-rolled CLI parsing	argparse

---

18. Version Support Strategy (3.9 → 3.14)

This skill works on Python 3.9+. When a feature is newer, prefer it on supported versions but fall back to the stdlib equivalent on older ones. Always check the target's Python version first.

• Look in references/python-3.X.md for the precise list of features introduced or changed.
• When unsure of version: python --version, or read pyproject.toml (requires-python).
• Use sys.version_info >= (3, 11) for runtime branches; do not rely on try/except ImportError unless the feature actually moved between modules.

PEP 594 dead-battery removals in 3.13

If your code imports any of these, plan a replacement before upgrading. The 19 modules removed per PEP 594 (Python 3.13): aifc, audioop, cgi, cgitb, chunk, crypt, imghdr, mailcap, msilib, nis, nntplib, ossaudiodev, pipes, sndhdr, spwd, sunau, telnetlib, uu, xdrlib. Separately removed: lib2to3 (the 2to3 source-migration tool).

Compatibility Cheat-Sheet (Highlights)

Feature	Introduced
functools.cache, dict | dict merge, removeprefix/suffix, built-in generics (list[int])	3.9
match / case, X | Y unions, zip(strict=True), dataclass(slots=, kw_only=), itertools.pairwise, parenthesized context managers	3.10
tomllib, ExceptionGroup, except*, Self, StrEnum, TaskGroup, hashlib.file_digest, exception notes (__notes__)	3.11
itertools.batched, type statement, PEP 695 generics, @override, PEP 701 f-strings, per-interpreter GIL (PEP 684), comprehension inlining, pathlib.Path.walk, random.binomialvariate	3.12
Free-threaded build (PEP 703 experimental), JIT (PEP 744 experimental), dbm.sqlite3, new REPL, itertools.batched(strict=), copy.replace, typing.TypeIs/ReadOnly, TypeVar defaults (PEP 696), os.process_cpu_count, removal of 19 dead-battery modules	3.13
Deferred annotations (PEP 649) + annotationlib, t-strings (PEP 750), concurrent.interpreters (PEP 734), InterpreterPoolExecutor, free-threaded officially supported (PEP 779), pathlib.Path.copy/move	3.14

See the references/ directory for the full feature list per version.

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19. Reference Files

For per-version deep dives, consult:

• references/python-3.9.md — built-in generics, cache, removeprefix/suffix, dict union
• references/python-3.10.md — match/case, X | Y, zip(strict=), dataclass(slots=), parenthesized with
• references/python-3.11.md — ExceptionGroup, Self, StrEnum, tomllib, TaskGroup, fine-grained tracebacks
• references/python-3.12.md — PEP 695 generics, type statement, @override, itertools.batched
• references/python-3.13.md — free-threaded build, JIT, dbm.sqlite3, removals
• references/python-3.14.md — PEP 649 deferred annotations + annotationlib, t-strings (PEP 750), concurrent.interpreters (PEP 734), PEP 779 free-threaded official, pathlib.Path.copy/move
• references/stdlib-decision-tree.md — "I want to do X; which module?" lookup table
• references/anti-patterns.md — full catalog organized by Correctness / Maintainability / Readability / Performance / Security, expanded from QuantifiedCode's Python Anti-Patterns book and modernized for Python 3.9+

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Sources

Content in this skill was verified against the official "What's New in Python" pages:

• Python 3.9: https://docs.python.org/3/whatsnew/3.9.html
• Python 3.10: https://docs.python.org/3/whatsnew/3.10.html
• Python 3.11: https://docs.python.org/3/whatsnew/3.11.html
• Python 3.12: https://docs.python.org/3/whatsnew/3.12.html
• Python 3.13: https://docs.python.org/3/whatsnew/3.13.html
• Python 3.14: https://docs.python.org/3/whatsnew/3.14.html

For PEPs: https://peps.python.org/ (e.g. PEP 585 → https://peps.python.org/pep-0585/). For module references: https://docs.python.org/3/library/.html.

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Quick Reference Card

BEFORE writing a loop:        Can it be a comprehension / itertools call?
BEFORE writing a class:       Can it be @dataclass / NamedTuple / SimpleNamespace?
BEFORE writing isinstance:    Can it be singledispatch / match?
BEFORE writing a cache dict:  Use functools.cache.
BEFORE writing os.path:       Use pathlib.Path.
BEFORE writing lambda key:    Use operator.itemgetter / attrgetter.
BEFORE writing try/except:    Use contextlib.suppress where applicable.
BEFORE manual freq counting:  Use collections.Counter.
BEFORE list.pop(0):           Use collections.deque.
BEFORE sorted(...)[:k] (smallest):       Use heapq.nsmallest.
BEFORE sorted(..., reverse=True)[:k]:    Use heapq.nlargest.
WHEN dispatching:             functools.singledispatch or match/case.
WHEN unsure of an API:        WebFetch docs.python.org/3/library/<module>.html — signature + examples.
AFTER writing:                Scan against §17 — any match is a defect; fix before emitting.
WHEN in doubt:                Search the stdlib index before writing code.