Python Decorators 101

Christopher Bailey 20 Lessons 1h 7m
intermediate python

In this course on Python decorators, you’ll learn what they are and how to create and use them. Decorators provide a simple syntax for calling higher-order functions in Python. By definition, a decorator is a function that takes another function and extends the behavior of the latter function without explicitly modifying it.

Decorators Q&A Transcript: Click here to get access to a 25-page chat log from our Python decorators Q&A session in the Real Python Community Slack where we discussed common decorator questions.

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Section 1: Functions

6 Lessons 13m

1. Decorators Course Introduction and Overview 00:47

2. An Example Function 02:45

3. Functions as First-Class Objects in Python 03:08

4. Inner Functions 02:37

5. Returning Functions From Functions 03:23

6. Section 1 Review 00:56

Section 2: Decorators

8 Lessons 28m

1. Section 2 Overview 00:31

2. Simple Decorators 06:16

3. Syntactic Sugar 02:53

4. Reusing Decorators 02:37

5. Decorating Functions With Arguments 06:10

6. Returning Values From Decorated Functions 03:22

7. Who Are You, Really? 05:45

8. Section 2 Review 01:20

Section 3: Real-World Examples

6 Lessons 25m

1. Section 3 Overview 02:09

2. Timing Functions With Decorators 05:47

3. Debugging Code With Decorators 08:50

4. Slowing Down Code With Decorators 03:31

5. Registering Plugins With Decorators 03:38

6. Decorators 101 Recap and Review 01:14

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About Christopher Bailey

Chris is an avid Pythonista and creates video tutorials for Real Python. He is a programmer and data analyst. He creates music under the name Tripnet. Chris lives in Colorado with his wife and two dogs.

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Participant Comments

mo on Dec. 25, 2021

This lesson was great for me. It connects multiple loose ends and gives the experience of closure. I will be playing around with this some more in the coming weeks. I always want slow speekers: Christopher speaks way too fast for me, but it is just about perfect at speed 0.75.

Thanks a lot for this one. Do not throw it away ever. It might me an older video, but I think it has great value.

7ssanM on Oct. 16, 2021

Wonderful summary, easy to grasp, thank you very much Christopher and Real Python team.

Maram-dev on April 27, 2021

Amazing! Now I can understand functions!!! Thank you Chris! :)

acharya2chn on June 19, 2020

Thank you for this masterpiece! There is so much to understand and learn.

eshivaprasad on May 5, 2020

It is very clear Christopher Bailey. I really enjoyed it. Continue your great work

Howard M Sherman on April 22, 2020

Really liked this class. It was a slow and methodical exposition on a difficult topic. I’ll probably review the class a few more times for it all to sink in. Thanks Chris!!!

marktripney on April 6, 2020

I was working through a tutorial on OOP, and decorators were mentioned. Not being very confident that I knew what they were, I found myself here, and I’ve learned a huge amount already. Excellent course, Christopher - thank you.

rtbjobsml on Feb. 27, 2020

A great intro to decorators

Patrick Prince on Feb. 15, 2020

Lots of material was covered here. Very useful. Thanks!

Fahim on June 24, 2019

Good real world example. Thanks

Vanam on May 9, 2019

Excellent Tutorial and good examples

Alan Eng on May 7, 2019

Mind = blown. The real-world examples really solidify my knowledge! Thanks.

Javier Estraviz on April 22, 2019

Great tutorial!! Thanks!

Vignesh Anand Krishnan on April 8, 2019

These video materials are so better than the written articles. keep up the good work guys.

SamR on April 4, 2019

Very helpful tutorial. Thanks!

DMonty on March 30, 2019

The video version of this tutorial was much better for me than the written one, which to me just seemed like an exercise to go through. I found the real world examples almost riveting and have them safely saved away!

Sagar on March 28, 2019

Thanks for the awesome tutorial on Decorators. If I had to study decorators for an interview this would be my one stop shop for decorators starting right from the Beginner

Rynaldo I Bama on March 24, 2019

It explains the concepts clearly and concisely.

Bradon on March 19, 2019

Great overview of decorators!

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