Python — 8 Essential Decorators You Should Know

Tony
7 min readApr 16, 2024

What is Python Decorator

Decorators in Python are a powerful and flexible feature used to modify or enhance the behavior of functions or classes. Essentially, a decorator is a function that takes another function or class as its argument and returns a new function or class.

They are commonly used to add extra functionality or features without altering the original code. The syntax for using decorators involves the “@” symbol, applied to the target function or class. In the following, we will introduce ten simple yet very useful custom decorators.

Why Do We Need Decorators

Decorators serve several key purposes in Python, making them a valuable tool for developers:

  • Code Reusability: Decorators allow you to apply the same functionality across multiple functions or classes without duplicating code. This promotes code reusability and keeps your codebase DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself).
  • Separation of Concerns: By encapsulating functionality within decorators, you can separate the core logic of your functions or classes from auxiliary concerns like logging, timing, or access control. This separation enhances code readability and maintainability.
  • Syntax Convenience: The syntactic sugar of…

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