[August 2025] Python Monthly Newsletter | Zero To Mastery

"Welcome to the 69th issue of Python Monthly! If it's your first time here, welcome, I like you already. If you want the full back story on this monthly newsletter, head here. The quick version: I curate and share the most important Python articles, news, resources, podcasts, and videos. Think the Pareto Principle (80/20 rule) meeting the Python world. I give you the 20% that will get you 80% of the results."

"Python is an incredibly versatile programming language known for its simplicity and readability. Among its features, the ability to use classes for object-oriented programming is both powerful and frequently recommended. However, classes aren't always the best solution. In many cases, Python's built-in types, functions, and standard library modules provide simpler, cleaner alternatives. Here are several scenarios where you might not need a Python class"

"I found a cool library for you to play with this weekend: Tilf (Tiny Elf) is a free, simple yet powerful pixel art editor built with PySide6. It's designed for creating sprites, icons, and small 2D assets with essential drawing tools, live preview, undo/redo, export options and more. pyx is now in Beta and is out from the Astral team. It is a Python-native package registry. Go check it out...the Astral team has been building some great tools around the Python ecosystem lately."

Python performance myths receive scrutiny with practical considerations about interpreter behavior, optimization costs, and where tuning actually matters. Classes are presented as optional tools; built-in types, functions, and standard library modules often provide simpler, clearer solutions for many tasks. Nested functions showcase encapsulation, closures, and composability by defining functions inside other functions. Tilf (Tiny Elf) offers a compact pixel-art editor with drawing tools, live preview, undo/redo, export options, and sprite-focused features. pyx reaches Beta as a Python-native package registry, and complementary tooling includes a code formatter to standardize project style.

Read at Zero To Mastery