If you’ve been learning Python for a while, you’ve probably come across the term decorators. At first, they can seem confusing, but don’t worry — in this post, we’ll break them down into simple terms and walk through real-life examples that will make them click.
🔹 What is a Decorator?
A decorator in Python is simply a function that wraps another function to add extra functionality without modifying its original code.
Think of it like adding extra toppings to your pizza 🍕 — the base pizza is still the same, but the toppings add more flavor.
🔹 A Simple Example
python def my_decorator(func): def wrapper(): print("Before the function runs") func() print("After the function runs") return wrapper @my_decorator def say_hello(): print("Hello, world!") say_hello() Output: Before the function runs Hello, world! After the function runs --- 🔹 Real-Life Example 1: Logging Imagine you want to log every time a function runs. def log_decorator(func): def wrapper(*args, **kwargs): print(f"Function '{func.__name__}' is being called...") return func(*args, **kwargs) return wrapper @log_decorator def add(a, b): return a + b print(add(5, 3)) --- 🔹 Real-Life Example 2: Timing a Function Want to check how long a function takes to run? Use a decorator! import time def timer_decorator(func): def wrapper(*args, **kwargs): start = time.time() result = func(*args, **kwargs) end = time.time() print(f"Function '{func.__name__}' ran in {end - start:.4f} seconds") return result return wrapper @timer_decorator def slow_function(): time.sleep(2) print("Finished slow function!") slow_function() --- 🔹 Why Use Decorators? Cleaner and reusable code ✅ Helps separate logic (e.g., logging, authentication, timing) ✅ Keeps your functions focused on their main job ✅ --- 🔹 Key Takeaway Decorators may seem tricky at first, but they’re just a powerful way to extend functions without changing them directly. Start small, and you’ll quickly see how useful they are in real projects! --- 💡 What’s your favorite use case for decorators in Python? Share it in the comments! 🚀 
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