7 Things You Didn’t Know Dataclasses Could Do

7 Things You Didn’t Know Dataclasses Could Do | Issue #88

Published 4 days ago • 1 min read

Most Python developers know dataclasses.

Or at least… they think they do 🙂.

You add @dataclass, define a few fields, and enjoy writing less boilerplate. But dataclasses hide a lot more power than most people realize and some of that power can quietly bite you if you don’t understand what’s really going on.

In this week’s video, I walk through 7 lesser-known dataclass features that make your code safer, clearer, and easier to maintain. I start with common pitfalls like mutable defaults, then move into derived fields, immutability, ordering, slots, keyword-only constructors, custom factories, and even abstract dataclasses.

I also explain when dataclasses actually make sense in clean software design… and when they don’t. Because despite all this power, there’s a reason I still use them selectively.

Have a great week,

Arjan

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