Once you've mastered the basics of Python, how do you skill up to the top 1%? How do you focus your learning time on topics that yield the most benefit for production engineering and data teams—without getting distracted by info of little real-world use? This book answers these questions and more. Based on author Aaron Maxwell's software engineering career in Silicon Valley, this unique book focuses on the Python first principles that act to accelerate everything else: the 5% of programming knowledge that makes the remaining 95% fall like dominos. It's also this knowledge that helps you become an exceptional Python programmer, fast. Learn how to think like a Pythonista: explore advanced Pythonic thinking Create lists, dicts, and other data structures using a high-level, readable, and maintainable syntax Explore higher-order function abstractions that form the basis of Python libraries Examine Python's metaprogramming tools for priceless patterns of code reuse Master Python's error model and learn how to leverage it in your own code Learn the more potent and advanced tools of Python's object system Take a deep dive into Python's automated testing and TDD Learn how Python logging helps you troubleshoot and debug more quickly