Python Memory Deep-Dive: A Performance Optimization Guide Course

What's this course about and how is it different?

This very unique course will teach not just how Python memory management works and how to create code that functions well within that world, it will provide many concrete techniques, tools, design patterns, and more to make your programs more memory efficient and computationally faster to boot.

If Python memory (allocations, clean up, and so on) has always felt like a weird black box that you have had to take for granted, join this course and open that box. There are many beautiful and interesting aspects of Python's runtime behavior making your code run. You should understand what's happening on your behalf.

What topics are covered

In this course, you will:

• Learn how Python variables and data structures actually look in the CPython layer
• See how the small object allocator treats most objects differently than your intuition
• Understand Python's memory allocation primitives: blocks, pools, and arenas
• Locate the elements on C code responsible for Python memory behavior
• See reference counting in action with live code explorations
• Discover why reference counting alone is not enough for memory cleanup
• Work with Python's GC and see when it's needed, and when it's not
• Compare different data structures to get a sense of their relative size
• Use multiple clever but simple techniques to massively reduce memory during function calls
• Lighten up your classes with properties
• Leverage multiple memory profilers to investigate memory usage line by line and over time
• And lots more

View the full course outline.

Who is this course for?

This course is for anyone who wants to understand how Python memory is managed and make their code more efficient and faster. If you're tired of Python memory being a black box hiding its behavior, turn on the light with this course.

The student requirements are quite light for this course. You'll need Basic Python language knowledge:

• Classes
• Functions
• Properties
• Variables
• Loops
• Iteration

Note: All software used during this course, including editors, Python language, etc., are 100% free and open source. You won't have to buy anything to take the course.

Concepts backed by concise visuals

While exploring a topic interactively with demos and live code is very engaging, it can mean losing the forest for the trees. That's why when we hit a new topic, we stop and discuss it with concise and clear visuals.

Here's an example of understanding the generational garbage collector and how objects migrate through the generations.

Get hands-on for almost every chapter

Things often get too abstract when talking about memory management and related concepts. In this course, we'll develop a lot of code demonstrating most of the features and functionality we discuss.

You'll have access to all the source code at github.com/talkpython/python-memory-management-course where you can explore and tweak things to see how they run and change behavior.

This course is delivered in very high resolution

This course is delivered in 1440p (4x the pixels as 720p). When you're watching the videos for this course, it will feel like you're sitting next to the instructor looking at their screen.

Every little detail, menu item, and icon is clear and crisp. Watch the introductory video at the top of this page to see an example.

Follow along with subtitles and transcripts

Each course comes with subtitles and full transcripts. The transcripts are available as a separate searchable page for each lecture. They also are available in course-wide search results to help you find just the right lecture.

Who am I? Why should you take my course?

My name is Michael, nice to meet you. ;) There are a couple of reasons I'm especially qualified to teach you Python.

 1. I'm the host of the #1 podcast on Python called Talk Python To Me. Over there, I've interviewed many of the leaders and creators in the Python community. I bring that perspective to all the courses I create.

 2. I've been a professional software trainer for over 10 years. I have taught literally thousands of professional developers in hundreds of courses throughout the world.

 3. Students have loved my courses. Here are just a few quotes from past students of mine.

"Michael is super knowledgeable, loves his craft, and he conveys it all well. I would highly recommend his training class anytime." - Robert F.

"Michael is simply an outstanding instructor." - Kevin R.

"Michael was an encyclopedia for the deep inner workings of Python. Very impressive." - Neal L.

Free office hours keep you from getting stuck

One of the challenges of self-paced online learning is getting stuck. It can be hard to get the help you need to get unstuck.

That's why at Talk Python Training, we offer live, online office hours. You drop in and join a group of fellow students to chat about your course progress and see solutions via screen sharing.

Just visit your account page to see the upcoming office hour schedule.

The time to act is now

No matter what you're building with Python, you should understand how it works when it runs your code. This course will give you that next-level insight with concrete examples and references back to the CPython source code.

Dive into Python memory management and level up your understanding. Join today! You've got nothing to lose. Every one of our courses comes with a 2-week money-back guarantee.