🕯️ Magic Note
This is an easter egg hidden inside Python. The this module does not contain functions or classes. When imported, its __init__ method prints the Zen of Python to the console. The text is encoded using a simple cipher (rot13) and decoded before printing. A small joke that became a beloved tradition.
- Works in any Python interpreter, from 1.5 to 3.x
- The text is encoded in rot13 under the surface
- Can only be called once per session, subsequent imports do nothing
- The module has no public functions or attributes
| Zen Line | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Beautiful is better than ugly | Prioritize clean, readable code |
| Simple is better than complex | Solve problems with the simplest approach |
| Readability counts | Code is read more often than it is written |
| Errors should never pass silently | Handle exceptions properly |
| There should be one obvious way to do it | Avoid unnecessary creativity in syntax |
| Now is better than never | Deliver working code, then improve it |
Python
# The secret easter egg
import this
# Output:
# The Zen of Python, by Tim Peters
#
# Beautiful is better than ugly.
# Explicit is better than implicit.
# Simple is better than complex.
# Complex is better than complicated.
# Flat is better than nested.
# Sparse is better than dense.
# Readability counts.
# … and more lines
Python
# The Zen is only printed once
import this
import this
# Output: (first import prints the Zen)
# Output: (second import does nothing)
Python
# The Zen as a hidden encoded module
import this
print(this)
# Output:
print(dir(this))
# Output: [‘__builtins__’, ‘__cached__’, ‘__doc__’, ‘__file__’, … ‘s’]
# The ‘s’ attribute contains the rot13 encoded text
- Typing import this expecting functions or classes to use, it is only an easter egg
- Trying to import this multiple times to see the text again, it only prints once per session
- Assuming the Zen is official documentation, it is philosophy not specification
⚡ Whisper
The library holds no books, only echoes. Type the spell and the voice appears. Not instructions. Not answers. Wisdom. Read it slowly. Let it sink. The patterns are there, seen by those who truly look.
