Hey! I’ve been optimizing Python scripts for years, and I’m a big fan of balancing performance with code readability. Using functools.reduce with operator.mul is my personal favorite for built-in Python solutions. It’s simple, clean, and performant:
from operator import mul
from functools import reduce
def product_with_reduce(lst):
return reduce(mul, lst, 1)
This avoids the overhead of a lambda function and ensures your code is readable even for those less familiar with Python’s advanced features.
For example, if your list is [1, 2, 3, 4], the result would be 24. If the list is empty, the third argument (1) acts as the initial value, ensuring the function doesn’t break.
Between this and the loop-based approach, reduce gives a more Pythonic feel when dealing with the python product of list, especially for concise one-liners or functional programming enthusiasts!