Even better: If you put the string right after your function/class definition, python automatically assigns it to the `__doc__` attribute of the object. This is how the `help` function works.
As ironic(?) as this sounds, where is this doc feature documented?
(Part of my learning is that I am trying hard to learn how to navigate the various Python documentation. For example, I had a hell of a time trying to find a list of format strings, as different sources refer to it as different things)
And for people who will no doubt call me out on this, I have been working on Zed's LPtHW for about a month. I have done numerous searches regarding Python problems, and this is literally the first time I have come across a PEP reference to look at beside PEP 8.
BTW, what you call "an opinionated piece on how to write Python" was originally written by Guido van Rossum, the guy who invented Python in the first place. I think that gives him the right to say something on the topic...
(You ought to know that Python has a large following with a strong community feeling. Making negative remarks about their BDFL - benevolent dictator for life - van Rossum does not go down well ;-) )
And I hope that other people don't think I used the wording 'opinionated' in a negative way. I do know about the concept of a BDFL, and I do know that Guido was behind those comments.
But I still stand behind my assessment that the PEP 8 comments are opinionated. And maybe rightly so. ;)
Doesn't make it any less of a community. Families can disagree with each other and still love each other.
It's not code, but also see Raymond Hettinger's talk "Beyond PEP 8" on YouTube. Actually, pretty much any talk by Hettinger is worth watching: