MediumExperience level: 3-5 years · 8-15 years1 min read

What is a decorator in Python?

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Concept Made Simple

Coffee Chat Question

“What is a decorator in Python?”

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Mind Map Answer

A decorator is a function that wraps another function to add behavior — logging, timing, auth — without changing its code.

Pattern
Takes a function, returns a function
Syntax
@decorator above the def

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Hands-on Keyboard

python
def shout(fn):
    def wrapper(*a, **k):
        return fn(*a, **k).upper()
    return wrapper

@shout
def greet(name):
    return f"hi {name}"

print(greet("john"))
Output
HI JOHN

Think Beyond the Expected

What If?

How do you preserve the original function's name and docstring?

Wrap the inner function with functools.wraps(fn). Otherwise the decorated function reports the wrapper's metadata instead of the original's.

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Plain-language foundations

I'm preparing for a software engineering interview and want to understand this from scratch, as a beginner.

Topic: Decorators (Python)
Interview question: "What is a decorator in Python?"

Please:
1. Explain the core idea in simple, plain language, using an everyday analogy.
2. Define any technical terms you use.
3. Walk through one small, concrete example.
4. Finish with a single sentence I can easily remember.

Keep the tone friendly and assume I'm new to this topic.
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