When should I use decorators instead of context managers?

When should I use decorators instead of context managers?

Decorators are used to modify the behavior of functions or methods, while context managers are used for resource management. If you need to wrap a function to add functionality, use a decorator. If you need to manage resources like file handling, use a context manager.

Can you give me an example of a decorator?

Sure! Here's a simple decorator that logs the execution time of a function:

import time

def timer(func):
    def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
        start_time = time.time()
        result = func(*args, **kwargs)
        end_time = time.time()
        print(f"{func.__name__} executed in {end_time - start_time} seconds")
        return result
    return wrapper

What about a context manager example?

Here's a context manager that opens a file and ensures it's properly closed:

class FileManager:
    def __init__(self, filename):
        self.filename = filename

    def __enter__(self):
        self.file = open(self.filename, 'r')
        return self.file

    def __exit__(self, exc_type, exc_value, traceback):
        self.file.close()

You can use it like this:

with FileManager('example.txt') as f:
    content = f.read()