Decorators in Python are a powerful tool that allows you to modify or enhance the behavior of functions or methods without permanently changing their code. They are essentially higher-order functions that take another function as an argument and extend its behavior.

Here's how decorators work:

Define the Decorator Function: A decorator is a function that wraps another function. It typically takes a function as an argument, defines an inner wrapper function that modifies or extends the original function's behavior, and returns this wrapper function.

Apply the Decorator: Decorators are applied to functions using the @decorator_name syntax above the function definition. This is syntactic sugar for passing the function to the decorator and reassigning it to the returned wrapper function.

Wrapper Function: The wrapper function can execute code before and after the original function, modify its inputs or outputs, or handle exceptions. This allows for flexible and reusable modifications.

Example:

python
Copy code
def my_decorator(func):
def wrapper():
print("Something before the function.")
func()
print("Something after the function.")
return wrapper

@mydecorator
def sayhello():
print("Hello!")

sayhello()
In this example, mydecorator modifies say_hello to print additional messages before and after its execution. Decorators can be particularly useful for logging, access control, memoization, and more. For a deeper understanding and hands-on practice, consider enrolling in a python course for beginners.