Python Case Conversion

Overview

This skill provides comprehensive guidance on converting strings between different case formats in Python using the pydash library. Convert between camelCase, snake_case, kebab-case, PascalCase, and many other formats commonly used in programming.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• •Converting variable names between different naming conventions (e.g., Python's snake_case to JavaScript's camelCase)
• •Transforming API response field names to match local code conventions
• •Creating URL-friendly slugs from titles or descriptions
• •Formatting strings for display purposes (title case, start case, human case)
• •Adapting code between different programming languages with different naming conventions
• •Bulk renaming variables or fields to follow a style guide
• •Working with database column names and converting them to/from code variable names

Quick Start

To convert between string cases in Python, use the pydash library:

import pydash as _

# Convert to camelCase
_.camel_case("foo bar baz")  # "fooBarBaz"

# Convert to snake_case
_.snake_case("FooBarBaz")  # "foo_bar_baz"

# Convert to kebab-case
_.kebab_case("Foo Bar Baz")  # "foo-bar-baz"

# Convert to PascalCase
_.pascal_case("foo bar baz")  # "FooBarBaz"

# Create URL slug
_.slugify("Hello World!")  # "hello-world"

Common Conversion Tasks

Converting Variable Names Between Languages

When working with APIs or multi-language codebases:

import pydash as _

# Python to JavaScript
python_var = "user_email_address"
js_var = _.camel_case(python_var)  # "userEmailAddress"

# JavaScript to Python
js_field = "firstName"
python_field = _.snake_case(js_field)  # "first_name"

# Python to CSS
python_class = "primary_button"
css_class = _.kebab_case(python_class)  # "primary-button"

Creating URL Slugs

For blog posts, articles, or any URL-friendly strings:

import pydash as _

title = "My Amazing Blog Post!"
slug = _.slugify(title)  # "my-amazing-blog-post"

# With custom separator
slug = _.slugify(title, separator="_")  # "my_amazing_blog_post"

Display-Friendly Labels

Convert code variable names to user-friendly labels:

import pydash as _

# Database column to label
_.start_case("created_at")  # "Created At"
_.title_case("user_email")  # "User Email"

# Special handling for _id suffix
_.human_case("user_id")  # "User" (removes _id)

Bulk Transformations

When converting multiple fields at once:

import pydash as _

# Convert API response keys
api_response = {
    "firstName": "John",
    "lastName": "Doe",
    "emailAddress": "john@example.com"
}

python_response = {
    _.snake_case(key): value
    for key, value in api_response.items()
}
# Result: {"first_name": "John", "last_name": "Doe", "email_address": "john@example.com"}

Available Case Conversion Functions

For a complete reference of all available functions, see references/case_conversion_functions.md.

Key functions include:

• •camel_case() - Convert to camelCase (first letter lowercase)
• •pascal_case() - Convert to PascalCase (first letter uppercase)
• •snake_case() - Convert to snake_case (underscores)
• •kebab_case() - Convert to kebab-case (hyphens)
• •slugify() - Convert to URL-safe slug
• •title_case() - Convert to Title Case
• •start_case() - Convert to Start Case
• •human_case() - Convert to human-friendly format
• •upper_case() - Convert to UPPER CASE (with spaces)
• •lower_case() - Convert to lower case (with spaces)
• •separator_case(separator) - Convert using custom separator

Programming Convention Reference

Different contexts require different naming conventions:

Installation

If pydash is not installed, install it with:

pip install pydash

Detailed Reference

For comprehensive documentation including:

• •Complete function reference table with examples
• •Detailed usage patterns for each function
• •Unicode and special character handling
• •Advanced use cases and edge cases

See: references/case_conversion_functions.md