Python Quick Reference

View as a Python script or a Jupyter notebook

This is the reference guide to Python that I wish had existed when I was learning the language.

Here's what I want in a reference guide:

• High-quality examples that show the simplest possible usage of a given feature
• Explanatory comments, and descriptive variable names that eliminate the need for some comments
• Presented as a single script (or notebook), so that I can keep it open and search it when needed
• Code that can be run from top to bottom, with the relevant objects defined nearby

This is not written as a full-fledged Python tutorial, though I ordered the topics such that you can read it like a tutorial (i.e., each topic depends only on material preceding it).

The guide was written using Python 2 but is fully compatible with Python 3. Relevant differences between Python 2 and 3 are noted throughout the guide.

Table of Contents

• Imports
• Data Types
• Math
• Comparisons and Boolean Operations
• Conditional Statements
• Lists
• Tuples
• Strings
• Dictionaries
• Sets
• Defining Functions
• Anonymous (Lambda) Functions
• For Loops and While Loops
• Comprehensions
• Map and Filter

Other Python Resources

If you like the general format of this guide, but need more explanation of each topic, I highly recommend reading the Appendix of Python for Data Analysis. It presents the essentials of the Python language in a clear and focused manner.

If you are looking for a resource that will help you to learn Python from scratch, this is my list of recommended resources.

Suggestions or Corrections

If there's a topic or example you'd like me to add to this guide, or you notice a mistake, please create a GitHub issue or leave a blog comment.

Thank you!