The Python Language

Hendrik Speleers
 The Python Language

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Overview
– IPython/Jupyter
– Data types
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Numerics, tuples, lists and strings

– Control flow
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Selection: if, if-elif-else
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Repetition: while, for

– Reusing code
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Functions
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Scripts and modules
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 The Python Language

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IPython/Jupyter: tips and tricks
– Getting help by using ? after an object
– Tab completion to view object’s attributes (object.<TAB>)
– Magic functions, prefixed with % sign
● %run : execute python script
● %whos : overview variables
● %cd : change the current working directory
● %timeit : time the execution of short snippits
● %quickref : show a cheat-sheet
● %automagic : omit the % sign (default on)
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 The Python Language

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Special characters for instructions
– Use # to indicate comments
– Use ;
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to suppress the printing of output
●
to separate multiple statements on the same line (discouraged)

In [1]: 1 + 1 # output
Out[1]: 2
In [2]: 1 + 1; # no output
In [3]: print(1 + 1); # output
2

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 The Python Language

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Data types: python example
– No need to declare the type of variables

In [1]: a = 3 # integer
In [2]: type(a)
Out[2]: int
In [3]: 2 * a
Out[3]: 6
In [4]: a = 'hello' # string
In [5]: type(a)
Out[5]: str
In [6]: 2 * a
Out[6]: 'hellohello'
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 The Python Language

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Data types: numerics
– Integer Float

In [1]: a = 1 + 1 In [1]: a = 2.1

...: type(a) ...: type(a)
Out[1]: int Out[1]: float

– Complex Boolean

In [1]: a = 1.0 + 1.0j In [1]: a = False

...: type(a) ...: type(a)
Out[1]: complex Out[1]: bool
In [2]: a.real + a.imag In [2]: 3 < 4
Out[2]: 2.0 Out[2]: True
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 The Python Language

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Data types: numerics
– Basic arithmetic operations
● Addition (+), subtraction (-), multiplication (*), division (/)
● Power (**), integer division (//), modulo (%)
● Self-operators (+=, -=, ...)

– Python2 vs. Python3

In [1]: 3 / 2 In [1]: 3 / 2
Out[1]: 1 Out[1]: 1.5
In [2]: 3 / 2.0
2 In [2]: 3 // 2.0
3
Out[2]: 1.5 Out[2]: 1.0

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 The Python Language

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Data types: numerics
– Type casting: conversion of one type into another
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Explicit via type cast operator
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Implicit via promotion to larger type in operations

In [1]: float(1)
Out[1]: 1.0
In [2]: 1 + 2.5
Out[2]: 3.5
In [3]: 1 + int(2.5)
Out[3]: 3

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 The Python Language

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Data types: tuples
– A tuple is an ordered, immutable collection of objects
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Objects may have different types

In [1]: tup1 = 1, 2, 3
In [2]: tup2 = ('a', 'b', 'c')
In [3]: tup3 = (1, 2, 'z')
In [4]: type(tup3), len(tup3)
Out[4]: (tuple, 3)
In [5]: x, y = 10, 20 # tuple unpacking

– Data extraction is the same as for lists (see next)

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 The Python Language

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Data types: lists
– A list is an ordered collection of objects (may have different types)

In [1]: colors = ['red', 'green', 'blue']

...: type(colors), len(colors)
Out[1]: (list, 3)

– Indexing: zero-based
0-based: C++, Java
In [2]: colors[0], colors[1] 1-based: Fortran, Matlab
Out[2]: ('red', 'green')
In [3]: colors[-1]
Out[3]: 'blue'
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 The Python Language

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Data types: lists
– Slicing syntax: list[start:stop:step]

In [1]: colors = ['c', 'o', 'l', 0, 'r', 's']

In [2]: colors[2:4:2]
Out[2]: ['l']
In [3]: colors[2:4]
Out[3]: ['l', 0] default:
In [4]: colors[:3] start=0
Out[4]: ['c', 'o', 'l'] stop=len
In [5]: colors[::2] step=1
Out[5]: ['c', 'l', 'r']

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 The Python Language

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Data types: lists
– Modification of objects

In [6]: colors[3] = 'o'; colors

Out[6]: ['c', 'o', 'l', 'o', 'r', 's']
In [7]: colors[:3:2] = ['C', 'L']; colors
Out[7]: ['C', 'o', 'L', 'o', 'r', 's']

– Reverse order

In [8]: colors[::-1] # make new list

Out[8]: ['s', 'r', 'o', 'L', 'o', 'C']
In [9]: colors.reverse() # update this list
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 The Python Language

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Data types: lists
– Sort list

In [8]: sorted(colors) # make new list

Out[8]: ['C', 'L', 'o', 'o', 'r', 's']
In [9]: colors.sort() # update this list

– Other methods for list manipulation: list.method

● append(object), extend(list)
● insert(index, object) example of
object-oriented
● pop(), pop(index)
programming
● remove(value)
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 The Python Language

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Data types: lists
– Assignment: pass by reference

In [1]: a = [1, 2, 3]
In [2]: b = a; b[1] = 'hi'
In [3]: a
Out[3]: [1, 'hi', 3]
to ensure a
copy of a list:
– Indexing/slicing: pass by value b = list(a)
b = a.copy()
In [4]: b[:] = ['a', 'b', 'c']
In [5]: a
Out[5]: ['a', 'b', 'c']
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 The Python Language

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Data types: lists
– Concatenation (+) and repetition (*)

In [1]: colors = ['r', 'g', 'b']

In [2]: colors + sorted(colors)
Out[2]: ['r', 'g', 'b', 'b', 'g', 'r']
In [3]: 2 * colors
Out[3]: ['r', 'g', 'b', 'r', 'g', 'b']

– A list can contain other lists

– For collections of numercial data of same type,
more efficient to use array from the module numpy
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 The Python Language

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Data types: strings
– Different syntax of quoting

s = 'Hi, how are you?' # single quotes

s = "What's up, man?" # double quotes
s = '''Hello,
how is it going?''' # tripling quotes
s = 'What\'s up, man?'
s = 'Hello,\n how is it going?' # using backslash

– Concatenation (+) and repetition (*)

s = 2 * 'hello, ' + 'super!'

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 The Python Language

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Data types: strings
– Strings are similar to tuples (immutable lists)

In [1]: s = 'Hello, world!'

In [2]: s[3:6], s[-1]
Out[2]: ('lo,', '!')

– Methods for string manipulation: string.method

● capitalize(), title(), lower(), upper()
● find(value), replace(old, new)
makes a new string
● partition(sep), split()
(differs from list!)
● strip(), zfill(width)
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 The Python Language

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Data types: strings
– Formatting

In [1]: value = 99
In [2]: 'filename' + str(value) + '.ext'
Out[2]: 'filename99.ext'
In [3]: 'filename%d.ext' % value
Out[3]: 'filename99.ext'

– Formatting placeholders
● %s, %d, %f : string, integer, float
● %.<number of digits>f
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 The Python Language

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Data types: other container types
– Dictionary: maps keys to values, unordered

In [1]: batch = {'a':1, 'b':2, 'c':3}

...: batch['a'] = 5
...: batch.keys()
Out[1]: dict_keys(['a', 'b', 'c'])

– Set: unique items, unordered

In [1]: batch = set(['a', 'b', 'c'])

...: batch.difference(['b', 'c'])
Out[1]: {'a'}

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 The Python Language
a b a and b a or b not a
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Control flow False False False False True

– Logical operators : and, or, not False True False True True
True False False True False
True True True True False
– Conditional expressions
● a == b : tests equality, with logics (similar for !=, <, >, >=, <= )
● a is b : tests identity, both sides are same object
● a in b : for any collection b: b contains a

In [1]: 5 == (3 + 2) and 3 > 0

Out[1]: True
In [2]: 5 not in [1, 2, 3]
Out[2]: True

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 The Python Language

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Control flow: selection

Statement
Statement Statement
Statement

YES
Statement
Statement Condition
Condition Statement
Statement

NO

Statement
Statement Statement
Statement

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 The Python Language

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Control flow: selection

Statement
Statement

NO YES
Statement
Statement Condition
Condition Statement
Statement

Statement
Statement

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 The Python Language

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Control flow: selection
– If statement

if condition: statement In [1]: if 2**2 == 4:

if condition: ...: print('obvious')
block obvious

– Blocks are delimited by indentation (four spaces)

– Conditions evaluate to true for
● boolean True
● any number different from zero ( 0, 0.0, 0+0j )
●
a non-empty collection (tuple, list, ...)
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 The Python Language

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Control flow: selection
– If-elif-else statement

In [1]: a = 10
In [2]: if a == 0:
...: print('zero')
...: elif a == 1:
...: print('one')
...: elif a == 2:
...: print('two')
...: else:
...: print('a lot')
a lot

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 The Python Language

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Control flow: selection
– If-else expression

expr_true if condition else expr_false

In [1]: a, b = 10, 20
In [2]: print(a if a > b else b)
20
In [3]: if a > b: print(a)
...: else: print(b)
20

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 The Python Language

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Control flow: repetition

Statement
Statement Statement
Statement

REPEAT
n times
Statement
Statement Statement
Statement

Statement
Statement Statement
Statement

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 The Python Language

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Control flow: repetition
– While loop

while condition: while condition:

block statement
break
– For loop statement
continue
statement
for item in collection:
block statement

– Altering behavior by break and continue

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 The Python Language

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Control flow: repetition
– While loop

while condition: In [1]: colors = ['r', 'g', 'b']

block In [2]: i = 0
...: while i < len(colors):
...: print(colors[i])
– For loop
...: i = i + 1
r
for item in collection: g
block b

– Altering behavior by break and continue

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 The Python Language

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Control flow: repetition
– While loop

while condition: In [1]: colors = ['r', 'g', 'b']

block In [2]: for c in colors:
...: print(c)
r
– For loop
g
b
for item in collection:
block

– Altering behavior by break and continue

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 The Python Language

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Control flow: repetition
– While/for-else loop

In [1]: words = ['spam', 'ham', 'eggs']

In [2]: s = 'foo'
In [3]: for w in words:
...: if w == s:
...: # Processing for item found
...: break
...: else:
...: # Processing for item not found
...: print(s, 'not found in list')
foo not found in list

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 The Python Language

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Control flow: repetition
– Numeric range: range(start, stop, step)

In [1]: numbers = range(5)

In [2]: type(numbers), list(numbers)
Out[2]: (range, [0, 1, 2, 3, 4])
In [3]: for n in numbers:
...: print(n)
0
1
2
3
4

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 The Python Language

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Control flow: repetition
– Enumeration number: enumerate(collection, start)

In [1]: words = ['spam', 'ham', 'eggs']

In [2]: for i in range(len(words)):
...: print(i, words[i])
0 spam
1 ham
2 eggs
In [3]: for i, item in enumerate(words):
...: print(i, item)
0 spam
1 ham
2 eggs

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 The Python Language

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Control flow: repetition
– List comprehension

[expr for item in collection if condition]

In [1]: numbers = [4, 3, 1, 5]

In [2]: [n**2 for n in numbers]
Out[2]: [16, 9, 1, 25]
In [3]: [n**2 for n in numbers if n > 2]
Out[3]: [16, 9, 25]

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 The Python Language

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Reusing code: functions
– Defining functions

def funname(arguments): In [1]: def print_hello():

block ...: print('hello')
In [2]: print_hello()
– Return data hello

def funname(arguments):
block
return expr

– Any number of arguments, possibly optional

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 The Python Language

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Reusing code: functions
– Defining functions

def funname(arguments): In [1]: def double_it(x=1):

block ...: x2 = x * 2
...: return x2
– Return data In [2]: double_it(3)
Out[2]: 6
def funname(arguments): In [3]: double_it()
block Out[3]: 2
return expr

– Any number of arguments, possibly optional

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 The Python Language

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Reusing code: functions
– Advanced example of arguments (keywords)

In [1]: def slicer(lst, start=None, stop=None, step=None):

...: return lst[start:stop:step]
In [2]: rhyme = 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'.split()
In [3]: slicer(rhyme)
Out[3]: ['Twinkle', 'Twinkle', 'Little', 'Star']
In [4]: slicer(rhyme, 1, step=2)
Out[4]: ['Twinkle', 'Star']
In [5]: slicer(rhyme, step=2, start=1, stop=4)
Out[5]: ['Twinkle', 'Star']

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 The Python Language

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Reusing code: functions
– Varying number of arguments (* packed into tuple and ** into dictionary)

In [1]: def print_all(*args, **kwargs):

...: for arg in args:
...: print(arg)
...: for key, arg in kwargs.items():
...: print((key, arg))
In [2]: print_all('one', 'two', x=1, y=2)
one
two
('x', 1)
('y', 2)

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 The Python Language

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Reusing code: functions
– Passing of variables: use reference whenever possible
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immutable (numerics, strings, tuples) vs. mutable (lists)

In [1]: def try_to_modify(x, y, z):

...: x = 23; y.append(42); z = [99]
...: print(x, y, z)
In [2]: a = 77; b = [9]; c = [28]
In [3]: try_to_modify(a, b, c)
23 [9, 42] [99]
In [4]: print(a, b, c)
77 [9, 42] [28]

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 The Python Language

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Reusing code: functions
– Local vs. global variables: scope and lifetime

In [1]: x = 5; z = 99
In [2]: def addx(y):
...: z = x + y
...: return z
In [3]: addx(10)
Out[3]: 15
In [4]: z
Out[4]: 99

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 The Python Language

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Reusing code: functions
– Local vs. global variables: scope and lifetime

In [1]: x = 5; z = 99
In [2]: def addx(y):
...: global z
...: z = x + y
...: return z
In [3]: addx(10)
Out[3]: 15
In [4]: z
Out[4]: 15

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 The Python Language

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Reusing code: scripts and modules
– Python files: filename.py
– Scripts are top-level files
●
Sequence of python instructions
● Execute as program in IPython using %run
– Modules are files intended to be (partially) loaded
●
Sequence of functions and variables
● Load what is needed using import

import module as name

from module import object as name
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 The Python Language

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Reusing code: scripts and modules
– Example: demo.py

#demo file In [1]: import demo

In [2]: demo.print_a()
def print_a(): a
print('a')
In [3]: import demo as dm
def print_b(): In [4]: [dm.c, dm.d]
print('b') [3, 4]
In [5]: from demo import print_b
c = 3 In [6]: print_b()
d = 4 b

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 The Python Language

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Reusing code: scripts and modules
– Many built-in modules
● Mathematics (math, cmath), system (os, sys), ...
– Mathematical module: import math
● Mathematical constants: math.pi, math.e
● Number-theory functions: math.factorial(x), math.gcd(x, y)
● Power functions: math.exp(x), math.log(x), math.sqrt(x)
● Trigonometric functions: math.cos(x), math.sin(x), math.tan(x)
– Package/library: a collection of modules
● numpy, scipy, matplotlib, ...
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