What is Python?

Python is a popular programming language. It was created by Guido van Rossum, and
released in 1991.
It is used for:
• web development (server-side),
• software development,
• mathematics,
• system scripting.
What can Python do?
• Python can be used on a server to create web applications.
• Python can be used alongside software to create workflows.
• Python can connect to database systems. It can also read and modify files.
• Python can be used to handle big data and perform complex mathematics.
• Python can be used for rapid prototyping, or for production-ready software
development.
Why Python?
• Python works on different platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux, Raspberry Pi, etc).
• Python has a simple syntax similar to the English language.
• Python has syntax that allows developers to write programs with fewer lines than
some other programming languages.
• Python runs on an interpreter system, meaning that code can be executed as soon as it
is written. This means that prototyping can be very quick.
• Python can be treated in a procedural way, an object-oriented way or a functional way.
Good to know
• The most recent major version of Python is Python 3, which we shall be using in this
tutorial. However, Python 2, although not being updated with anything other than
security updates, is still quite popular.
• In this tutorial Python will be written in a text editor. It is possible to write Python in
an Integrated Development Environment, such as Thonny, Pycharm, Netbeans or
Eclipse which are particularly useful when managing larger collections of Python
files.
Python Syntax compared to other programming languages
• Python was designed for readability, and has some similarities to the English language
with influence from mathematics.
• Python uses new lines to complete a command, as opposed to other programming
languages which often use semicolons or parentheses.
• Python relies on indentation, using whitespace, to define scope; such as the scope of
loops, functions and classes. Other programming languages often use curly-brackets
for this purpose.
Python Quickstart
Python is an interpreted programming language, this means that as a developer you write
Python (.py) files in a text editor and then put those files into the python interpreter to be
executed.
The way to run a python file is like this on the command line:

C:\Users\Your Name>python helloworld.py

Where "helloworld.py" is the name of your python file.

Let's write our first Python file, called helloworld.py, which can be done in any text editor.
helloworld.py
print("Hello, World!")

Simple as that. Save your file. Open your command line, navigate to the directory where you
saved your file, and run:

C:\Users\Your Name>python helloworld.py

The output should read:

Hello, World!

Python Version
To check the Python version of the editor, you can find it by importing the sys module:

Example
Check the Python version of the editor:

import sys
print(sys.version)

Or you can write python –version in command line which will tell you about the installed
version of python.
The Python Command Line
To test a short amount of code in python sometimes it is quickest and easiest not to write the
code in a file. This is made possible because Python can be run as a command line itself.
Type the following on the Windows, Mac or Linux command line:

C:\Users\Your Name>python

Or, if the "python" command did not work, you can try "py":

C:\Users\Your Name>py

From there you can write any python, including our hello world example from earlier in the
tutorial:

C:\Users\Your Name>python
Python 3.6.4
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> print("Hello, World!")
Hello, World!

Whenever you are done in the python command line, you can simply type the following to
quit the python command line interface:
exit()

Python Indentation
Indentation refers to the spaces at the beginning of a code line.
Where in other programming languages the indentation in code is for readability only, the
indentation in Python is very important.
Python uses indentation to indicate a block of code.

Example

if 5 > 2:
print("Five is greater than two!")

Python will give you an error if you skip the indentation:

Example
Syntax Error:

if 5 > 2:
print("Five is greater than two!")

The number of spaces is up to you as a programmer, the most common use is four, but it has
to be at least one. You have to use the same number of spaces in the same block of code,
otherwise Python will give you an error:

Example

if 5 > 2:
print("Five is greater than two!")
if 5 > 2:
print("Five is greater than two!")

Python Variables
In Python, variables are created when you assign a value to it. Python has no command for
declaring a variable. Variables are containers for storing data values.

Example

x=5
y = "Hello, World!"

Variables do not need to be declared with any particular type, and can even change type after
they have been set.
Example

x=4 # x is of type int

x = "Sally" # x is now of type str
print(x)

Casting
If you want to specify the data type of a variable, this can be done with casting.

Example

x = str(3) # x will be '3'

y = int(3) # y will be 3
z = float(3) # z will be 3.0

Get the Type

You can get the data type of a variable with the type() function.

Example

x=5
y = "John"
print(type(x))
print(type(y))

In Python, the data type is set when you assign a value to a variable, there four basic types of
variables
• Bolean
• Integer
• Float
• String
Single or Double Quotes?
String variables can be declared either by using single or double quotes:

Example

x = "John"
# is the same as
x = 'John'

Case-Sensitive
Variable names are case-sensitive.

Example
This will create two variables:
a=4
A = "Sally"
#A will not overwrite a

Variable Names
A variable can have a short name (like x and y) or a more descriptive name (age, carname,
total_volume). Rules for Python variables:
• A variable name must start with a letter or the underscore character
• A variable name cannot start with a number
• A variable name can only contain alpha-numeric characters and underscores (A-z, 0-
9, and _ )
• Variable names are case-sensitive (age, Age and AGE are three different variables)
• A variable name cannot be any of the Python keywords.

Example
variable names:

myvar = "John"
my_var = "John"
_my_var = "John"
myVar = "John"
MYVAR = "John"
myvar2 = "John"

Wrong variable names:

2myvar = "John"
my-var = "John"
my var = "John"

Multi Words Variable Names

Variable names with more than one word can be difficult to read.
There are several techniques you can use to make them more readable:
Camel Case
Each word, except the first, starts with a capital letter:
myVariableName = "John"

Pascal Case
Each word starts with a capital letter:
MyVariableName = "John"

Snake Case
Each word is separated by an underscore character:
my_variable_name = "John"
Many Values to Multiple Variables
Python allows you to assign values to multiple variables in one line:
Example

x, y, z = "Orange", "Banana", "Cherry"

print(x)
print(y)
print(z)

One Value to Multiple Variables

And you can assign the same value to multiple variables in one line:

Example

x = y = z = "Orange"
print(x)
print(y)
print(z)

Unpack a Collection
If you have a collection of values in a list, tuple etc. Python allows you to extract the values
into variables. This is called unpacking.

Example
Unpack a list:

fruits = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

x, y, z = fruits
print(x)
print(y)
print(z)

Output Variables
The Python print() function is often used to output variables.

Example

x = "Python is awesome"
print(x)

In the print() function, you output multiple variables, separated by a comma:

Example

x = "Python"
y = "is"
z = "awesome"
print(x, y, z)

You can also use the + operator to output multiple variables:

Example

x = "Python "
y = "is "
z = "awesome"
print(x + y + z)

For numbers, the + character works as a mathematical operator:

Example

x=5
y = 10
print(x + y)

In the print() function, when you try to combine a string and a number with the + operator,
Python will give you an error:

Example

x=5
y = "John"
print(x + y)

The best way to output multiple variables in the print() function is to separate them with
commas, which even support different data types:

Example

x=5
y = "John"
print(x, y)

Comments
Python has commenting capability for the purpose of in-code documentation. Comments can
be used to explain Python code. Comments can be used to make the code more
readable.Comments can be used to prevent execution when testing code.Comments start with
a #, and Python will render the rest of the line as a comment:

Example
Comments in Python:

#This is a comment.
print("Hello, World!")

Comments can be placed at the end of a line, and Python will ignore the rest of the line:
Example

print("Hello, World!") #This is a comment

A comment does not have to be text that explains the code, it can also be used to prevent
Python from executing code:

Example

#print("Hello, World!")
print("Cheers, Mate!")

Multiline Comments
Python does not really have a syntax for multiline comments.
To add a multiline comment you could insert a # for each line:

Example

#This is a comment
#written in
#more than just one line
print("Hello, World!")

Or, not quite as intended, you can use a multiline string. Since Python will ignore string
literals that are not assigned to a variable, you can add a multiline string (triple quotes) in
your code, and place your comment inside it:

Example

"""
This is a comment
written in
more than just one line
"""
print("Hello, World!")

As long as the string is not assigned to a variable, Python will read the code, but then ignore
it, and you have made a multiline comment.
Python Numbers
There are three numeric types in Python:
• int
• float
• complex
Variables of numeric types are created when you assign a value to them:
Example

x = 1 # int
y = 2.8 # float
z = 1j # complex

Int
Int, or integer, is a whole number, positive or negative, without decimals, of unlimited length.

Example
Integers:

x=1
y = 35656222554887711
z = -3255522

Float
Float, or "floating point number" is a number, positive or negative, containing one or more
decimals.

Example
Floats:

x = 1.10
y = 1.0
z = -35.59

Float can also be scientific numbers with an "e" to indicate the power of 10.

Example
Floats:

x = 35e3
y = 12E4
z = -87.7e100

Complex
Complex numbers are written with a "j" as the imaginary part:

Example
Complex:

x = 3+5j
y = 5j
z = -5j

Type Conversion
You can convert from one type to another with the int(), float(), and complex() methods:
Example
Convert from one type to another:

x = 1 # int
y = 2.8 # float
z = 1j # complex

#convert from int to float:

a = float(x)

#convert from float to int:

b = int(y)

#convert from int to complex:

c = complex(x)

Similarity you can convert these number veriabkes into strings.

Random Number
Python does not have a random() function to make a random number, but Python has a built-
in module called random that can be used to make random numbers:

Example
Import the random module, and display a random number between 1 and 9:

import random
print(random.randrange(1, 10))

Specify a Variable Type

There may be times when you want to specify a type on to a variable. This can be done with
casting. Python is an object-orientated language, and as such it uses classes to define data
types, including its primitive types.
Casting in python is therefore done using constructor functions:
• int() - constructs an integer number from an integer literal, a float literal (by removing
all decimals), or a string literal (providing the string represents a whole number)
• float() - constructs a float number from an integer literal, a float literal or a string
literal (providing the string represents a float or an integer)
• str() - constructs a string from a wide variety of data types, including strings, integer
literals and float literals
Strings
Strings in python are surrounded by either single quotation marks, or double quotation marks.
'hello' is the same as "hello".
You can display a string literal with the print() function:
Quotes Inside Quotes
You can use quotes inside a string, as long as they don't match the quotes surrounding the
string:
Example

print("It's alright")
print("He is called 'Johnny'")
print('He is called "Johnny"')

Assign String to a Variable

Assigning a string to a variable is done with the variable name followed by an equal sign and
the string:

Example

a = "Hello"
print(a)

Multiline Strings
You can assign a multiline string to a variable by using three quotes:

Example
You can use three double quotes:

a = """Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet,

consectetur adipiscing elit,
sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt
ut labore et dolore magna aliqua."""
print(a)

Boolean Values
In programming you often need to know if an expression is True or False.
You can evaluate any expression in Python, and get one of two answers, True or False.
When you compare two values, the expression is evaluated and Python returns the Boolean
answer:

Example

print(10 > 9)
print(10 == 9)
print(10 < 9)

When you run a condition in an if statement, Python returns True or False:

Example
Print a message based on whether the condition is True or False:

a = 200
b = 33
if b > a:
print("b is greater than a")
 else:
print("b is not greater than a")

Evaluate Values and Variables

The bool() function allows you to evaluate any value, and give you True or False in return,

Example
Evaluate two variables:

x = "Hello"
y = 15
print(bool(x))
print(bool(y))

• Almost any value is evaluated to True if it has some sort of content.

• Any string is True, except empty strings.
• Any number is True, except 0.
• Any list, tuple, set, and dictionary are True, except empty ones.

Example
The following will return True:

bool("abc")
bool(123)
bool(["apple", "cherry", "banana"])

Some Values are False

In fact, there are not many values that evaluate to False, except empty values, such
as (), [], {}, "", the number 0, and the value None. And of course the value False evaluates
to False.

Example
The following will return False:

bool(False)
bool(None)
bool(0)
bool("")
bool(())
bool([])
bool({})

One more value, or object in this case, evaluates to False, and that is if you have an object
that is made from a class with a __len__ function that returns 0 or False:
Example

class myclass():
def __len__(self):
return 0
myobj = myclass()
print(bool(myobj))

Python Operators
Operators are used to perform operations on variables and values.
In the example below, we use the + operator to add together two values:

Example

print(10 + 5)

Python divides the operators in the following groups:

• Arithmetic operators
• Assignment operators
• Comparison operators
• Logical operators
• Identity operators
• Membership operators
• Bitwise operators
Python Arithmetic Operators
Arithmetic operators are used with numeric values to perform common mathematical
operations:

Operator Name Example

+ Addition x+y

- Subtraction x-y

* Multiplication x*y

/ Division x/y

% Modulus x%y

** Exponentiation x ** y

// Floor division x // y

Python Assignment Operators

Assignment operators are used to assign values to variables:
Operator Example Same As
 = x=5 x=5

+= x += 3 x=x+3

-= x -= 3 x=x-3

*= x *= 3 x=x*3

/= x /= 3 x=x/3

%= x %= 3 x=x%3

//= x //= 3 x = x // 3

**= x **= 3 x = x ** 3

&= x &= 3 x=x&3

|= x |= 3 x=x|3

^= x ^= 3 x=x^3

>>= x >>= 3 x = x >> 3

<<= x <<= 3 x = x << 3

:= print(x := 3) x = 3print(x)

Python Comparison Operators

Comparison operators are used to compare two values:
Operator Name Example

== Equal x == y

!= Not equal x != y

> Greater than x>y

< Less than x<y

>= Greater than or equal to x >= y

<= Less than or equal to x <= y

Python Logical Operators

Logical operators are used to combine conditional statements:
Operator Description Example

and Returns True if both statements are true x < 5 and x < 10
 or Returns True if one of the statements is true x < 5 or x < 4

not Reverse the result, returns False if the result not(x < 5 and x < 10)
is true
Python Identity Operators
Identity operators are used to compare the objects, not if they are equal, but if they are
actually the same object, with the same memory location:
Operator Description Example

is Returns True if both variables are the same x is y

object

is not Returns True if both variables are not the same x is not y
object
Python Membership Operators
Membership operators are used to test if a sequence is presented in an object:
Operator Description Example

in Returns True if a sequence with the specified value is x in y

present in the object

not in Returns True if a sequence with the specified value is not x not in y
present in the object
Python Bitwise Operators
Bitwise operators are used to compare (binary) numbers:
Operator Name Description Example

& AND Sets each bit to 1 if both bits are 1 x&y

| OR Sets each bit to 1 if one of two bits is 1 x|y

^ XOR Sets each bit to 1 if only one of two bits is 1 x^y

~ NOT Inverts all the bits ~x

<< Zero fill left Shift left by pushing zeros in from the right and let the x << 2
shift leftmost bits fall off

>> Signed Shift right by pushing copies of the leftmost bit in from x >> 2
right shift the left, and let the rightmost bits fall off
Operator Precedence
Operator precedence describes the order in which operations are performed.

Example
Parentheses has the highest precedence, meaning that expressions inside parentheses must be
evaluated first:
print((6 + 3) - (6 + 3))

Multiplication * has higher precedence than addition +, and therefor multiplications are
evaluated before additions:

print(100 + 5 * 3)

The precedence order is described in the table below, starting with the highest precedence at
the top:
Operator Description

() Parentheses

** Exponentiation

+x -x ~x Unary plus, unary minus, and bitwise NOT

* / // % Multiplication, division, floor division, and modulus

+ - Addition and subtraction

<< >> Bitwise left and right shifts

& Bitwise AND

^ Bitwise XOR

| Bitwise OR

== != > >= < <= is is Comparisons, identity, and membership operators

not in not in

not Logical NOT

and AND

or OR
If two operators have the same precedence, the expression is evaluated from left to right.

Example
Addition + and subtraction - has the same precedence, and therefor we evaluate the expression
from left to right:

print(5 + 4 - 7 + 3)

List
Lists are used to store multiple items in a single variable.
Lists are one of 4 built-in data types in Python used to store collections of data, the other 3
are Tuple, Set, and Dictionary, all with different qualities and usage.
Lists are created using square brackets:
Example
Create a List:

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

print(thislist)

List Items
List items are ordered, changeable, and allow duplicate values.
List items are indexed, the first item has index [0], the second item has index [1] etc.
Ordered
When we say that lists are ordered, it means that the items have a defined order, and that
order will not change.
If you add new items to a list, the new items will be placed at the end of the list.
Changeable
The list is changeable, meaning that we can change, add, and remove items in a list after it
has been created.
Allow Duplicates
Since lists are indexed, lists can have items with the same value:

Example
Lists allow duplicate values:

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "apple", "cherry"]

print(thislist)

List Length
To determine how many items a list has, use the len() function:

Example
Print the number of items in the list:

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

print(len(thislist))

List Items - Data Types

List items can be of any data type:

Example
String, int and boolean data types:

list1 = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

list2 = [1, 5, 7, 9, 3]
list3 = [True, False, False]

A list can contain different data types:

Example
A list with strings, integers and boolean values:
list1 = ["abc", 34, True, 40, "male"]

type()
From Python's perspective, lists are defined as objects with the data type 'list':
<class 'list'>

Example
What is the data type of a list?

mylist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

print(type(mylist))

The list() Constructor

It is also possible to use the list() constructor when creating a new list.

Example
Using the list() constructor to make a List:

thislist = list(("apple", "banana", "cherry")) # note the double round-brackets

print(thislist)

Python Collections (Arrays)

There are four collection data types in the Python programming language:
• List is a collection which is ordered and changeable. Allows duplicate members.
• Tuple is a collection which is ordered and unchangeable. Allows duplicate members.
• Set is a collection which is unordered, unchangeable*, and unindexed. No duplicate
members.
• Dictionary is a collection which is ordered** and changeable. No duplicate members.
When choosing a collection type, it is useful to understand the properties of that type.
Choosing the right type for a particular data set could mean retention of meaning, and, it
could mean an increase in efficiency or security.
Access Items
List items are indexed and you can access them by referring to the index number:

Example
Print the second item of the list:

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

print(thislist[1])

Negative Indexing
Negative indexing means start from the end
-1 refers to the last item, -2 refers to the second last item etc.

Example
Print the last item of the list:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
print(thislist[-1])

Range of Indexes
You can specify a range of indexes by specifying where to start and where to end the range.
When specifying a range, the return value will be a new list with the specified items.

Example
Return the third, fourth, and fifth item:

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "orange", "kiwi", "melon", "mango"]

print(thislist[2:5])

Note: The search will start at index 2 (included) and end at index 5 (not included).

Remember that the first item has index 0.

By leaving out the start value, the range will start at the first item:

Example
This example returns the items from the beginning to, but NOT including, "kiwi":

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "orange", "kiwi", "melon", "mango"]

print(thislist[:4])

By leaving out the end value, the range will go on to the end of the list:

Example
This example returns the items from "cherry" to the end:

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "orange", "kiwi", "melon", "mango"]

print(thislist[2:])

Range of Negative Indexes

Specify negative indexes if you want to start the search from the end of the list:

Example
This example returns the items from "orange" (-4) to, but NOT including "mango" (-1):

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "orange", "kiwi", "melon", "mango"]

print(thislist[-4:-1])

Check if Item Exists

To determine if a specified item is present in a list use the in keyword:
Example
Check if "apple" is present in the list:

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

if "apple" in thislist:
print("Yes, 'apple' is in the fruits list")

Change a Range of Item Values

To change the value of items within a specific range, define a list with the new values, and
refer to the range of index numbers where you want to insert the new values:

Example
Change the values "banana" and "cherry" with the values "blackcurrant" and "watermelon":

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "orange", "kiwi", "mango"]

thislist[1:3] = ["blackcurrant", "watermelon"]
print(thislist)

If you insert more items than you replace, the new items will be inserted where you specified,
and the remaining items will move accordingly:

Example
Change the second value by replacing it with two new values:

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

thislist[1:2] = ["blackcurrant", "watermelon"]
print(thislist)

Note: The length of the list will change when the number of items inserted does not match the
number of items replaced.

If you insert less items than you replace, the new items will be inserted where you specified,
and the remaining items will move accordingly:

Example
Change the second and third value by replacing it with one value:

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

thislist[1:3] = ["watermelon"]
print(thislist)

Insert Items
To insert a new list item, without replacing any of the existing values, we can use
the insert() method.
The insert() method inserts an item at the specified index:

Example
Insert "watermelon" as the third item:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
thislist.insert(2, "watermelon")
print(thislist)

Append Items
To add an item to the end of the list, use the append() method:

Example
Using the append() method to append an item:

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

thislist.append("orange")
print(thislist)

Insert Items
To insert a list item at a specified index, use the insert() method.
The insert() method inserts an item at the specified index:

Example
Insert an item as the second position:

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

thislist.insert(1, "orange")
print(thislist)

Extend List
To append elements from another list to the current list, use the extend() method.

Example
Add the elements of tropical to thislist:

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

tropical = ["mango", "pineapple", "papaya"]
thislist.extend(tropical)
print(thislist)

Add Any Iterable

The extend() method does not have to append lists, you can add any iterable object (tuples,
sets, dictionaries etc.).

Example
Add elements of a tuple to a list:

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

thistuple = ("kiwi", "orange")
thislist.extend(thistuple)
print(thislist)
 Remove Specified Item
The remove() method removes the specified item.

Example
Remove "banana":

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

thislist.remove("banana")
print(thislist)

If there are more than one item with the specified value, the remove() method removes the
first occurance:

Example
Remove the first occurance of "banana":

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "banana", "kiwi"]

thislist.remove("banana")
print(thislist)

Clear the List

The clear() method empties the list.
The list still remains, but it has no content.

Example
Clear the list content:

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

thislist.clear()
print(thislist)

Loop Through a List

You can loop through the list items by using a for loop:

Example
Print all items in the list, one by one:

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

for x in thislist:
print(x)

Loop Through the Index Numbers

You can also loop through the list items by referring to their index number.
Use the range() and len() functions to create a suitable iterable.

Example
Print all items by referring to their index number:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
for i in range(len(thislist)):
print(thislist[i])

Using a While Loop

You can loop through the list items by using a while loop.
Use the len() function to determine the length of the list, then start at 0 and loop your way
through the list items by referring to their indexes.
Remember to increase the index by 1 after each iteration.

Example
Print all items, using a while loop to go through all the index numbers

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

i=0
while i < len(thislist):
print(thislist[i])
i=i+1

Looping Using List Comprehension

List Comprehension offers the shortest syntax for looping through lists:

Example
A short hand for loop that will print all items in a list:

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

[print(x) for x in thislist]