In this lesson, you will learn about Python statements, why indentation is important and use of comments in programming, you will also learn about Python variables, constants, literals and their use cases.
References: • Python Programming for Beginners INFORMATION SHEET PL 101-7.1.1 “Python Statement, Indentation, Comments, Variables, Constants and Literals”
Python Statement
Instructions that a Python interpreter can execute are called statements. For example, a = 1 is an assignment statement. if statement, for statement, while statement, etc. are other kinds of statements which will be discussed later. Multi-line statement
In Python, the end of a statement is marked by a newline character. But we can make a statement extend over multiple lines with the line continuation character (\). For example:
a=1+2+3+\ 4+5+6+\ 7+8+9
This is an explicit line continuation. In Python, line continuation is implied inside
parentheses ( ), brackets [ ], and braces { }. For instance, we can implement the above multi- line statement as:
a = (1 + 2 + 3 + 4+5+6+ 7 + 8 + 9)
Here, the surrounding parentheses ( ) do the line continuation implicitly. Same is the case with [ ] and { }. For example:
colors = ['red', 'blue', 'green']
We can also put multiple statements in a single line using semicolons, as follows: a = 1; b = 2; c = 3
Python Indentation
Most of the programming languages like C, C++, and Java use braces { } to define a block of code. Python, however, uses indentation. A code block (body of a function, loop, etc.) starts with indentation and ends with the first unindented line. The amount of indentation is up to you, but it must be consistent throughout that block. Generally, four whitespaces are used for indentation and are preferred over tabs. Here is an example.
for i in range(1,11): print(i) if i == 5: break The enforcement of indentation in Python makes the code look neat and clean. This results in Python programs that look similar and consistent.
Indentation can be ignored in line continuation, but it's always a good idea to indent. It makes the code more readable. For example:
if True: print('Hello') a=5
and
if True: print('Hello'); a = 5 both are valid and do the same thing, but the former style is clearer.
Incorrect indentation will result in IndentationError.
Python Comments
Comments are very important while writing a program. They describe what is going on inside a program, so that a person looking at the source code does not have a hard time figuring it out.
You might forget the key details of the program you just wrote in a month's time. So taking the time to explain these concepts in the form of comments is always fruitful.
In Python, we use the hash (#) symbol to start writing a comment.
It extends up to the newline character. Comments are for programmers to better understand a program. Python Interpreter ignores comments.
#This is a comment #print out Hello print('Hello')
Multi-line comments
We can have comments that extend up to multiple lines. One way is to use the hash(#) symbol at the beginning of each line. For example: #This is a long comment #and it extends #to multiple lines
Another way of doing this is to use triple quotes, either ''' or """. These triple quotes are generally used for multi-line strings. But they can be used as a multi- line comment as well. Unless they are not docstrings, they do not generate any extra code.
"""This is also a perfect example of multi-line comments"""
Docstrings in Python
A docstring is short for documentation string.
Python docstrings (documentation strings) are the string literals that appear right after the definition of a function, method, class, or module. Triple quotes are used while writing docstrings. For example:
def double(num): """Function to double the value""" return 2*num
Docstrings appear right after the definition of a function, class, or a module. This separates docstrings from multiline comments using triple quotes.
The docstrings are associated with the object as their __doc__ attribute. So, we can access the docstrings of the above function with the following lines of code:
def double(num): """Function to double the value""" return 2*num print(double.__doc__) Output
Function to double the value
Python Variables
A variable is a named location used to store data in the memory. It is helpful to think of variables as a container that holds data that can be changed later in the program. For example,
number = 10
Here, we have created a variable named number. We have assigned the value 10 to the variable. You can think of variables as a bag to store books in it and that book can be replaced at any time.
number = 10 number = 1.1
Initially, the value of number was 10. Later, it was changed to 1.1.
Note: In Python, we don't actually assign values to the variables. Instead, Python gives the reference of the object(value) to the variable. Assigning values to Variables in Python
As you can see from the above example, you can use the assignment operator = to assign a value to a variable. Example 1: Declaring and assigning value to a variable
website = "apple.com" print(website) Output
apple.com
In the above program, we assigned a value apple.com to the variable website. Then, we printed out the value assigned to website i.e. apple.com
Note: Python is a type-inferred language, so you don't have to explicitly define the variable type. It automatically knows that apple.com is a string and declares the website variable as a string.
Example 2: Changing the value of a variable
website = "apple.com" print(website)
# assigning a new value to website
website = "samsung.com"
print(website) Output apple.com samsung.com
In the above program, we have assigned apple.com to the website variable initially. Then, the value is changed to samsung.com.
Example 3: Assigning multiple values to multiple variables
a, b, c = 5, 3.2, "Hello"
print (a) print (b) print (c)
If we want to assign the same value to multiple variables at once, we can do this as:
x = y = z = "same"
print (x) print (y) print (z)
The second program assigns the same string to all the three variables x, y and z.
Constants
A constant is a type of variable whose value cannot be changed. It is helpful to think of
constants as containers that hold information which cannot be changed later. You can think of constants as a bag to store some books which cannot be replaced once placed inside the bag.
Assigning value to constant in Python
In Python, constants are usually declared and assigned in a module. Here, the module is a new file containing variables, functions, etc. which is imported to the main file. Inside the module, constants are written in all capital letters and underscores separating the words.
Example 3: Declaring and assigning value to a constant
Create a constant.py:
PI = 3.14 GRAVITY = 9.8
Create a main.py:
import constant
print(constant.PI) print(constant.GRAVITY)
Output
3.14 9.8
In the above program, we create a constant.py module file. Then, we assign the constant value to PI and GRAVITY. After that, we create a main.py file and import the constant module. Finally, we print the constant value. Note: In reality, we don't use constants in Python. Naming them in all capital letters is a convention to separate them from variables, however, it does not actually prevent reassignment.
Rules and Naming Convention for Variables and constants
1. Constant and variable names should have a combination of letters in lowercase (a to z) or
uppercase (A to Z) or digits (0 to 9) or an underscore (_). For example:
snake_case
MACRO_CASE
camelCase
CapWords
2. Create a name that makes sense. For example, vowel makes more sense than v. 3. If you want to create a variable name having two words, use underscore to separate them. For example:
1. my_name
current_salary
4. Use capital letters possible to declare a constant. For example:
2. PI
3. G
4. MASS
5. SPEED_OF_LIGHT
TEMP
5. Never use special symbols like !, @, #, $, %, etc.
6. Don't start a variable name with a digit.
Literals
Literal is a raw data given in a variable or constant. In Python, there are various types of literals they are as follows:
Numeric Literals
Numeric Literals are immutable (unchangeable). Numeric literals can belong to 3
different numerical types: Integer, Float, and Complex. Example 4: How to use Numeric literals in Python?
a = 0b1010 #Binary Literals
b = 100 #Decimal Literal c = 0o310 #Octal Literal d = 0x12c #Hexadecimal Literal
We assigned integer literals into different variables. Here, a is binary literal, b is a
decimal literal, c is an octal literal and d is a hexadecimal literal. When we print the variables, all the literals are converted into decimal values.
10.5 and 1.5e2 are floating-point literals. 1.5e2 is expressed with exponential and is equivalent to 1.5 * 102 . We assigned a complex literal i.e 3.14j in variable x. Then we use imaginary literal (x.imag) and real literal (x.real) to create imaginary and real parts of complex numbers. To learn more about Numeric Literals, refer to Python Numbers.
String literals
A string literal is a sequence of characters surrounded by quotes. We can use both
single, double, or triple quotes for a string. And, a character literal is a single character surrounded by single or double quotes. Example 7: How to use string literals in Python?
strings = "This is Python"
char = "C" multiline_str = """This is a multiline string with more than one line code.""" unicode = u"\u00dcnic\u00f6de" raw_str = r"raw \n string"
This is Python C This is a multiline string with more than one line code. Ünicöde raw \n string
In the above program, This is Python is a string literal and C is a character literal. The value in triple-quotes """ assigned to the multiline_str is a multi-line string literal. The string u"\u00dcnic\u00f6de" is a Unicode literal which supports characters other than English. In this case, \u00dc represents Ü and \u00f6 represents ö. r"raw \n string" is a raw string literal.
Boolean literals
A Boolean literal can have any of the two values: True or False. Example 8: How to use boolean literals in Python?
x = (1 == True) y = (1 == False) a = True + 4 b = False + 10
print("x is", x) print("y is", y) print("a:", a) print("b:", b)
Output
x is True y is False a: 5 b: 10
In the above program, we use boolean literal True and False. In Python, True represents the value as 1 and False as 0. The value of x is True because 1 is equal to True. And, the value of y is False because 1 is not equal to False. Similarly, we can use the True and False in numeric expressions as the value. The value of a is 5 because we add True which has a value of 1 with 4. Similarly, b is 10 because we add the False having value of 0 with 10.
Special literals
Python contains one special literal i.e. None. We use it to specify that the field has not been created. Example 9: How to use special literals in Python?
drink = "Available" food = None
def menu(x): if x == drink: print(drink) else: print(food)
menu(drink) menu(food)
Output
Available None
In the above program, we define a menu function. Inside menu, when we set the argument as drink then, it displays Available. And, when the argument is food, it displays None.
Literal Collections
There are four different literal collections List literals, Tuple literals, Dict literals, and Set literals.
Example 10: How to use literals collections in Python?
In the above program, we created a list of fruits, a tuple of numbers, a dictionary dict having values with keys designated to each value and a set of vowels.
MATERIALS: Pen and Paper TOOLS & EQUIPMENT: None ESTIMATED COST: None
Instruction: 1. Create a Python program that assign “I want to be the best programmer!” to str_1 variable and display it on screen. 2. Create a Python program that assign “I Love Programming!” to str_2 variable and display it on screen. 3. Add a single line comment for each number above
PRECAUTIONS: Do not just copy all your output from the internet. Use citation and credit to the owner if necessary. ASSESSMENT METHOD: WRITTEN WORK CRITERIA CHECKLIST STUDENT NAME: __________________________________ SECTION: __________________
CRITERIA SCORING Did I . . . 1 2 3 4 5 1. Focus - The single controlling point made with an awareness of a task about a specific topic. 2. Content - The presentation of ideas developed through facts, examples, anecdotes, details, opinions, statistics, reasons, and/or opinions 3. Organization – The order developed and sustained within and across paragraphs using transitional devices and including the introduction and conclusion. 4. Style – The choice, use, and arrangement of words and sentence structures that create tone and voice. 5. . 6. . 7. . 8. . 9. . 10. . TEACHER’S REMARKS: QUIZ RECITATION PROJECT
GRADE:
5 - Excellently Performed 4 - Very Satisfactorily Performed 3 - Satisfactorily Performed 2 - Fairly Performed 1 - Poorly Performed
