Introduction to Python
THE RUNDOWN
• Introduction to Python
• Installation – Python and its packages
• Python Basics
THE RUNDOWN
• Introduction to Python
• Installation – Python and its packages
• Python Basics
Introduction to Python
• Python is a high level programming language – similar to C++/Java
• Open Source and has a large community
• Used by a lot of companies around the world
• The popularity of Python has increased significantly in the last
decade
Introduction to Python (Cont’d)
• Interpreted Scripting Language
• Good for writing “quick and dirty” code
• Python is object oriented
• Everything is a Python object
• Different code blocks are grouped together by indentation
• The standard library offers a plethora of very useful functions
THE RUNDOWN
• Introduction to Python
• Installation – Python and its packages
• Python Basics
Installing Python
• The .exe installer can be downloaded from Python’s website:
https://www.python.org/downloads/
• Major releases
• Python 2.x
• Python 3.8.x
• Installing the Python from the above link installs a Python interpreter
along with a (simple) IDE.
• Be sure to check “Add Python to PATH” while installing your preferred
version of Python
Installing Python
A Word about Python IDEs
• There are a few Python IDEs that you can choose from
• Each IDE offers a set of features while some features maybe absent
• Choosing an IDE to work boils down to a matter of personal preference
• Some Python IDEs:
• IDLE
• PyCharm
• Spyder/Anaconda
• Microsoft Visual Studio
Python Packages
• Just like libraries in C++/C#/Java, Python has packages
• Packages have the extension .whl (wheel files)
• Another (easier) way to install Python packages:
• pip
Python Packages (Cont’d)
• Installing a Python package is a matter
of executing a single command in
command prompt (cmd):
• pip install name-of-the-package-you-want-
to-install
• Some packages are used extensively and
even others packages rely on them
This is where “Add Python to PATH” comes in handy
Python Packages (Cont’d)
• There is a package for everything!
Some Commonly Used Python Packages
• NumPy:
• For numerical/mathematical processing pip install numpy
• OpenCV:
• For image processing pip install opencv-python
• Matplotlib:
• For plotting graphs and visualizing data pip install matplotlib
• Pandas:
• For handling/analyzing data pip install pandas
• Scipy:
• For scientific/technical computing pip install scipy
• Scikit-learn:
• For machine learning pip install scikit-learn
Some Commonly Used Python Packages
(Cont’d)
• Some functionality may be replicated across different packages
• Fourier transform present in both OpenCV and NumPy
• Extensive documentation of every class and function in a
package available online
• Code snippets and example code
• Google is your friend
Importing Python Packages
• As discussed earlier, Python packages are akin to C++ libraries
• Allow us to use classes and functions defined in another file
• Three formats of the command:
import somefile #Imports everything from the file
from somefile import * #Imports all the functions. They can be used without the dot
notation
from somefile import className #Imports a specific class and its methods from a file
• We are going to stick with importing everything (import numpy, import
random etc.)
Importing Python Packages
• An alias can be given to a python package while importing it
• The alias acts as a nickname and can be used throughout the code
import numpy as np
import cv2 as opencv
import random as rand
import time
import csv
THE RUNDOWN
• Introduction to Python
• Installation – Python and its packages
• Python Basics
Python Basics
• Indentation controls everything
• A complete lack of braces {} to indicate code blocks
• Instead indentation indicates the start and end of a code
block
• Lines of code that begin a block (often) end in a
colon (:)
• The first line with less indentation is outside the block
• The first line with more indentation is inside the block
• A newline (Return) is used to indicate the end of a
single line of code
Python Basics
• Variables:
• No need to explicitly declare a variable (data type)
• However, variables need to be initialized
Variable1 = 4.5 Variable2 = “Fortis Fortuna Audivat”
Variable3 = True Variable4 = None
• Conditional Statements:
if counter == 10:
…do something…
elif:
…do something else…
else:
…do something else entirely…
Python Basics
• Repetition Structures:
• for and while loops are used most commonly
• The body of the loop is indented one level more the loop control statement
While loop For loop
while (condition): for counter in range (10):
…do something…
…do something…
condition increment/decrement
• Range is a built in function that produces an “iterable” that is used for the
total number of the iterations in for loop.
Python Basics
• Comments:
• Comments are started with #
• Block comments (also known as Documentation Strings) are encased within “““ ”””
• A good practice to give some details of what a particular block of code does using
documentation string
Python Basics: Lists, Tuples and Dictionaries
• Built-in data structures in Python:
• List
• Tuple
• Dictionary
• Used a lot due to their utility and flexibility
• Built-in methods provide a handy way to perform simple operations quickly
on these data structures
Python Basics: Lists
• Lists, put simply, are like arrays
• The simplest representation of a list can be visualized as a 1-D array
• Represented by brackets
my_list1 = [1,2,3,4,5]
my_list2 = []
• Lists can also be heterogeneous
my_list3= [1,2, “ Today is Saturday”, 3, 4, 5, “6”]
Python Basics: Lists (Cont’d)
• Indexing starts at 0
print(my_list1[0]) #1
• Other lists (sub-lists) can be an element of a list
my_list4 = [[1,2],[3,4],[5,6],[7,8]]
print(my_list4[0]) #[1,2]
print(my_list4[3][0]) #7
• Lists are mutable – meaning that the value of any element (or sub-element)
can be changed at a later stage
• my_list4[3]= [10,12]
• my_list4 = [[1,2],[3,4],[5,6],[10,12]]
Python Basics: Lists (Cont’d)
• List methods provide a handy way to manipulate a list
my_list.append(4) #Adds 4 to the last of the list
my_list.extend([1,2,3,4]) #Adds the list passed to this method to the first list
my_list.insert(2,4) #Inserts 4 at index 2 (Elements after index 2 are pushed
back one index)
my_list.remove(4) #Removes the first occurrence of 4 in the list
my_list.index(4) #Returns the index of the first occurrence of 4 in the list
my_list.sort() #Sorts a list in ascending order
my_list.reverse() #Reverses the order of the elements of the list
Python Basics: Tuples
• A tuple represents a sequence – just like a list
my_tuple1 = (1, 2)
my_tuple2 = (1,2, “Harry Potter”)
my_tuple3 = (4,)
my_tuple4 = ()
• Tuples are immutable – meaning that their value cannot be changed after it
has been declared
• Tuples can be homogenous or heterogeneous
• Tuples have structure, lists have order
Python Basics: Dictionary
• A dictionary in Python stores an element against a particular key
• Dictionaries are unordered and a key is required to retrieve or insert an
element
• Quite similar to hash tables
• Like lists, dictionaries are mutable
• Dictionary keys can only be immutable so that they don’t change over time
Python Basics: Dictionary (Cont’d)
• To declare a dictionary, we use braces
my_dictionary1 = { }
my_dictionary2 = {1 : “Asad”, 2 : “Saad”, 3 : “Sara” } #Each pair is in key : data form
my_dictionary3 = { ‘Batman’ : ‘Bruce Wayne’, ‘Superman’ : ‘Clark Kent’}
• To retrieve some data from a dictionary, we need to use its key
my_dictionary2[1] #Prints Asad
• To add data to a dictionary we need to use the key again
my_dictionary3['Ironman']='Tony Stark‘ #my_dictionary3 = {'Batman': 'Bruce Wayne',
'Superman': 'Clark Kent', 'Ironman': 'Tony Stark'}
Python Basics: Shallow Copy & Deep Copy
• By default, Python makes a shallow copy of a list or a dictionary
nums = [1,2,3,4]
tri = nums
• Any change to nums or tri will change the list that exists in the memory
• Python needs to be told explicitly to create a copy of a list or a dictionary
Python Basics: Shallow Copy & Deep Copy
(Cont’d)
• In order to create a deep copy, we need to rely on a Python package
• my_dictionary5=copy.deepcopy(my_dictionary3)
The above line of code creates a deep copy of my_dictionary3 and stores it in
my_dictionary5
Any changes to either one of the dictionaries defined above with be restricted to those
dictionaries only
Python Basics: Useful In-Built Functions
Python Basics: (Some) Useful In-Built Functions
• len(my_list) #Returns the length of my_list
• range(starting_point,terminating_point,increment/decrement)
• At least, the terminating point needs to be provided
• range produces an open ended interval
• The last element in the list produced by range(10) will be 9
• max(my_list)/min(my_list) #returns the maximum/minimum element in the list
• float(“19”)/int(“19”) #Typecasts a string into float/integer
• sum(my_list) #Sums the whole list together
Python Basics: Indexing and Slicing
• We are already aware that indexing starts at 0 in Python
• A “slice” is a sub-portion of a list or a tuple --- similar to slicing in MATLAB
• A list can be sliced in the following way:
my_list1[0:5] #The first 5 elements (0,1,2,3,4) will be selected
my_list1[0:5:2] #Every second element (0,2,4) will be selected
Python Basics: Functions
• def keyword is used to indicate a function
• The body of a function is indented at one more
level than the function prototype
• Functions in Python can return multiple values
Different Ways, Same Outcome
• Multiple ways to accomplish the same thing in Python
• Keeping with the spirit of “quick and dirty” scripting, the goal is to get
the job done and then worry about optimization
QUESTIONS?
