Python

Henning Schulzrinne
Department of Computer
Science
Columbia University
Feb 15, 2015

(based on tutorial by Guido van

Rossum)
Advanced Programming
Spring 2002

Introduction
Most recent popular
(scripting/extension) language
although origin ~1991

heritage: teaching language (ABC)

Tcl: shell
perl: string (regex) processing

object-oriented
rather than add-on (OOTcl)
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Python philosophy
Coherence
not hard to read, write and maintain

power
scope
rapid development + large systems

objects
integration
hybrid systems
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Python features
Lutz, Programming Python

no compiling or linking

rapid development cycle

no type declarations

simpler, shorter, more flexible

automatic memory
management

garbage collection

high-level data types and

operations

fast development

object-oriented programming

code structuring and reuse, C+

+

embedding and extending in C

mixed language systems

classes, modules, exceptions

"programming-in-the-large"
support

dynamic loading of C modules

simplified extensions, smaller

binaries

dynamic reloading of C
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modules

programs can be modified

Advanced
without stopping

Python features
Lutz, Programming Python

universal "first-class" object

model

fewer restrictions and rules

run-time program construction

handles unforeseen needs,

end-user coding

interactive, dynamic nature

incremental development and

testing

access to interpreter
information

metaprogramming,
introspective objects

wide portability

cross-platform programming
without ports

compilation to portable bytecode

execution speed, protecting

source code

built-in interfaces to external

services

system tools, GUIs,

persistence, databases, etc.

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Python
elements from C++, Modula-3
(modules), ABC, Icon (slicing)
same family as Perl, Tcl, Scheme,
REXX, BASIC dialects

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Uses of Python
shell tools
system admin tools, command line programs

extension-language work
rapid prototyping and development
language-based modules
instead of special-purpose parsers

graphical user interfaces

database access
distributed programming
Internet scripting

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What not to use Python (and

kin) for
most scripting languages share
these
not as efficient as C
but sometimes better built-in
algorithms (e.g., hashing and sorting)

delayed error notification

lack of profiling tools

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Using python
/usr/local/bin/python
#! /usr/bin/env python

interactive use
Python 1.6 (#1, Sep 24 2000, 20:40:45) [GCC 2.95.1 19990816 (release)] on sunos5
Copyright (c) 1995-2000 Corporation for National Research Initiatives.
All Rights Reserved.
Copyright (c) 1991-1995 Stichting Mathematisch Centrum, Amsterdam.
All Rights Reserved.
>>>

python c command [arg] ...

python i script
read script first, then interactive
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Python structure
modules: Python source files or C
extensions
import, top-level via from, reload

statements
control flow
create objects
indentation matters instead of {}

objects
everything is an object
automatically reclaimed when no longer needed

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First example
#!/usr/local/bin/python
# import systems module
import sys
marker = '::::::'
for name in sys.argv[1:]:
input = open(name, 'r')
print marker + name
print input.read()

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Basic operations
Assignment:
size = 40
a = b = c = 3

Numbers
integer, float
complex numbers: 1j+3, abs(z)

Strings
'hello world', 'it\'s hot'
"bye world"
continuation via \ or use """ long text """"

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String operations
concatenate with + or neighbors
word = 'Help' + x
word = 'Help' 'a'

subscripting of strings

'Hello'[2] 'l'
slice: 'Hello'[1:2] 'el'
word[-1] last character
len(word) 5
immutable: cannot assign to subscript

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Lists
lists can be heterogeneous
a = ['spam', 'eggs', 100, 1234, 2*2]

Lists can be indexed and sliced:

a[0] spam
a[:2] ['spam', 'eggs']

Lists can be manipulated

a[2] =
a[0:2]
a[0:0]
len(a)

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a[2] + 23
= [1,12]
= []
5
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Basic programming
a,b = 0, 1
# non-zero = true
while b < 10:
# formatted output, without \n
print b,
# multiple assignment
a,b = b, a+b

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Control flow: if
x = int(raw_input("Please enter #:"))
if x < 0:
x = 0
print 'Negative changed to zero'
elif x == 0:
print 'Zero'
elif x == 1:
print 'Single'
else:
print 'More'
no case statement
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Control flow: for

a = ['cat', 'window', 'defenestrate']
for x in a:
print x, len(x)

no arithmetic progression, but

range(10) [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]
for i in range(len(a)):
print i, a[i]

do not modify the sequence being

iterated over
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Loops: break, continue, else

break and continue like C
else after loop exhaustion
for n in range(2,10):
for x in range(2,n):
if n % x == 0:
print n, 'equals', x, '*', n/x
break
else:
# loop fell through without finding a factor
print n, 'is prime'

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Do nothing
pass does nothing
syntactic filler
while 1:
pass

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Defining functions
def fib(n):
"""Print a Fibonacci series up to n."""
a, b = 0, 1
while b < n:
print b,
a, b = b, a+b
>>> fib(2000)

First line is docstring

first look for variables in local, then global
need global to assign global variables
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Functions: default argument

values
def ask_ok(prompt, retries=4,
complaint='Yes or no, please!'):
while 1:
ok = raw_input(prompt)
if ok in ('y', 'ye', 'yes'): return 1
if ok in ('n', 'no'): return 0
retries = retries - 1
if retries < 0: raise IOError,
'refusenik error'
print complaint
>>> ask_ok('Really?')

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Keyword arguments
last arguments can be given as
keywords
def parrot(voltage, state='a stiff', action='voom',
type='Norwegian blue'):
print "-- This parrot wouldn't", action,
print "if you put", voltage, "Volts through it."
print "Lovely plumage, the ", type
print "-- It's", state, "!"
parrot(1000)
parrot(action='VOOOM', voltage=100000)

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Lambda forms
anonymous functions
may not work in older versions
def make_incrementor(n):
return lambda x: x + n
f = make_incrementor(42)
f(0)
f(1)
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List methods
append(x)
extend(L)
append all items in list (like Tcl lappend)

insert(i,x)
remove(x)
pop([i]), pop()
create stack (FIFO), or queue (LIFO) pop(0)

index(x)
return the index for value x

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List methods
count(x)
how many times x appears in list

sort()
sort items in place

reverse()
reverse list

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Functional programming
tools
filter(function, sequence)
def f(x): return x%2 != 0 and x%3 0
filter(f, range(2,25))

map(function, sequence)
call function for each item
return list of return values

reduce(function, sequence)

return a single value

call binary function on the first two items
then on the result and next item
iterate

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List comprehensions (2.0)

Create lists without map(),
filter(), lambda
= expression followed by for clause
+ zero or more for or of clauses
>>> vec = [2,4,6]
>>> [3*x for x in vec]
[6, 12, 18]
>>> [{x: x**2} for x in vec}
[{2: 4}, {4: 16}, {6: 36}]
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List comprehensions
cross products:
>>> vec1 = [2,4,6]
>>> vec2 = [4,3,-9]
>>> [x*y for x in vec1 for y in vec2]
[8,6,-18, 16,12,-36, 24,18,-54]
>>> [x+y for x in vec1 and y in vec2]
[6,5,-7,8,7,-5,10,9,-3]
>>> [vec1[i]*vec2[i] for i in
range(len(vec1))]
[8,12,-54]
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List comprehensions
can also use if:
>>> [3*x for x in vec if x > 3]
[12, 18]
>>> [3*x for x in vec if x < 2]
[]

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del removing list items

remove by index, not value
remove slices from list (rather than by
assigning an empty list)
>>> a = [-1,1,66.6,333,333,1234.5]
>>> del a[0]
>>> a
[1,66.6,333,333,1234.5]
>>> del a[2:4]
>>> a
[1,66.6,1234.5]
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Tuples and sequences

lists, strings, tuples: examples of
sequence type
tuple = values separated by
commas
>>> t = 123, 543, 'bar'
>>> t[0]
123

>>> t
(123, 543, 'bar')
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Tuples
Tuples may be nested
>>> u = t, (1,2)
>>> u
((123, 542, 'bar'), (1,2))
kind of like structs, but no element
names:
(x,y) coordinates
database records

like strings, immutable can't assign to

individual items
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Tuples
Empty tuples: ()
>>> empty = ()
>>> len(empty)
0

one item trailing comma

>>> singleton = 'foo',

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Tuples
sequence unpacking distribute
elements across variables
>>> t = 123, 543, 'bar'
>>> x, y, z = t
>>> x
123

packing always creates tuple

unpacking works for any sequence
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Dictionaries
like Tcl or awk associative arrays
indexed by keys
keys are any immutable type: e.g.,
tuples
but not lists (mutable!)
uses 'key: value' notation
>>> tel = {'hgs' : 7042, 'lennox': 7018}
>>> tel['cs'] = 7000
>>> tel
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Dictionaries
no particular order
delete elements with del
>>> del tel['foo']

keys() method unsorted list of keys

>>> tel.keys()
['cs', 'lennox', 'hgs']

use has_key() to check for existence

>>> tel.has_key('foo')
0
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Conditions
can check for sequence membership
with is and is not:
>>> if (4 in vec):
... print '4 is'

chained comparisons: a less than b AND

b equals c:
a < b == c

and and or are short-circuit operators:

evaluated from left to right
stop evaluation as soon as outcome clear
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Conditions
Can assign comparison to variable:
>>> s1,s2,s3='', 'foo', 'bar'
>>> non_null = s1 or s2 or s3
>>> non_null
foo

Unlike C, no assignment within

expression

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Comparing sequences
unlike C, can compare sequences
(lists, tuples, ...)
lexicographical comparison:

compare first; if different outcome

continue recursively
subsequences are smaller
strings use ASCII comparison
can compare objects of different type,
but by type name (list < string < tuple)

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Comparing sequences
(1,2,3) < (1,2,4)
[1,2,3] < [1,2,4]
'ABC' < 'C' < 'Pascal' < 'Python'
(1,2,3) == (1.0,2.0,3.0)
(1,2) < (1,2,-1)

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Modules
collection of functions and variables,
typically in scripts
definitions can be imported
file name is module name + .py
e.g., create module fibo.py
def fib(n): # write Fib. series up to n
...
def fib2(n): # return Fib. series up to n
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Modules
import module:
import fibo

Use modules via "name space":

>>> fibo.fib(1000)
>>> fibo.__name__
'fibo'

can give it a local name:

>>> fib = fibo.fib
>>> fib(500)
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Modules
function definition + executable
statements
executed only when module is imported
modules have private symbol tables
avoids name clash for global variables
accessible as module.globalname
can import into name space:
>>> from fibo import fib, fib2
>>> fib(500)

can import all names defined by module:

>>> from fibo import *

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Module search path

current directory
list of directories specified in PYTHONPATH
environment variable
uses installation-default if not defined, e.g.,
.:/usr/local/lib/python
uses sys.path
>>> import sys
>>> sys.path
['', 'C:\\PROGRA~1\\Python2.2', 'C:\\Program
Files\\Python2.2\\DLLs', 'C:\\Program
Files\\Python2.2\\lib', 'C:\\Program
Files\\Python2.2\\lib\\lib-tk', 'C:\\Program
Files\\Python2.2', 'C:\\Program Files\\Python2.2\\lib\\sitepackages']

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Compiled Python files

include byte-compiled version of module
if there exists fibo.pyc in same directory
as fibo.py
only if creation time of fibo.pyc matches
fibo.py
automatically write compiled file, if
possible
platform independent
doesn't run any faster, but loads faster
can have only .pyc file hide source
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Standard modules
system-dependent list
always sys module
>>> import sys
>>> sys.p1
'>>> '
>>> sys.p2
'... '
>>> sys.path.append('/some/directory')

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Module listing
use dir() for each module
>>> dir(fibo)
['___name___', 'fib', 'fib2']
>>> dir(sys)
['__displayhook__', '__doc__', '__excepthook__', '__name__', '__stderr__', '__st
din__', '__stdout__', '_getframe', 'argv', 'builtin_module_names', 'byteorder',
'copyright', 'displayhook', 'dllhandle', 'exc_info', 'exc_type', 'excepthook', '
exec_prefix', 'executable', 'exit', 'getdefaultencoding', 'getrecursionlimit', '
getrefcount', 'hexversion', 'last_type', 'last_value', 'maxint', 'maxunicode', '
modules', 'path', 'platform', 'prefix', 'ps1', 'ps2', 'setcheckinterval', 'setpr
ofile', 'setrecursionlimit', 'settrace', 'stderr', 'stdin', 'stdout', 'version',
'version_info', 'warnoptions', 'winver']

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Classes
mixture of C++ and Modula-3
multiple base classes
derived class can override any methods of
its base class(es)
method can call the method of a base
class with the same name
objects have private data
C++ terms:
all class members are public
all member functions are virtual
no constructors or destructors (not needed)

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Classes
classes (and data types) are
objects
built-in types cannot be used as
base classes by user
arithmetic operators, subscripting
can be redefined for class
instances (like C++, unlike Java)

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Class definitions
Class ClassName:
<statement-1>
...
<statement-N>

must be executed
can be executed conditionally (see
Tcl)
creates new namespace
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Namespaces
mapping from name to object:
built-in names (abs())
global names in module
local names in function invocation

attributes = any following a dot

z.real, z.imag

attributes read-only or writable

module attributes are writeable
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Namespaces
scope = textual region of Python program
where a namespace is directly accessible
(without dot)
innermost scope (first) = local names
middle scope = current module's global names
outermost scope (last) = built-in names

assignments always affect innermost scope

don't copy, just create name bindings to objects

global indicates name is in global scope

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Class objects
obj.name references (plus module!):
class MyClass:
"A simple example class"
i = 123
def f(self):
return 'hello world'
>>> MyClass.i
123

MyClass.f is method object

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Class objects
class instantiation:
>>> x = MyClass()
>>> x.f()
'hello world'

creates new instance of class

note x = MyClass vs. x = MyClass()

___init__() special method for

initialization of object
def __init__(self,realpart,imagpart):
self.r = realpart
self.i = imagpart

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Instance objects
attribute references
data attributes (C++/Java data
members)
created dynamically
x.counter = 1
while x.counter < 10:
x.counter = x.counter * 2
print x.counter
del x.counter
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Method objects
Called immediately:
x.f()

can be referenced:
xf = x.f
while 1:
print xf()

object is passed as first argument

of function 'self'
x.f() is equivalent to MyClass.f(x)
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Notes on classes
Data attributes override method
attributes with the same name
no real hiding not usable to
implement pure abstract data types
clients (users) of an object can add
data attributes
first argument of method usually
called self
'self' has no special meaning (cf. Java)
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Another example
bag.py
class Bag:
def __init__(self):
self.data = []
def add(self, x):
self.data.append(x)
def addtwice(self,x):
self.add(x)
self.add(x)

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Another example, cont'd.

invoke:
>>> from bag import *
>>> l = Bag()
>>> l.add('first')
>>> l.add('second')
>>> l.data
['first', 'second']

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Inheritance
class DerivedClassName(BaseClassName)
<statement-1>
...
<statement-N>

search class attribute, descending

chain of base classes
may override methods in the base
class
call directly via BaseClassName.method
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Multiple inheritance
class DerivedClass(Base1,Base2,Base3):
<statement>

depth-first, left-to-right
problem: class derived from two
classes with a common base class

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Private variables
No real support, but textual
replacement (name mangling)
__var is replaced by
_classname_var
prevents only accidental
modification, not true protection

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~ C structs
Empty class definition:
class Employee:
pass
john = Employee()
john.name = 'John Doe'
john.dept = 'CS'
john.salary = 1000
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Exceptions
syntax (parsing) errors
while 1 print 'Hello World'
File "<stdin>", line 1
while 1 print 'Hello World'
^
SyntaxError:

invalid syntax

exceptions
run-time errors
e.g., ZeroDivisionError,
NameError, TypeError
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Handling exceptions
while 1:
try:
x = int(raw_input("Please enter a number: "))
break
except ValueError:
print "Not a valid number"

First, execute try clause

if no exception, skip except clause
if exception, skip rest of try clause and use
except clause
if no matching exception, attempt outer try
statement
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Handling exceptions
try.py
import sys
for arg in sys.argv[1:]:
try:
f = open(arg, 'r')
except IOError:
print 'cannot open', arg
else:
print arg, 'lines:', len(f.readlines())
f.close
e.g., as python try.py *.py

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Language comparison
Tcl

Perl

Python JavaScrip Visual

t
Basic

development

regexp

extensible

embeddable

easy GUI

(Tk)

net/web

enterpris cross-platform
e

I18N

thread-safe

Speed
breadth

database access

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Advanced