An introduction to Python

for absolute beginners

Bob Dowling
University Information Services
[email protected]

http://www.ucs.cam.ac.uk/docs/course-notes/unix-courses/PythonAB 1
But first…
Fire escapes Toilets

No drinks or snacks
Notes
in the room, please.

Signing in
Feedback
2
Course outline ― 1
Who uses Python & what for
What sort of language it is

How to launch Python

Python scripts

Text
Names for values
Reading in user data
Numbers
Conversions
Comparisons
Truth & Falsehood
3
Course outline ― 2
Assignment
Names

Our first “real” program

Loops
if… else…

Indentation

Comments

4
Course outline ― 3
Lists
Indices
Lengths
Changing items
Extending lists
Methods
Creating lists
Testing lists
Removing from lists
for… loop
Iterables
Slices
5
Course outline ― 4
Files
Reading & writing

Writing our own functions

Tuples

Modules
System modules
External modules

Dictionaries

Formatted text
6
Who uses Python?
On-line games

Web services

Applications

Science

Instrument control

Embedded systems

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Python_software
7
What sort of language is Python?

Compiled Interpreted

Explicitly Explicitly Implicitly Purely

compiled compiled compiled interpreted
to machine to byte to byte
code code code

C, C++, Java, C# Python Shell,

Fortran Perl

8
Running Python ― 1

9
Running Python ― 2
Unix prompt

Unix command

Introductory blurb
$ python3
Python 3.2.3 (default, May 3 2012, 15:54:42)
[GCC 4.6.3] on linux2

>>> Python version

Python prompt

10
Quitting Python

>>> exit()

Any one
>>> quit()
of these

>>> Ctrl + D

11
A first Python command
Python prompt

Python command

>>> print('Hello, world!')

Hello, world! Output

>>> Python prompt

12
Python commands
Python “function”

Round brackets
― “parentheses”
print('Hello, world!')

Function’s “argument”

print ≠ PRINT “Case sensitive”

13
Python text
Quotation marks

'Hello, world!'

The body
of the text

The quotes are not

!
part of the text itself.

14
Quotes?

print Command

'print' Text

15
Python scripts
File in home directory print('Hello, world!')

Run from Unix prompt

hello1.py

Unix prompt

Unix command
to run Python

$ python3 hello1.py Python script

Hello, world! Python script’s output

$ Unix prompt 16
Editing Python scripts — 1

17
Editing Python scripts — 2

18
Progress
Interactive Python

Python scripts

print() command

Simple Python text

19
Exercise 1

1. Print “Goodbye, cruel world!” from interactive Python.

2. Edit exercise1.py to print the same text.

3. Run the modified exercise1.py script.

❢ Please ask if you have questions.

2 minutes
20
A little more text

Full “Unicode” support print('ℏэłᏓዐ, ω☺ⲗր∂‼')

www.unicode.org/charts/ hello2.py

21
Getting characters
˘

AltGr + Shift + # g Linux

ğ Character Selector

“LATIN SMALL
LETTER G \u011f
WITH BREVE”

22
Text: a “string” of characters

>>> type('Hello, world!')

<class 'str'> A string of characters

Class: string

Length: 13

Letters

str 13 H e l l o , ␣ w o r l d !
23
Text: “behind the scenes”
str 13 72 101 108 108 111 44 32 … 100 33

>>> '\u011f' 011f16

'ğ'

>>> ord('ğ')

287
28710

>>> chr(287)

'ğ'
ğ 24
Adding strings together: +

“Concatenation” print('Hello, ' + 'world!')

hello3.py
>>> 'Hello, ' + 'world!'

'Hello, world!'

>>>

25
Pure concatenation
>>> 'Hello,␣' + 'world!'

'Hello, world!'

>>> 'Hello,' + '␣world!' Only simple

concatenation
'Hello, world!'

>>> 'Hello,' + 'world!' No spaces added

automatically.
'Hello,world!'
26
Single & double quotes

>>> 'Hello, world!' Single quotes

'Hello, world!' Single quotes

>>> "Hello, world!" Double quotes

'Hello, world!' Single quotes

27
Python strings: input & output
'Hello, world!'
Single or double
quotes on input.
"Hello, world!"

Create same
string object.

'Hello, world!' Single quotes on output.

str 13 H e l l o , ␣ w o r l d !
28
Uses of single & double quotes

>>> print('He said "hello" to her.')

He said "hello" to her.

>>> print("He said 'hello' to her.")

He said 'hello' to her.

29
Why we need different quotes

>>> print('He said 'hello' to her.')

✘
File "<stdin>", line 1
print('He said 'hello' to her.')
^
SyntaxError: invalid syntax

30
 Adding arbitrary quotes

>>> print('He said \'hello\' to her.')

He said 'hello' to her.

\' ' Just an ordinary

character.

\" " “Escaping”

str 23 H e ␣ s a i d ␣ ' h e l l o ' ␣ t o ␣ h e r .

31
Putting line breaks in text
Hello,
world! What we want

>>> print('Hello, ↵ Try this

world')

>>> print('Hello, ↵

✘
File "<stdin>", line 1
print('Hello,
^
SyntaxError: EOL while
scanning string literal “EOL”: End Of Line
32
 Inserting “special” characters
>>> print('Hello,\nworld!')
Hello, Treated as
world! a new line.

\n Converted into a
single character.

str 13 H e l l o , ↵ w o r l d !

>>> len('Hello,\nworld!')
13 len() function: gives
the length of the object
33
The backslash
Special Ordinary \' '

\" "

Ordinary Special \n ↵

\t ⇥

34
\n: unwieldy for long text
'SQUIRE TRELAWNEY, Dr. Livesey, and the\n
rest of these gentlemen having asked me\n
to write down the whole particulars\nabou
t Treasure Island, from the\nbeginning to
the end, keeping nothing\nback but the b
earings of the island,\nand that only bec
ause there is still\ntreasure not yet lif
ted, I take up my\npen in the year of gra
ce 17__ and go\nback to the time when my
father kept\nthe Admiral Benbow inn and t
he brown\nold seaman with the sabre cut f
irst\ntook up his lodging under our roof.'

Single
line 35
Special input method for long text
'''SQUIRE TRELAWNEY, Dr. Livesey, and the
rest of these gentlemen having asked me
to write down the whole particulars
about Treasure Island, from the
beginning to the end, keeping nothing
back but the bearings of the island,
and that only because there is still
treasure not yet lifted, I take up my
pen in the year of grace 17__ and go
back to the time when my father kept
the Admiral Benbow inn and the brown
old seaman with the sabre cut first
took up his lodging under our roof.'''
Triple Multiple
quotes lines 36
Python’s “secondary” prompt

>>> '''Hello,
... world'''
Python asking for more
of the same command.

37
It’s still just text!

>>> 'Hello,\nworld!'

'Hello\nworld'
Python uses \n to represent
line breaks in strings.

>>> '''Hello,
... world!'''

'Hello\nworld' Exactly the same!

38
Your choice of input quotes:
Four inputs:

'Hello,\nworld!' "Hello,\nworld!"

'''Hello, """Hello,
world!''' world!"""

Same result:

str 13 H e l l o , ↵ w o r l d !
39
Progress
International text

print()

Concatenation of strings

Special characters

Long strings
40
Exercise 2

1. Replace XXXX in exercise2.py so it prints the following

text (with the line breaks) and then run the script.

coffee
café
caffè
Kaffee

é \u00e8 AltGr + ; e

è \u00e9 AltGr + # e 3 minutes

41
Attaching names to values
“variables” message = 'Hello, world!'
print(message)
>>> message='Hello, world!'

>>> message hello3.py

'Hello, world!'

>>> type(message)

<class 'str'>

message str 13 H e l l o , ␣ w o r l d !
42
Attaching names to values
message = 'Hello, world!'
print(message)
>>> type(print)

<class 'builtin_function_or_method'> hello4.py

print function

message str 13 H e l l o , ␣ w o r l d !
43
Reading some text into a script
message = input('Yes?␣')
print(message)

$ python3 input1.py input1.py

input('Yes?␣')

Yes? Boo! message = …

Boo! print(message)

44
Can't read numbers directly!
$ python3 input2.py number = input('N?␣')
print(number + 1)
✘
N? 10
input2.py

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "input2.py", line 2, in <module>
print(number + 1 )
TypeError:
Can't convert 'int' object
to str implicitly

string integer 45
input(): strings only
$ python3 input2.py number = input('N?␣')
print(number + 1)
✘
N? 10
input2.py

input('N?␣') str 2 1 0

≠ int 10

46
Some more types

>>> type('Hello, world!')

<class 'str'> string of characters

>>> type(42)

<class 'int'> integer

>>> type(3.14159)

<class 'float'> floating point number

47
Converting text to integers
>>> int('10')
str 2 1 0 int 10
10

>>> int('␣-100␣')
str 6 ␣ - 1 0 0 ␣
-100

int -100
>>> int('100-10')
✘
ValueError:
invalid literal for int() with base 10: '100-10'
48
Converting text to floats

>>> float('10.0') '10.0' is a string

10.0 10.0 is a floating

point number

>>> float('␣10.␣')

10.0

49
Converting between ints and floats

>>> float(10)

10.0

>>> int(10.9)

10 Truncates
fractional part

>>> int(-10.9)

-10
50
Converting into text

>>> str(10) integer string

'10'

>>> str(10.000) float string

'10.0'

51
Converting between types

int() anything integer

float() anything float

str() anything string

Functions named after the type they convert into.

52
Reading numbers into a script
text = input('N?␣')
number = int(text)
$ python3 input3.py print(number + 1)

N? 10

11

53
Stepping through our script — 1
text = input('N?␣')
str 3 N ? ␣ number = int(text)
print(number + 1)

54
 Stepping through our script — 2
text = input('N?␣')
str 3 N ? ␣ number = int(text)
print(number + 1)

input function

str 2 1 0 NB: text, not number

55
 Stepping through our script — 3
text = input('N?␣')
number = int(text)
print(number + 1)

input function

text str 2 1 0

56
 Stepping through our script — 4
text = input('N?␣')
number = int(text)
print(number + 1)

input function

text str 2 1 0

int function

int 10
57
 Stepping through our script — 5
text = input('N?␣')
number = int(text)
print(number + 1)

input function

text str 2 1 0

int function

number int 10
58
 Stepping through our script — 6
text = input('N?␣')
number = int(text)
print(number + 1)

number int 10

59
 Stepping through our script — 7
text = input('N?␣')
number = int(text)
print(number + 1)

number int 10 int 1

+ function

int 11

60
 Stepping through our script — 6
text = input('N?␣')
number = int(text)
print(number + 1)

number int 10

int 11

print function 61
Progress
Names Values name = value

Types strings

integers

floating point numbers

Reading in text input(prompt)

Type conversions str() int() float()

62
Exercise 3

Replace the two XXXX in exercise3.py to do the following:

1. Prompt the user with the text “How much?␣”.

2. Convert the user’s answer to a floating point number.

3. Print 2.5 plus that number.

3 minutes
63
Integers

ℤ {… -2, -1, 0,
1, 2, 3, 4 …}
64
Integer addition & subtraction
>>> 20+5
25

>>> 20␣-␣5 Spaces around the

operator don’t matter.
15

“No surprises”
65
Integer multiplication
There is no “×” on the keyboard. Linux:
AltGr + Shift + ,
Use “*” instead

>>> 20␣*␣5
100

Still no surprises
66
Integer division
There is no “÷” on the keyboard. Linux:
AltGr + Shift + .
Use “/” instead

>>> 20␣/␣5
4.0 This is a floating point number!

Surprise!
67
Integer division gives floats !
Fractions Floats sometimes
!
Consistency Floats always

>>> 20␣/␣40
0.5

>>> 20␣/␣30
0.6666666666666666

68
Integer powers
There is no “42” on the keyboard.

Use “**” instead

>>> 4␣**␣2 Spaces around the

operator don’t matter.
16

>>> 4*␣*2 Spaces in the

operator do!
SyntaxError: invalid syntax

69
Integer remainders
e.g. Is a number even or odd?

Use “%”

>>> 4␣%␣2
0

>>> 5␣%␣2
1

>>> -5␣%␣2
1 Remainder is always non-negative
70
How big can a Python integer be?
>>> 2**2
4

>>> 4**2
16

>>> 16**2
256

>>> 256**2
65536

>>> 65536**2
4294967296
71
How big can a Python integer be?
>>> 4294967296**2
18446744073709551616

>>> 18446744073709551616**2
340282366920938463463374607431768211456

>>> 340282366920938463463374607431768211456**2
1157920892373161954235709850086879078532699846
65640564039457584007913129639936

>>> 115792089237316195423570985008687907853269
984665640564039457584007913129639936**2
1340780792994259709957402499820584612747936582
0592393377723561443721764030073546976801874298
1669034276900318581864860508537538828119465699
72
46433649006084096
How big can a Python integer be?
10443888814131525066917527107166243825799642490473837803842334832839
53907971557456848826811934997558340890106714439262837987573438185793
60726323608785136527794595697654370999834036159013438371831442807001
18559462263763188393977127456723346843445866174968079087058037040712
84048740118609114467977783598029006686938976881787785946905630190260
94059957945343282346930302669644305902501597239986771421554169383555
98852914863182379144344967340878118726394964751001890413490084170616
There is no limit!
75093668333850551032972088269550769983616369411933015213796825837188
09183365675122131849284636812555022599830041234478486259567449219461
70238065059132456108257318353800876086221028342701976982023131690176
78006675195485079921636419370285375124784014907159135459982790513399
61155179427110683113409058427288427979155484978295432353451706522326
Except for
90613949059876930021229633956877828789484406160074129456749198230505
71642377154816321380631045902916136926708342856440730447899971901781
machine
46576347322385026725305989979599609079946920177462481771844986745565
memory
92501783290704731194331655508075682218465717463732968849128195203174
57002440926616910874148385078411929804522981857338977648103126085903
00130241346718972667321649151113160292078173803343609024380470834040
3154190336
73
Big integers
2
C / C++
Fortran
4

16
int
INTEGER*4 256

long 65536
INTEGER*8
4294967296
long long
INTEGER*16 18446744073709551616

Out of the reach 3402823669209384634…

74
of C or Fortran! 63374607431768211456
Floating point numbers

ℝ
✗ 1.0
0.33333333
3.14159265
2.71828182 75
Basic operations
>>> 20.0 + 5.0 >>> 20.0 - 5.0
25.0 15.0

>>> 20.0 * 5.0 >>> 20.0 / 5.0

100.0 4.0

>>> 20.0 ** 5.0 Equivalent to integer arithmetic

3200000.0

76
Floating point imprecision
>>> 1.0 / 3.0
0.3333333333333333

>>> 10.0 / 3.0

If you are relying on
3.3333333333333335 this last decimal place,
you are doing it wrong!

≈ 17 significant figures

77
Hidden imprecision
>>> 0.1
!
0.1

>>> 0.1 + 0.1

0.2

>>> 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1

Really: if you are relying on
0.30000000000000004 this last decimal place,
you are doing it wrong!
78
How big can a Python float be? ― 1
>>> 65536.0**2 So far, so good.
4294967296.0

>>> 4294967296.0**2 Switch to

1.8446744073709552e+19 “scientific notation”

1.8446744073709552 e+19
1.8446744073709552 ×1019

79
Floats are not exact
>>> 4294967296.0**2 Floating point
1.8446744073709552e+19

>>> 4294967296**2 Integer

18446744073709551616

1.8446744073709552×1019 18446744073709552000

- 18446744073709551616

384
80
How big can a Python float be? ― 2
>>> 1.8446744073709552e+19**2
3.402823669209385e+38

>>> 3.402823669209385e+38**2
1.157920892373162e+77

>>> 1.157920892373162e+77**2 So far, so good.

1.3407807929942597e+154

>>> 1.3407807929942597e+154**2 Too big!

OverflowError: (34,
'Numerical result out of range')

81
Floating point limits

1.2345678901234567 × 10N

17 significant figures

-325 < N < 308

Positive values:
4.94065645841×10-324 < N < 8.98846567431×10307

82
Complex numbers
ℑ

ℂ
z2
z
ℜ

>>> (1.25+0.5j)**2
(1.3125+1.25j)

83
Progress

Arithmetic + - * / ** %

Integers No limits!

Floating point numbers Limited size

Limited precision

Complex numbers

84
Exercise 4

Replace the XXXX in exercise4.py to evaluate

and print out the following calculations:

1. 223 ÷ 71

2. (1 + 1/10)10

3. (1 + 1/100)100

4. (1 + 1/1000)1000
3 minutes
85
Comparisons

5 < 10 ✔

5 > 10 ✘

86
Comparisons

>>> 5 < 10 Asking the question

True
✔
>>> 5 > 10 Asking the question
False
✘

87
True & False
>>> type(True)
<class 'bool'> “Booleans”

5 + 10 15 int

int int

5 < 10 True bool

88
True & False

bool ✓ True
Only two values
bool ✗ False

89
Six comparisons
Maths Python

= == Double equals sign

≠ !=
< <
> >
≤ <=
≥ >=
90
Equality comparison & assignment

= name = value

Attach a name to a value.

== value1 == value2

Compare two values

91
Textual comparisons

>>> 'cat' < 'dog' Alphabetic ordering

True

>>> 'Cat' < 'cat' Uppercase before lowercase

True

>>> 'Dog' < 'cat' All uppercase before lowercase

True
92
Ordering text is complicated
Python inequalities use Unicode character numbers.

This is over-simplistic for “real” use.

“Collation” is a whole field of computing in itself

Alphabetical order?

German: z<ö

Swedish: ö<z
93
“Syntactic sugar”
0 < number

0 < number < 10 and

number < 10

>>> number = 5

>>> 0 < number < 10

True
94
Converting to booleans
float() Converts to floating point numbers
<class 'float'>
int() Converts to integers
<class 'int'>
str() Converts to strings
<class 'str'>

bool() Converts to booleans

<class 'bool'>
95
Useful conversions

'' False Empty string

'Fred' True Non-empty string

0 False Zero

1 True Non-zero

12 True
96
-1 True
Boolean operations
bool
? bool
bool

Numbers have +, –, * … bool ✓

What do booleans have? bool ✗

97
Boolean operations ― “and”
bool
and bool
bool

True and True True Both have

to be True
True and False False

False and True False

False and False False

98
Boolean operations ― “and”

>>> 4 < 5 and 6 < 7 4 < 5 True

and True
True 6 < 7 True

>>> 4 < 5 and 6 > 7 4 < 5 True

and False
False 6 > 7 False

99
Boolean operations ― “or”
bool
or bool
bool

True or True True At least

one has
True or False True to be True

False or True True

False or False False

100
Boolean operations ― “or”

>>> 4 < 5 or 6 < 7 4 < 5 True

or True
True 6 < 7 True

>>> 4 < 5 or 6 > 7 4 < 5 True

or True
True 6 > 7 False

101
Boolean operations ― “not”

bool not bool

not True False

not False True

102
Boolean operations ― “not”

>>> not 6 < 7 6 < 7 True not False

False

>>> not 6 > 7 6 > 7 False not True

True

103
Ambiguity in expressions

3+6/3
✘ ✔
(3 + 6) / 3 3 + (6 / 3)

3 5
104
Division before addition

3+6/3
Division first

3+ 2
Addition second

5
105
“Order of precedence”
First

x**y -x +x x%y x/y x*y x-y x+y

x==y x!=y x>=y x>y x<=y x<y

not x x and y x or y
106
Last
Progress
Comparisons == != < > <= >=

Numerical comparison 5 < 7

Alphabetical ordering 'dig' < 'dug'

Booleans True False

Boolean operators and or not

Conversions '' False

0 False
0.0 False

other True 107

Exercise 5
Predict whether these expressions will evaluate to True or False.
Then try them.

1. 'sparrow' > 'eagle'

2. 'dog' > 'Cat' or 45 % 3 == 0

3. 60 - 45 / 5 + 10 == 1

3 minutes
108
Names and values: “assignment”

>>> alpha = 100

1. alpha = 100 Python creates

int 100 an “integer 100”
in memory.

2. alpha = 100 Python attaches

the name “alpha”
to the value.
alpha int 100
109
Assignment: right to left

alpha = 100

“RHS”: right hand side

Evaluated first

“LHS”: left hand side

Processed second

110
Simple evaluations
>>> beta = 100 + 20

1. 100 + 20 RHS

int 100 function + int 20

2.
int 120

3. LHS
beta int 120
111
Changing value — 1
>>> gamma = 1

>>> gamma = 2

112
Changing value — 2
RHS

>>> gamma = 1
int 1

113
Changing value — 3
LHS

>>> gamma = 1
gamma int 1

114
Changing value — 4
RHS

>>> gamma = 1
gamma int 1
>>> gamma = 2

int 2

115
Changing value — 5
LHS

>>> gamma = 1
gamma int 1
>>> gamma = 2

int 2

116
Changing value — 6
garbage collection

✘
>>> gamma = 1
gamma int 1
>>> gamma = 2

int 2

117
Changing value — 7
>>> gamma = 1
gamma
>>> gamma = 2

int 2

118
Changing value — a subtlety

✘
>>> gamma = 1
gamma int 1
>>> gamma = 2

Two separate int 2

integer objects.

Python doesn’t change an integer’s value;

Python replaces the integer.

Python integers are “immutable”

119
Names on the RHS — 1
>>> delta = alpha + 40

alpha + 40 RHS
1.

alpha
2.

int 100 function + int 40

3.
int 140
120
Names on the RHS — 2
>>> delta = alpha + 40

LHS
4. delta int 140
121
Same name on both sides — 0

Starting
delta int 140 position

>>> print(delta)

140

122
Same name on both sides — 1
RHS
>>> delta = delta + 10

1. delta + 10

2. delta

3.
int 140 function + int 10

4.
int 150
123
Same name on both sides — 2
LHS
>>> delta = delta + 10

int 150 RHS

5.
delta int 140

int 150 RHS

6. delta int 140

124
Same name on both sides — 3
LHS
>>> delta = delta + 10

int 150

✗
7.
delta No longer
int 140
used.

8. delta int 150

125
“Syntactic sugar”

thing += 10 thing = thing + 10

thing -= 10 thing = thing - 10

thing *= 10 thing = thing * 10

is equivalent to
thing /= 10 thing = thing / 10

thing **= 10 thing = thing ** 10

thing %= 10 thing = thing % 10

126
Deleting a name ― 1

>>> print(thing)

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
NameError: name 'thing' is not defined
Unknown
variable
>>> thing = 1

>>> print(thing)

1
127
Deleting a name ― 2

>>> print(thing)

1 Known
variable
>>> del thing

>>> print(thing)

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
NameError: name 'thing' is not defined
Unknown
128
variable
Progress

Assignment thing = thing + 10

Deletion del thing

Strictly right to left thing = thing + 10

2nd 1st

+= etc. “syntactic sugar” thing += 10

129
Our first “real” program

$ python3 sqrt.py We have to write sqrt.py

Number? 2.0
1.414213562373095

First, the maths.

Then, the Python.

130
Square root of 2.0 by “bisection”

0.0 too small for √2

2.0 too large for √2

“Interval of uncertainty”

0.0 < √2 < 2.0

131
Square root of 2.0 by bisection — 1

(0.0 + 2.0) / 2.0

1.0

1.0**2
1.0

Mid-point: 1.0
132
Square root of 2.0 by bisection — 2
2 2
midpoint < √2

1.0**2 < 2.0

so change lower bound

1.0 < √2 < 2.0

133
Square root of 2.0 by bisection — 3

(1.0 + 2.0) / 2.0

1.5

1.5**2
2.25

Mid-point: 1.5
134
Square root of 2.0 by bisection — 4

1.5**2 > 2.0

so change upper bound

1.0 < √2 < 1.5

135
Square root of 2.0 by bisection — 5

(1.0 + 1.5) / 2.0

1.25

1.25**2
1.5625

Mid-point: 1.25
136
Square root of 2.0 by bisection — 6

1.25**2 < 2.0

so change lower bound

1.25 < √2 < 1.5

137
Square root of 2.0 by bisection — 7

(1.25 + 1.5) / 2.0

1.375

1.375**2
1.890625

Mid-point: 1.375
138
Square root of 2.0 by bisection — 8

1.375**2 < 2.0

so change lower bound

1.375 < √2 < 1.5

139
Exercise 6

One more iteration.

Find the mid-point.

Square it.
Compare the square to 2.0.

Do you change the

lower or upper bound?

2 minutes
140
1.375 < √2 < 1.5
Understanding before Programming

141
And now using Python!

lower = 0.0
upper = 2.0

middle = (lower+upper)/2

142
And now using Python — 2

middle**2 < 2.0

True

lower = middle

print(lower, upper)

1.0 2.0

143
And now using Python — 3

middle = (lower+upper)/2

print(middle, middle**2)

1.5 2.25

144
And now using Python — 4

middle**2 < 2.0

False

upper = middle

print(lower, upper)

1.0 1.5

145
And now using Python — 5

middle = (lower+upper)/2

print(middle, middle**2)

1.25 1.5625

146
And now using Python — 6

middle**2 < 2.0

True

lower = middle

print(lower, upper)

1.25 1.5

147
And now using Python — 7

middle = (lower+upper)/2

print(middle, middle**2)

1.375 1.890625

148
And now using Python — 8

middle**2 < 2.0

True

lower = middle

print(lower, upper)

1.375 1.5

149
Looking at the Python code
lower = 0.0
upper = 2.0

middle = (lower+upper)/2
print(middle, middle**2)

middle**2 < 2.0

✔ ? ✘
lower = middle upper = middle

print(lower, upper) 150

Looking at the Python structures
lower = 0.0 Set up
upper = 2.0
Loop

middle = (lower+upper)/2
print(middle, middle**2)

Choice
middle**2 < 2.0

✔ ? ✘
lower = middle upper = middle

print(lower, upper) 151

Looping

Before

Should the
Loop test
loop run
✘ ✔ (again)?

What is
Loop body run each
loop?

After
152
Loop example: Count from 1 to 10

Before number = 1

Loop test number <= 10

✘ ✔ ✘ ✔

print(number)
Loop body number += 1

After print('Done!')
153
Loop example: Count from 1 to 10
number = 1 number = 1

while number <= 10 : number <= 10

✘ ✔

␣␣␣␣ print(number) print(number)

␣␣␣␣ number += 1 number += 1

print('Done!') print('Done!')
154
Loop test: Count from 1 to 10
number = 1
“while” keyword
loop test
while number <= 10 : colon

␣␣␣␣ print(number)
␣␣␣␣ number += 1

print('Done!')
155
Loop body: Count from 1 to 10
number = 1

while number <= 10 :

␣␣␣␣ print(number)
␣␣␣␣ number += 1 loop body

indentation
print('Done!')
156
Loop example: Count from 1 to 10
$ python3 while1.py
number = 1
1
while number <= 10 : 2
3
print(number)
4
number += 1
5
6
print('Done!') 7
8
9
while1.py 10
Done!
$
157
Python’s use of indentation

number = 1

while number <= 10 :

Four spaces’ indentation
indicate a “block” of code.
␣␣␣␣ print(number)
␣␣␣␣ number += 1
The block forms
print('Done!') the repeated lines.

The first unindented line

marks the end of the block.
158
c.f. “legalese”

1
1(a)
1(b)
1(b)(i)

1(b)(ii)
1(b)(iii)
1(c)
2
3

159
Other languages

Shell while ...

do do ... done Syntax
␣␣␣␣...
␣␣␣␣... ␣␣␣␣... Clarity
done

C while ...
{ { ... } Syntax
␣␣␣␣...
␣␣␣␣... ␣␣␣␣... Clarity
}
160
Progress
while ... : before

while test :
test to keep looping ␣␣␣␣action1
␣␣␣␣action2
␣␣␣␣action3
code blocks
afterwards
␣␣␣␣indentation

161
Exercise 7

For each script: while2.py

␣␣␣␣ Predict what it will do. while3.py

␣␣␣␣ Run the script. while4.py

␣␣␣␣ Were you right? while5.py

while6.py

To kill a running script: Ctrl + C

5 minutes
162
 Back to our square root example
uncertainty tolerance
0.0 2.0
2.0 1.0×10–15

×½
1.0 2.0
1.0
What we want
×½
1.0 1.5
0.5

×½
1.25 1.5
0.25

×½
1.375 1.5
0.125 What we get 163
Keep looping while … ?
uncertainty > tolerance

while uncertainty > tolerance :

␣␣␣␣
Do stuff.
␣␣␣␣
␣␣␣␣
␣␣␣␣

164
Square root: the loop
tolerance = 1.0e-15 Set up
lower = 0.0
upper = 2.0
uncertainty = upper - lower
Loop
while uncertainty > tolerance :

middle = (lower + upper)/2

Choice

print(lower, upper)
165
uncertainty = upper - lower
Choosing
Choice
middle**2 < 2.0

✔ ? ✘
lower = middle upper = middle

middle**2 < 2.0 True or False

True lower = middle

False upper = middle 166

Simple example
text = input('Number? ') $ python3 ifthenelse1.py
number = int(text)
Number? 8
if number % 2 == 0: Even number
print('Even number') That was fun
else:
print('Odd number')

print('That was fun!')

$ python3 ifthenelse1.py
Number? 7
Odd number
ifthenelse1.py That was fun

167
if…then… else… ― 1
if keyword

Test

if number % 2 == 0 : Colon

␣␣␣␣ print('Even number')

else :

␣␣␣␣ upper = middle

print('That was fun!')

168
if…then… else… ― 2

if number % 2 == 0 :

␣␣␣␣ print('Even number') Run if test is True

Indentation
else :

␣␣␣␣ upper = middle

print('That was fun!')

169
if…then… else… ― 3

if number % 2 == 0 :

␣␣␣␣ print('Even number')

else : else: keyword

␣␣␣␣ upper = middle Run if test is False

Indentation
print('That was fun!')

170
if…then… else… ― 4

if number % 2 == 0 :

␣␣␣␣ print('Even number')

else :

␣␣␣␣ upper = middle

Run afterwards
print('That was fun!')
regardless of test

171
Our square root example
middle = (lower + upper)/2 Before

if middle**2 < 2.0 :

␣␣␣␣ lower = middle

if… block
else :

␣␣␣␣ upper = middle

print(lower, upper) After

172
Progress
if ... : before

else: if test :
␣␣␣␣action1
␣␣␣␣action2
choice of two else:
code blocks ␣␣␣␣action3

afterwards
␣␣␣␣indentation

173
Exercise 8

For each script: ifthenelse2.py

␣␣␣␣ Predict what it will do. ifthenelse3.py

␣␣␣␣ Run the script. ifthenelse4.py

␣␣␣␣ Were you right?

5 minutes
174
Back to our example
tolerance = 1.0e-15
lower = 0.0
upper = 2.0
uncertainty = upper - lower

while uncertainty > tolerance :

middle = (lower + upper)/2
if starts
if middle**2 < 2.0 :
indented
lower = middle
else : Doubly
indented
upper = middle
print(lower, upper)
175
uncertainty = upper - lower
Levels of indentation
tolerance = 1.0e-15
lower = 0.0
upper = 2.0
uncertainty = upper - lower

while uncertainty > tolerance :

␣␣␣␣middle = (lower + upper)/2 4 spaces
␣␣␣␣if middle**2 < 2.0 :
␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣lower = middle 8 spaces
␣␣␣␣else :
␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣upper = middle
␣␣␣␣print(lower, upper)
176
␣␣␣␣uncertainty = upper - lower
Trying it out
tolerance = 1.0e-15 $ python3 sqrt1.py
lower = 0.0
upper = 2.0 1.0 2.0
uncertainty = upper - lower 1.0 1.5
1.25 1.5
while uncertainty > tolerance :
1.375 1.5
middle = (lower + upper)/2
1.375 1.4375
if middle**2 < 2.0: 1.40625 1.4375
lower = middle 1.40625 1.421875
else:
upper = middle
...
print(lower, upper)
uncertainty = upper - lower 1.414213... 1.414213...

sqrt1.py
☺ 177
Script for the square root of 2.0
tolerance = 1.0e-15
lower = 0.0
upper = 2.0 √2.0
uncertainty = upper - lower

while uncertainty > tolerance :

␣␣␣␣middle = (lower + upper)/2
␣␣␣␣if middle**2 < 2.0 : √2.0
␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣lower = middle
␣␣␣␣else :
␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣upper = middle
␣␣␣␣print(lower, upper)
178
␣␣␣␣uncertainty = upper - lower
Input target

text = input('Number? ')

number = float(text)

if middle**2 < number :

179
Initial bounds?

lower = ?
upper = ?

x > 1.0 1.0 < √x < x

1.0 > x 1.0 > √x > x

if...then...else...

180
Initial bounds

if number < 1.0 :

␣␣␣␣lower = number
␣␣␣␣upper = 1.0
else :
␣␣␣␣lower = 1.0
␣␣␣␣upper = number

181
Generic square root script?
text = input('Number?␣')
number = float(text)
User input

if number < 1.0:

␣␣␣␣lower = number Initialization
␣␣␣␣upper = 1.0
else:
␣␣␣␣lower = 1.0
␣␣␣␣upper = number

tolerance = 1.0e-15
uncertainty = upper - lower

while uncertainty > tolerance:

␣␣␣␣middle = (lower+upper)/2.0
␣␣␣␣if middle**2 < number: Processing
␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣lower = middle
␣␣␣␣else:
␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣upper = middle

␣␣␣␣uncertainty = upper - lower

182
print(lower, upper) sqrt2.py
Output
Negative numbers?

Need to catch negative numbers

if number < 0.0:

␣␣␣␣print('Number must be positive!')
␣␣␣␣exit() Quit immediately

"else" is optional

183
“Chained” tests

text = input('Number?␣') User input

number = float(text)

if number < 0.0: Input validation

␣␣␣␣print('Number must be positive!')
␣␣␣␣exit()

if number < 1.0: Initialization

␣␣␣␣lower = number
␣␣␣␣upper = 1.0
else:
␣␣␣␣lower = 1.0
␣␣␣␣upper = number

...

184
“Chained” tests ― syntactic sugar

text = input('Number?␣')
number = float(text)

if number < 0.0:

␣␣␣␣print('Number must be positive!')
␣␣␣␣exit()

elif number < 1.0: elif: “else if”

␣␣␣␣lower = number
␣␣␣␣upper = 1.0
else:
␣␣␣␣lower = 1.0
␣␣␣␣upper = number

...

185
sqrt3.py
Without elif…

text = input('Number?␣')
number = float(text)

if number < 0.0:

␣␣␣␣print('Number is negative.')
else:
␣␣␣␣if number < 1.0:
␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣print('Number is between zero and one.')
␣␣␣␣else:
␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣if number < 2.0:
␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣print('Number is between one and two.')
␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣else:
␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣if number < 3.0:
␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣print('Number is between two and three.')
␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣else:
␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣print('Number is three or more.')
186
Stacked clauses get unwieldy
With elif…

text = input('Number?␣')
number = float(text)

if number < 0.0:

␣␣␣␣print('Number is negative.')
elif number < 1.0:
␣␣␣␣print('Number is between zero and one.')
elif number < 2.0:
␣␣␣␣print('Number is between one and two.')
elif number < 3.0:
␣␣␣␣print('Number is between two and three.')
else:
␣␣␣␣print('Number is three or more.')

187
Progress
Nested structures while … :
if … :

Chained tests if … :
…
elif … :
…
Testing inputs to scripts elif … :
…
else:
…

exit() 188
Exercise 9
Only attempt each part after exercise9.py
you have the previous part working!

1. Edit the square root script to catch negative numbers.

2. Edit the square root script to ask for the tolerance.

3. Edit the square root script to catch negative tolerances.

10 minutes
189
Comments

We have written our first real Python script

What did it do?

Why did it do it?

Need to annotate the script

190
Python comment character

The “hash” character

#
a.k.a. “pound”, “number”, “sharp”

Lines starting with “#” are ignored

Partial lines starting “#” are ignored

Used for annotating scripts

191
Python commenting example

# Script to calculate square roots by bisection

# (c) Bob Dowling 2012. Licensed under GPL v3.0
text = input('Number?␣')
number = float(text) # Need a real number

# Test number for validity,

# set initial bounds if OK.
if number < 0.0:
␣␣␣␣print('Number must be non-negative!')
␣␣␣␣exit()
elif number < 1.0:
␣␣␣␣lower = number
␣␣␣␣upper = 1.0
else:
␣␣␣␣lower = 1.0
␣␣␣␣upper = number
192
On a real Unix system…

#!/usr/bin/python3

# Script to calculate square roots by bisection

# (c) Bob Dowling 2012. Licensed under GPL v3.0
text = input('Number?␣')
number = float(text) # Need a real number

Magic line for executable files

$ fubar.py
instead of
$ python3 fubar.py
193
Progress

Comments

“#” character
#
194
Exercise 10

Comment your square root script from exercise 9.

2 minutes
195
Recap: Python types so far

Whole numbers -127

Floating point numbers 3.141592653589793

Complex numbers (1.0 + 2.0j)

Text 'The cat sat on the mat.'

Booleans True False

196
 Lists

[ 'hydrogen', 'helium', 'lithium', 'beryllium',

'boron', …, 'thorium', 'protactinium', 'uranium' ]

[ -3.141592653589793, -1.5707963267948966,
0.0, 1.5707963267948966, 3.141592653589793 ]

[ 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19 ]

197
What is a list?
hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, …, protactinium, uranium

A sequence of values The names of the elements

Values stored in order Atomic number order

Individual value identified “helium” is the name of the

by position in the sequence second element
198
What is a list?
2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59

A sequence of values The prime numbers

less than sixty

Values stored in order Numerical order

Individual value identified 7 is the fourth prime

by position in the sequence
199
Creating a list in Python

>>> primes = [ 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19]

A literal list

>>> primes
[2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19] The whole list

>>> type(primes)
<class 'list'> A Python type

200
How Python presents lists

Square brackets
at the ends

[2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19]

Commas between items

201
Square brackets

primes = [2, 3, 5, 7, 11] Literal list

202
Python counts from zero

“index” 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

“value” [2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19]

203
Looking things up in a list
>>> primes = [ 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19]

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

[2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19]

index
>>> primes[0]
2
square brackets
>>> primes[6]
17 204
Square brackets

primes = [2, 3, 5, 7, 11] Literal list

primes[3] Index into list

205
Counting from the end
>>> primes = [ 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19]

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

[2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19]

-8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1

getting at the last item

>>> primes[-1]
19 206
Inside view of a list
list
8 int 2 primes[0]

int 3 primes[1]
primes
…

int 17 primes[6]

int 19 primes[7]
207
Length of a list
list
>>> len(primes)
8 8

0 len() function:
length of list
primes

Maximum
7
index is 7

208
Changing a value in a list
>>> data = ['alpha', 'beta', 'gamma'] The list

>>> data[2] Initial value

'gamma'

>>> data[2] = 'G' Change value

>>> data[2] Check change

'G'
>>> data Changed list
['alpha', 'beta', 'G']
209
Changing a value in a list ― 1
Right to left
>>> data = ['alpha', 'beta', 'gamma']

list
3 str 5 a l p h a

str 4 b e t a

str 5 g a m m a

210
Changing a value in a list ― 2
Right to left
>>> data = ['alpha', 'beta', 'gamma']

list
3 str 5 a l p h a
data
str 4 b e t a

str 5 g a m m a

211
Changing a value in a list ― 3
Right to left
>>> data[2] = 'G'

list
3 str 5 a l p h a
data
str 4 b e t a

str 5 g a m m a

str 1 G New value

212
Changing a value in a list ― 4
Right to left
>>> data[2] = 'G'

list
3 str 5 a l p h a
data
str 4 b e t a

str 5 g a m m a

No longer
str 1 G referenced
213
Changing a value in a list ― 5
Right to left
>>> data[2] = 'G'

list
3 str 5 a l p h a
data
str 4 b e t a

str 1 G
214
Removing an entry from a list ― 1
>>> del data[1]

list
3 str 5 a l p h a data[0]
data

✗ str 4 b e t a data[1]

str 5 g a m m a data[2]

215
Removing an entry from a list ― 2
>>> del data[1]

list
2 str 5 a l p h a data[0]
data
No longer
str 4 b e t a
referenced

str 5 g a m m a data[1]

216
Removing an entry from a list ― 3
>>> del data[1]

list
2 str 5 a l p h a data[0]
data

str 5 g a m m a data[1]

217
Running off the end
list
8 int 2

int 3
primes
…

int 17

int 19
218
primes[8]
Running off the end
>>> len(primes)
8

>>> primes[7]
19

>>> primes[8]
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
IndexError: list index out of range

219
Type of error Description of error
Running off the end
>>> primes[8] = 23
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
IndexError: list assignment index out of range

Same type Similar description of error

of error but with “assignment”

220
Progress

Lists [2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19]

index primes[4]

Count from zero primes[0]

Deletion del primes[6]

Length len(primes)

Over-running primes[8]
221
Exercise 11

Track what the value of numbers is at each stage of this

sequence of instructions.

1 >>> numbers = [5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 29, 31]

2 >>> numbers[1] = 3

3 >>> del numbers[3]

4 >>> numbers[3] = 37

5 >>> numbers[4] = numbers[5]

5 minutes
222
How can we add to a list?
list Same list list
8 New length 9

int 2 int 2

… ? …

int 17 int 17

int 19 int 19

Extra item int 23 223

Appending to a list
>>> primes
[2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19]

A function built into a list

>>> primes.append(23)

>>> primes The list is now updated

[2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23] 224
primes.append() ?

The list

A connecting dot

>>> primes.append(23) append()

The value to append

All lists have this

function built in.

225
“Methods”
Behaves just
like a function

object . function (arguments)

a function that has

special access to
the object’s data.
226
Using the append() method

>>> print(primes)
[2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19]

>>> primes.append(23)
The function doesn’t
return any value.
>>> primes.append(29)

>>> primes.append(31)
It modifies
>>> primes.append(37)
the list itself.
>>> print(primes)
[2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37] 227
Other methods on lists: reverse()

>>> numbers = [4, 7, 5, 1]

>>> numbers.reverse()
The function doesn’t
return any value.
>>> print(numbers)
It modifies
[1, 5, 7, 4]
the list itself.

228
Other methods on lists: sort()

>>> numbers = [4, 7, 5, 1]

>>> numbers.sort()
The function does not
return the sorted list.
>>> print(numbers)
It sorts the
[1, 4, 5, 7]
list itself.

Numerical order.

229
Other methods on lists: sort()

>>> greek = ['alpha', 'beta', 'gamma', 'delta']

>>> greek.sort()

>>> print(greek)

['alpha', 'beta', 'delta', 'gamma']

Alphabetical order
of the words.
230
Other methods on lists: insert()
0 1 2

>>> greek = ['alpha', 'gamma', 'delta']

>>> greek.insert(1, 'beta' )

Where to insert What to insert

>>> greek

['alpha', 'beta', 'gamma', 'delta']

0 1
Displaced 231
Other methods on lists: remove()

>>> numbers = [7, 4, 8, 7, 2, 5, 4]

>>> numbers.remove(8) Value to remove

>>> print(numbers)

[7, 4, 7, 2, 5, 4]

c.f. del numbers[2] Index to remove 232

Other methods on lists: remove()

>>> print(numbers)

[7, 4, 7, 2, 5, 4]
There are two instances of 4.
>>> numbers.remove(4)

>>> print(numbers)

[7, 7, 2, 5, 4]

Only the first instance is removed 233

What methods are there?
>>> help(numbers)

Help on list object:

class list(object)
...
| append(...)
| L.append(object) -- append object to end
...

Pagination: ␣ next page

B back one page

234
Q quit
Help on a single method
>>> help(numbers.append)

Help on built-in function append:

append(...)
L.append(object) -- append object to end

235
Sorting a list redux

>>> greek = ['alpha', 'beta', 'gamma', 'delta']

>>> greek.sort() Recall: greek.sort()

sorts the list “in place”.

>>> print(greek)

['alpha', 'beta', 'delta', 'gamma']

236
Sorting a list redux: “sorted()”

>>> greek = ['alpha', 'beta', 'gamma', 'delta']

>>> print(sorted(greek)) sorted() function

returns a sorted list…
['alpha', 'beta', 'delta', 'gamma']

>>> print(greek) …and leaves the

list alone
['alpha', 'beta', 'gamma', 'delta']
237
Adding to a list redux: “+”

>>> primes

[2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19]

Concatenation List to add

operator

>>> primes + [23, 29, 31]

[2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31]

238
Concatenation
Create a new list

>>> newlist = primes + [23, 29, 31]

Update the list

>>> primes = primes + [23, 29, 31]

Augmented assignment

>>> primes += [23, 29, 31]

239
Creating lists from text ― 1

>>> list('Hello') str 1 H

['H', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o'] list

str 1 e
5

str 5 H e l l o str 1 l

str 1 l

str 1 o
240
Creating lists from text ― 2
Built in method
>>> 'Hello, world!'.split()

['Hello,', 'world!'] Splits on spaces

str 13 H e l l o , ␣ w o r l d !

list
2 str 6 H e l l o ,

str 6 w o r l d !
241
Progress
“Methods” object.method(arguments)
append(item)
reverse()
sort()
insert(index,item)
remove(item)

Help help(object)
help(object.method)

Sorting list.sort()
sorted(list)
Concatenation
+ [1,2,3] + [4,5,6] 242
+= primes += [29, 31]
Exercise 12

5 minutes
243
Is an item in a list? ― 1

>>> odds = [3, 5, 7, 9] Does not include 2

>>> odds.remove(2) Try to remove 2

Traceback (most recent call last): Hard error

File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
ValueError: list.remove(x): x not in list

✗ x must be in the
list before it can
be removed
244
Is an item in a list? ― 2
>>> odds = [3, 5, 7, 9]

>>> 2 in odds

False

>>> 3 in odds

True

>>> 2 not in odds

True 245
Precedence
First

x**y -x +x x%y x/y x*y x-y x+y

x==y x!=y x>=y x>y x<=y x<y

x not in y x in y

not x x and y x or y The list now contains

every operator we
Last meet in this course.
246
Safe removal

if number in numbers :

numbers.remove(number)

What’s the
difference?

while number in numbers :

numbers.remove(number)

247
Working through a list ― 1

e.g. Printing each element on a line

['The', 'cat', 'sat', 'on', 'the', 'mat.']

The
cat
sat
on
the
mat.
248
Working through a list ― 2

e.g. Adding the elements of a list

[45, 76, -23, 90, 15]

203

What is the sum of an empty list? [] ?

249
Working through a list ― 3

e.g. Squaring every number in a list

[4, 7, -2, 9, 1]

[16, 49, 4, 81, 1]

250
The “for loop” ― 1

name of list list

words = ['The', 'cat', 'sat', 'on', 'the', 'mat.']

for word in words : A new Python

looping construct
␣␣␣␣print(word)
print: What we want
to do with the list items.
251
The “for loop” ― 2

words = ['The', 'cat', 'sat', 'on', 'the', 'mat.']

keywords

for word in words :

colon followed by
an indented block
␣␣␣␣print(word)

252
The “for loop” ― 3

words = ['The', 'cat', 'sat', 'on', 'the', 'mat.']

Defining the loop variable

for word in words :

␣␣␣␣print(word)

Using the loop variable

253
 Running the “for loop”
str 3 T h e
for word in words :
␣␣␣␣print(word)
str 3 c a t

word list str 3 s a t

6
str 2 o n
words
str 3 t h e

First loop str 4 m a t .

254
 Running the “for loop”
str 3 T h e
for word in words :
␣␣␣␣print(word)
str 3 c a t

word list str 3 s a t

6
str 2 o n
words
str 3 t h e

Second loop str 4 m a t .

255
 Running the “for loop”
str 3 T h e
for word in words :
␣␣␣␣print(word)
str 3 c a t

word list str 3 s a t

6
str 2 o n
words
str 3 t h e

Third loop str 4 m a t .

256
 Running the “for loop”
str 3 T h e
for word in words :
␣␣␣␣print(word)
str 3 c a t

word list str 3 s a t

6
str 2 o n
words
str 3 t h e

Fourth loop str 4 m a t .

257
 Running the “for loop”
str 3 T h e
for word in words :
␣␣␣␣print(word)
str 3 c a t

word list str 3 s a t

6
str 2 o n
words
str 3 t h e

Fifth loop str 4 m a t .

258
 Running the “for loop”
str 3 T h e
for word in words :
␣␣␣␣print(word)
str 3 c a t

word list str 3 s a t

6
str 2 o n
words
str 3 t h e

Final loop str 4 m a t .

259
The “for loop” for printing

words = ['The', 'cat', 'sat', 'on', 'the', 'mat.']

for word in words :

␣␣␣␣print(word)
for1.py

260
The “for loop” for adding

numbers = [45, 76, -23, 90, 15]

total = 0 Set up before the loop

for number in numbers :

␣␣␣␣total += number Processing in the loop

for2.py

261
print(total) Results after the loop
The “for loop” for creating a new list

numbers = [4, 7, -2, 9, 1]

squares = [ ] Set up before the loop

for number in numbers :

␣␣␣␣squares.append(number**2) Processing in the loop

for3.py

262
print(squares) Results after the loop
The loop variable persists!
numbers = [4, 7, -2, 9, 1]

squares = [ ]

for number in numbers : Loop variable only

meant for use in loop!
␣␣␣␣squares.append(number**2)

print(number) But it persists!

263
“for loop hygeine”
numbers = [4, 7, -2, 9, 1]

squares = [ ]

for number in numbers :

␣␣␣␣squares.append(number**2)

del number Delete it after use

264
Progress

Testing items in lists 3 in [1,2,3,4] True

for loops total = 0

for number in [1,2,3,4]:
total += number
del number

loop variables for number in [1,2,3,4]:

total += number
del number
265
Exercise 13

What does this print?

numbers = [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

total = 0
total_so_far = []

for number in numbers:

total += number
total_so_far.append(total)

print(total_so_far) 5 minutes
266
“Sort-of-lists”

Python “magic”:

Treat it like a list and it will

behave like a useful list

What can “it” be?

267
Strings as lists

Recall:

list('Hello') ['H', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o']

for letter in 'Hello' : H

print(letter) e
l
l
Gets turned o
for4.py
into a list.
268
Creating lists of numbers

Built in to Python:

range(start,limit)

for number in range(3,8): 3

print(number) 4
5
6
7
8 not included
269
ranges of numbers

Not actually lists: >>> range(0,5)

range(0,5)

But close enough: >>> list(range(0,5))

[0, 1, 2, 3, 4]

Treat it like a list and

it will behave like a list
270
Why not just a list?

Most common use: for number in range(0, 10000):

…

Inefficient to make a
huge list just for this

“iterator” : anything that can be treated like a list

list(iterator) Explicit list

271
Ranges of numbers again
via list()

range(10) [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]
Start at 0
range(3, 10) [3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]

range(3, 10, 2) [3, 5, 7, 9] Every nth number

range(10, 3, -2) [10, 8, 6, 4] Negative steps

272
Indices of lists
>>> primes = [ 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19]

>>> len(primes)

>>> list(range(8))

[0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7] valid indices

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

[2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19] 273

Direct value or via the index?
primes = [2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19]

for prime in primes: Simpler

print(prime)

for index in range(len(primes)): Equivalent

print(primes[index])

274
Working with two lists: “dot product”

list1 = [ 0.3, 0.0, 0.4]

∙ × × ×
list2 = [ 0.2, 0.5, 0.6]

0.06 + 0.0 + 0.24 0.3

275
Working with two lists: indices

0 1 2
list1 = [0.3, 0.0, 0.4]
indices
list2 = [0.2, 0.5, 0.6]

sum = 0.0

for index in range(len(list1)) :

sum += list1[index]*list2[index]
Dealing with
print(sum)
values from
both lists at
the same time.276
A little more about iterators ― 1
>>> greek = ['alpha', 'beta', 'gamma', 'delta']

>>> greek_i = iter(greek)

iter
str 5 a l p h a
>>> next(greek_i) 4

'alpha' Offset 2 str 4 b e t a

>>> next(greek_i) str 5 g a m m a

'beta'
str 5 d e l t a
277
A little more about iterators ― 2
iter
>>> next(greek_i) str 5 a l p h a
4
'gamma'
✗ str 4 b e t a

>>> next(greek_i)
str 5 g a m m a
'delta'

str 5 d e l t a
>>> next(greek_i)

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
StopIteration ✗ 278
Progress
Non-lists as lists for letter in 'Hello':
...

range() range(limit)
range(start,limit)
range(start,limit,step)
range(3,7) [3,4,5,6]

“Iterators” greek_i = iter(greek)

next(greek_i)

Indices of lists for index in range(len(things)):

279
Parallel lists
Exercise 14

Complete exercise14.py

list1 = [ 0.3, 0.0, 0.4]

list2 = [ 0.2, 0.5, 0.6]
Difference
0.1 -0.5 -0.2
Square
0.01 + 0.25 + 0.04 0.3
Add
5 minutes
280
List “slices”

>>> primes = [2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29]

>>> primes
[2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29] The list

>>> primes[3]
7 An item

>>> primes[3:9]
[7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23] Part of the list
281
Slices ― 1
from
Up to but not
to
including…
primes[3:9]

3 9

primes = [2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31]

primes[3:9] [7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23]

Item 9 not 282

included
 Slices ― 2
primes [2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31]

primes[3:9] [7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23]

primes[:9] [2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23]

primes[3:] [7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31]

primes[:] [2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31]

283
 Slices ― 3
primes [2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31]

primes[3:9] [7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23]

primes[3:9:2] [7, 13, 19 ]

primes[3:9:3] [7, 17 ]

284
Copies and slices ― 1

>>> letters = ['a','b','c']

>>> alphabet = letters

list
str 1 a
letters 3

str 1 b
alphabet

str 1 c
285
Copies and slices ― 2
>>> letters[0] = 'A'

>>> print(alphabet)

['A', 'b', 'c']

list
str 1 A
letters 3

str 1 b
alphabet

str 1 c
286
 Copies and slices ― 3
>>> letters = ['a','b','c'] Slices are
copies.
>>> alphabet = letters[:]
letters alphabet

list list
str 1 a
3 3

str 1 b

str 1 c 287
 Copies and slices ― 4
>>> letters[0] = 'A' Slices are
copies.
>>> print(alphabet)
['a', 'b', 'c'] alphabet

letters
list list
str 1 A str 1 a
3 3

str 1 b

str 1 c 288
Progress

Slices

End-limit excluded

Slices are copies

items[from:to] items[from:to:stride]

items[:to] items[:to:stride]

items[from:] items[from::stride]

items[:] items[::stride] 289

Exercise 15

Predict what this Python will do.

Then run it. exercise15.py
Were you right?

foo = [4, 6, 2, 7, 3, 1, 9, 4, 2, 7, 4, 6, 0, 2]

bar = foo[3:12:3]

bar[2] += foo[4]

foo[0] = bar[1]

print(bar)
3 minutes
290
Diversion: Lists and strings

Text: “a string of characters” list str 1 H

list() 5
str 1 e
str 5 H e l l o
str 1 l

str 1 l

str 1 o
291
Indexing into strings

>>> 'Hello, world!'[0] Simple indexing

'H'

>>> 'Hello, world!'[:4] Slicing

'Hell'

292
Strings are immutable

>>> 'Hello, world!'[0] = 'C'

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
TypeError: 'str' object does not support
item assignment

293
Files
Input Output

.txt

.dat

.csv

Reading Writing
294
Reading a text file

File name 'treasure.txt' string

“opening” the file

File object book file

reading from the file

File contents 'TREASURE ISLAND' string

“closing” the file

295
Finished with the file
Opening a text file
Python function

File name

Read-only [text]
>>> book = open('treasure.txt', 'r') “mode”

Python file object

Read-only is
the default
book = open('treasure.txt' ) 296
Reading from a file object

“next line, please”

File object
>>> line1 = next(book)

First line of file

>>> line1 Includes the

“end of line”
'TREASURE ISLAND\n'
297
File object are iterable
>>> line2 = next(book)
Second line of file
>>> line2
'\n' A blank line

>>> line3 = next(book)

>>> line3 Third line of file

'PART ONE\n'
298
Closing the file

Method built in to file object

>>> book.close()

Frees the file for other

programs to write to it.

299
The file object ― 1

>>> book Text Input/Output

<_io.TextIOWrapper
name='treasure.txt' File name
encoding='UTF-8'>

Character encoding:
how to represent
letters as numbers.

300
The file object ― 2
File name

Text encoding

file 29 treasure.txt UTF-8

TREASURE ISLAND↵
“offset”: how far into ↵
the file we have read PART ONE↵

☞ ↵
The Old Buccaneer↵
↵
Pointer to the file
on the file system

301
Reading through a file
Treat it like a list and
it will behave like a list

list(file_object) List of lines in the file

>>> book = open('treasure.txt', 'r')

>>> lines = list(book)

>>> print(lines)
302
Reading a file moves the offset
>>> book = open('treasure.txt', 'r')
!
>>> lines_a = list(book)

>>> print(lines_a)

… Huge output

>>> lines_b = list(book)

>>> print(lines_b)

[] Empty list 303

Reading a file moves the offset
>>> book = open('treasure.txt', 'r')
File object starts with offset at start.
>>> lines_a = list(book)
Operation reads entire file from offset.
>>> print(lines_a)
Offset changed to end of file.
…

>>> lines_b = list(book)

Operation reads entire file from offset.
>>> print(lines_b)
So there's nothing left to read.
[] 304
Resetting the offset
>>> book = open('treasure.txt', 'r')

>>> lines_a = list(book)

>>> print(lines_a)

>>> book.seek(0) Set the offset explicitly

>>> lines_b = list(book)

>>> print(lines_b) 305

Typical way to process a file
book = open('treasure.txt', 'r')

for line in book : Treat it like a list…

…

306
Example: lines in a file
book = open('treasure.txt', 'r')

n_lines = 0 Line count

for line in book : Read each line of the file

n_lines += 1 Increment the count

print(n_lines) Print out the count

307
book.close()
Example: characters in a file
book = open('treasure.txt', 'r')

n_chars = 0

for line in book : Number of characters on the line

n_chars += len(line)

Increase the count by that many

print(n_chars)

308
book.close()
Progress

Opening file to read book = open(filename, 'r')

Reading file for line in book:

...

Closing file book.close()

File offset book.seek(0)

309
Exercise 16

Complete a script to count exercise16.py

lines, words and characters
of a file.

5 minutes
310
Writing files

File name 'treasure.txt' string

“opening” the file

Data to write 'TREASURE ISLAND' string

writing to the file

File object book file

“closing” the file

311
Finished with the file
Opening a text file for writing

Open for
writing [text]

>>> output = open('output.txt', 'w')

This will truncate

an existing file
! 312
Opening a text file for appending

Open for
appending [text]

>>> output = open('output.txt', 'a')

313
Writing to a file object ― 1

File object

Method built in
to file object
>>> output.write(line1)

6 Data being written

Number of
characters
actually written
>>> len(line1)
314
6
Writing to a file object ― 2

>>> output.write('alpha\n') Typical use: whole line.

6
Includes “end of line”

>>> output.write('be') Doesn’t have

2 to be whole lines

>>> output.write('ta\n')
3

>>> output.write('gamma\ndelta\n')
12
Can be multiple lines 315
Closing the file object

>>> output.close() Vital for written files

316
Importance of closing
!
Data “flushed” to disc on closure.

write “flush”

Python script File object File system 317

Importance of closing promptly !
Files locked for other access

open ['w']
✗ open ['r']

318
(More a problem for Windows than Unix)
Writing non-text values

>>> output.write('Boo!\n') Writing text (str)

5

>>> output.write(42) Writing non-text (int)

✗
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
TypeError: must be str, not int
write() only accepts text

319
Writing non-text values

>>> output.write(str(42)) Convert to text: str()

2

>>> output.write('\n') Explicit end-of-line

1

Text formatting (later in the course)

provides a more elegant solution. 320
Progress

Opening files for writing book = open(filename, 'w')

Writing text book.write(text)

Writing data book.write(str(data))

Explicit ends of lines book.write('\n')

Closing the file is important book.close() 321

Exercise 17

The script exercise17.py prints

a series of numbers ending in 1.

Change the script to write to a file called

output.txt instead of printing to the console.

5 minutes
322
Functions

y = f(x)

323
Functions we have met
input(prompt) bool(thing)

len(thing) float(thing)

open(filename, mode) int(thing)

print(line) iter(list)

type(thing) list(thing)

ord(char) range(from, to, stride)

chr(number) str(thing)
Not that many! “The Python Way”:
If it is appropriate to an object,
324

make it a method of that object.

Why write our own functions?
Easier to …
… read

… write

… test

… fix

… improve

… add to
“Structured
programming”
… develop
325
Defining a function

(y1, y2, y3) = f(x1, x2, x3, x4, x5)

Identify the inputs

Identify the processing

Identify the outputs

326
A function to define: total()

Sum a list

[1, 2, 3] 6

[7, -4, 1, 6, 0] 10

[] 0 “Edge case”

327
Defining a Python function ― 1
define a function called …
name of function
inputs
def total( … ): colon

328
Defining a Python function ― 2

name for the input

def total(numbers):
This name is
internal to
the function.

329
Defining a Python function ― 3

def total(numbers): Colon followed by indentation

330
Defining a Python function ― 4

def total(numbers):

sum_so_far = 0

for number in numbers:

sum_so_far += number “Body” of function

331
Defining a Python function ― 4

def total(numbers):
These variables exist only
sum_so_far = 0
within the function’s body.
for number in numbers:
sum_so_far += number

332
Defining a Python function ― 5

def total(numbers):

sum_so_far = 0

for number in numbers:

sum_so_far += number

return sum_so_far This value

is returned

return this value 333

Defining a Python function ― 6

And that’s it!

def total(numbers):

sum_so_far = 0

for number in numbers:

sum_so_far += number

return sum_so_far

Unindented
after this 334
Defining a Python function ― 7

And that’s it!

All internal names internal No need to avoid reusing names

All internal names cleaned up No need for del

335
Using a Python function ― 1
def total(numbers):

sum_so_far = 0

for number in numbers:

sum_so_far += number

return sum_so_far

print(total([1, 2, 3]))

The list we
want to add up
336
Using a Python function ― 2
def total(numbers):

sum_so_far = 0

for number in numbers:

sum_so_far += number

return sum_so_far

print(total([1, 2, 3]))

The function we
have just written

337
Using a Python function ― 3
def total(numbers):

sum_so_far = 0

for number in numbers:

sum_so_far += number

return sum_so_far

print(total([1, 2, 3]))

Printing out
the answer

338
Using a Python function ― 4
def total(numbers):
nb: Unix prompt
sum_so_far = 0
$ python3 total1.py
for number in numbers:
sum_so_far += number 6

return sum_so_far

print(total([1, 2, 3]))

total1.py
339
Using a Python function ― 5
def total(numbers):

sum_so_far = 0
$ python3 total2.py
for number in numbers:
sum_so_far += number 6
10
return sum_so_far 0

print(total([1, 2, 3]))
print(total([7,-4,1,6,0])) Use the function
print(total([])) multiple times

total2.py
340
Functions’ private names ― 1
def total(numbers):

sum_so_far = 0

for number in numbers: Function definition

sum_so_far += number

return sum_so_far

data = [1, 2, 3]
data_sum = total(data) Main script
print(data_sum)

341
Functions’ private names ― 2
def total(numbers):
...

main script function

total

“namespace”
342
Functions’ private names ― 3
data = [1, 2, 3]

int 1
main script function
total
int 2
list 3
data

int 3 343
Functions’ private names ― 4
... = total(data) def total(numbers):
total

numbers

int 1
main script function
total
int 2
list 3
data

int 3 344
Functions’ private names ― 5
... = total(data) sum_so_far = 0
total
sum_so_far 0
int
numbers

int 1
main script function
total
int 2
list 3
data

int 3 345
Functions’ private names ― 6
... = total(data) return sum_so_far
total
sum_so_far 6
int
numbers

int 1
main script function
total
int 2
list 3
data

int 3 346
Functions’ private names ― 7
data_sum = total(data) return sum_so_far
total
sum_so_far 6
int
numbers

int 1
main script function
total
int 2
list 3
data

data_sum int 3 347

Functions’ private names ― 8
data_sum = total(data)

int 6

int 1
main script function
total
int 2
list 3
data

data_sum int 3 348

Progress

Functions

“Structured programming”

Defining a function def function(input):

...

Returning a value return output

Private name spaces

349
Exercise 18

Edit the script exercise18.py.

It currently defines and uses a function total() which adds

the elements of a list.
Change it to create a function product() which multiplies them.

Three examples are included in the script.

Running it should produce the following output:

$ python3 exercise18.py
6
0
1
5 minutes
350
Reminder about indices
def total(numbers):
sum_so_far = 0
for number in numbers:
sum_so_far += number total2.py
return sum_so_far

Equivalent

def total(numbers):
sum_so_far = 0
for index in range(len(numbers)):
sum_so_far += numbers[index] total3.py
return sum_so_far
351
Example of multiple inputs
Want a function to add two lists of the same length term-by-term:

[1, 2, 3] & [5, 7, 4] [6, 9, 7]

[10, -5] & [15, 14] [25, 9]

[3, 7, 4, 1, 7] & [8, 4, -6, 1, 0] [11, 11, -2, 2, 7]

Two inputs
352
Functions with multiple inputs
Multiple inputs are
separated by commas
def add_lists(a_list, b_list):

sum_list = []

for index in range(len(a_list)):

sum = a_list[index] + b_list[index]

sum_list.append(sum)

return sum_list

353
Functions with multiple inputs
We have
two lists…
def add_lists(a_list, b_list):

sum_list = [] …so we have

to use indexing
for index in range(len(a_list)):

sum = a_list[index] + b_list[index]

sum_list.append(sum)

return sum_list

354
Multiple outputs
Write a function to find minimum and maximum value in a list

[1, 2, 3] 1 & 3

[10, -5] -5 & 10

[3, 7, 4, 1, 7] 1 & 7

Two outputs
355
Finding just the minimum
def min_list(a_list): minlist.py

min_so_far = a_list[0] List cannot be empty!

for a in a_list :

if a < min_so_far:
min_so_far = a

return min_so_far Returning a single value

356
Finding just the maximum
def max_list(a_list): maxlist.py

max_so_far = a_list[0]

for a in a_list :

if a > max_so_far: Only real change

max_so_far = a

return max_so_far Returning a single value

357
Finding both
def minmax_list(a_list):

min_so_far = a_list[0]
max_so_far = a_list[0]

for a in a_list :

if a < min_so_far:
min_so_far = a

if a > max_so_far:
max_so_far = a

358
return what? This is the real question
Returning both
def minmax_list(a_list): minmaxlist.py

min_so_far = a_list[0]
max_so_far = a_list[0]

for a in a_list :

if a < min_so_far:
min_so_far = a

if a > max_so_far:
max_so_far = a

359
return min_so_far, max_so_far A pair of values
“Tuples”

e.g. min_value, max_value Pair

min_value, avg_value, max_value Triple

Commas

Often written with parentheses:

(min_value, max_value)

(min_value, avg_value, max_value)

360
Using tuples to return values
def … In the function definition

return min_value , max_value

Using the function

minimum , maximum = minmax_list(values)

361
Using tuples to attach names

alpha = 12
(alpha, beta) = ( 12, 56 )
beta = 56

362
Swapping values

>>> alpha = 12

>>> beta = 56

>>> (alpha, beta) = (beta, alpha) Swapping values

>>> print(alpha)

56

>>> print(beta)

12 363
Assignment works right to left

alpha = 12

beta = 56

(alpha, beta) = (beta, alpha)

Stage 1: (beta, alpha) (56, 12)

Stage 2: (alpha, beta) = (56, 12)

364
Progress

Multiple inputs def thing(in1, in2, in3):

Multiple outputs return (out1, out2, out3)

“Tuples” (a, b, c)

Simultaneous assignment (a, b) = (a+b, a-b)

365
Exercise 19

The script exercise19.py is an answer to exercise 16.

Edit it to:

1. define a function file_stats() that takes a file

name and returns a triple (n_lines, n_words, n_chars)

2. use input() to read in a file name

3. use file_stats() with that file name

4. end with print(filename, file_stats(filename))

10 minutes
366
 Tuples and lists: similarities

>>> x = ['alpha','beta'] >>> y = ('alpha','beta')

>>> x[1] >>> y[1]

'beta' Indexing 'beta'

>>> len(x) >>> len(y)

2 Length 2

>>> (a, b) = (1, 2) >>> [c, d] = [1, 2]

>>> a >>> c
1 Simultaneous 1 367
asignment
 Tuples and lists: differences

>>> x = ['alpha','beta'] >>> y = ('alpha','beta')

>>> x[1] = 'B' >>> y[1] = 'B'

TypeError:
>>> x 'tuple' object does not
support item assignment
['alpha','B']

Lists are Tuples are

mutable immutable

368
Tuples and lists: philosophy
Lists Tuples

Sequential: Simultaneous:
Concept of “next item” All items “at once”

Best with all items Safe to have

of the same type multiple types

Serial Parallel

[2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, ('Dowling', 'Bob',

17, 19, 23, 29, 31] 50, 105.0, 'rjd4')

Sequence of prime numbers Surname, forename,

age, weight, user id
369
Functions we have written so far

total(list)

add_lists(list1,list2)

minmax_list(list)

370
Reusing functions within a script
def square(limit):
... One definition

...

squares_a = square(34)

...

five_squares = squares(5) Multiple uses in

the same file
...

squares_b = squares(56)

...

Easy! 371
Reusing functions between scripts?
def squares(limit):
... One definition

...
squares_a = squares(34)
Multiple uses in
...
... multiple files
five_squares = squares(5)
... ...
squares_b = squares(56)
...

How? 372
“Modules”

def square(limit): ...

...
five = squares(5)

def cubes(limit): ...

...

Definition Use

Module: a container of functions

373
Modules: a worked example ― 1a
def squares(limit):
answer = []
utils.py for n in range(0,limit):
answer.append(n**2)
return answer

def total(numbers):
Starts empty sum_so_far = 0
for number in numbers:
sum_so_far += number
return sum_so_far

text = input('Number? ')

number = int(text)
squares_n = squares(number)
total_n = total(squares_n)
print(total_n)
374
sum_squares.py
Modules: a worked example ― 1b

$ python3 sum_squares.py

Number? 5

30 = 0 + 1 + 4 + 9 + 16

$ python3 sum_squares.py

Number? 7

91 = 0 + 1 + 4 + 9 + 16 + 25 + 36

375
Modules: a worked example ― 2a
def squares(limit):
answer = []
for n in range(0,limit):
answer.append(n**2) text = input('Number? ')
return answer number = int(text)
squares_n = squares(number)
def total(numbers): total_n = total(squares_n)
sum_so_far = 0 print(total_n)
for number in numbers:
sum_so_far += number
return sum_so_far
sum_squares.py

utils.py
Move the definitions
into the other file.
376
Modules: a worked example ― 2b

$ python3 sum_squares.py

Number? 5

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "sum_squares.py", line 4, in <module>
squares_n = squares(number)
NameError: name 'squares' is not defined

Because we have (re)moved its definition.

377
Modules: a worked example ― 3a
def squares(limit): import utils
answer = []
for n in range(0,limit):
answer.append(n**2) text = input('Number? ')
return answer number = int(text)
squares_n = squares(number)
def total(numbers): total_n = total(squares_n)
sum_so_far = 0 print(total_n)
for number in numbers:
sum_so_far += number
return sum_so_far
sum_squares.py

utils.py
import: Make
import utils a reference to
and not the other file.
378
import utils.py
Modules: a worked example ― 3b

$ python3 sum_squares.py

Number? 5

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "sum_squares.py", line 4, in <module>
squares_n = squares(number)
NameError: name 'squares' is not defined

Still can’t find the function(s).

379
 Modules: a worked example ― 4a
import utils

squares() text = input('Number? ')

utils.squares() number = int(text)
squares_n = utils.squares(number)
total_n = utils.total(squares_n)
total() print(total_n)

utils.total()
sum_squares.py

utils.…: Identify
the functions
as coming from
380
the module.
Modules: a worked example ― 4b

$ python3 sum_squares.py

Number? 5

30

$ python3 sum_squares.py

Number? 7

91
Working again!
☺
381
Progress

Sharing functions between scripts

“Modules”

Importing modules import module

Using functions from modules module.function()

382
Exercise 20

The script exercise20.py is an answer to exercise19.

Move the function file_stats() from exercise19.py

into utils.py and edit exercise19.py so that it still works.

5 minutes
383
The Python philosophy
A small core … plus lots
language … of modules

math
sys
“Batteries
included”
string 384
Example: the “math” module

>>> import math Load in the “math” module.

Run the sqrt() function…

>>> math.sqrt(2.0)
… from the math module.
1.4142135623730951

385
import module as alias

>>> import math

Too long to keep typing?
>>> math.sqrt(2.0)

1.4142135623730951

>>> import math as m “Alias”

>>> m.sqrt(2.0)

1.4142135623730951 386
Don’t do these

>>> from math import sqrt

!
Much better
>>> sqrt(2.0) to track the
module.
1.4142135623730951

>>> from math import *

>>> sqrt(2.0)
!!
1.4142135623730951
387
What system modules are there?
Python 3.2.3 comes with over 250 modules.

glob math argparse csv

io cmath datetime html

os random getpass json

signal colorsys logging re

subprocess email pickle string

sys http sqlite3 unicodedata

tempfile webbrowser unittest xml 388

“Batteries included”

>>> help('modules')

Please wait a moment while I gather a list

of all available modules...

CDROM binascii inspect shlex

263 modules
bdb importlib shelve

Enter any module name to get more help. Or,

type "modules spam" to search for modules whose
descriptions contain the word "spam".
389
Not quite this simple
Additional downloadable modules
Numerical Databases

numpy pyodbc

scipy psycopg2 PostgreSQL

MySQLdb MySQL

cx_oracle Oracle

Graphics ibm_db DB2

matplotlib pymssql SQL Server

390
An example system module: sys
import sys $ python3 argv.py one two three

print(sys.argv)
['argv.py', 'one', 'two', 'three']

index 0 1 2 3
argv.py

$ python3 argv.py 1 2 3

['argv.py', '1', '2', '3']

Always strings
391
sys.exit()

exit() What we have been using

sys.exit(rc) What we should use

“Return Code”: an integer

0: Everything was OK

≠0:Something went wrong

392
An example system module: sys
But also…

sys.modules All modules currently imported

sys.path Directories Python searches for modules

sys.version Version of Python

sys.stdin Where input inputs from

sys.stdout Where print prints to

sys.stderr Where errors print to

sys.float_info All the floating point limits

393

…and there’s more!

 Modules in Python

“How do I do
X in Python?”

“What’s the Python

module to do X?”

“Where do I find
Python modules?”
394
Finding modules

Python: Built-in modules

SciPy: Scientific Python modules

PyPI: Python Package Index

Search: “Python3 module for X”

395
Help with modules

>>> import math

>>> help(math)

NAME
math

DESCRIPTION
This module is always available. It provides
access to the mathematical functions defined
by the C standard.

… 396
Help with module functions
…

FUNCTIONS

acos(x)
Return the arc cosine (measured in
radians) of x.
…

>>> math.acos(1.0)

0.0

397
Help with module constants
…

DATA
e = 2.718281828459045
pi = 3.141592653589793
…

>>> math.pi

3.141592653589793

398
 Help for our own modules?
def squares(limit): >>> import utils
answer = []
for n in range(0,limit):
answer.append(n**2)
>>> help(utils)
return answer
NAME
def total(numbers): utils
sum_so_far = 0
for number in numbers:
sum_so_far += number FUNCTIONS
return sum_so_far squares(limit)

total(numbers)
utils.py
Basic help already FILE
provided by Python /home/y550/utils.py
399
Adding extra help text
"""Some utility functions >>> import utils Fresh start
from the Python for
Absolute Beginners course
"""
>>> help(utils)

def squares(limit): NAME

answer = [] utils
for n in range(0,limit):
answer.append(n**2)
return answer DESCRIPTION
Some utility functions
def total(numbers): from the Python for
sum_so_far = 0 Absolute Beginners course
for number in numbers:
sum_so_far += number
return sum_so_far FUNCTIONS
squares(limit)
400

utils.py total(numbers)
Adding extra help text to functions
"""Some utility functions >>> import utils Fresh start
from the Python for
Absolute Beginners course
"""
>>> help(utils)

def squares(limit): NAME

"""Returns a list of utils
squares from zero to
limit**2.
""" DESCRIPTION
answer = [] ...
for n in range(0,limit):
answer.append(n**2) FUNCTIONS
return answer squares(limit)
Returns a list of
squares from zero to
limit**2. 401

utils.py
Adding extra help text to functions
"""Some utility functions >>> import utils Fresh start
from the Python for
Absolute Beginners course
"""
>>> help(utils.squares)

def squares(limit): squares(limit)

"""Returns a list of Returns a list of
squares from zero to squares from zero to
limit**2.
limit**2.
"""
answer = []
for n in range(0,limit):
answer.append(n**2)
return answer

402

utils.py
Progress
Python a small language… Functionality Module

…with many, many modules

System modules

Foreign modules

Modules provide help help(module)

Doc strings help(module.function)

403
Exercise 21
Add help text to your utils.py file.

5 minutes
404
 Recap: Lists & Indices

greek = ['alpha', 'beta', 'gamma']

list
str 5 a l p h a greek[0]
3

Position 0 str 4 b e t a greek[1]

Position 1
Position 2 str 5 g a m m a greek[2]

405
“Index in ― Value out”

Must be
a number

index list value

start at 0
no gaps in
sequence

1 greek[1] 'beta'
406
Other “indices”: Strings?

English dictionary Spanish

'cat' 'gato'

'dog' dictionary 'perro'

'mouse' 'ratón'
407
Other “indices”: Tuples?

(x, y) dictionary Objects

(2,5) 'Treasure'
dictionary
(4,5) 'Fortress'

408
Python “dictionaries”

>>> en_to_es = { 'cat':'gato' , 'dog':'perro' }

>>> en_to_es['cat']

'gato'

409
Creating a dictionary — 1

Curly brackets
Comma

{ 'cat':'gato' , 'dog':'perro' }

'cat' → 'gato' 'dog' → 'perro'

410
Creating a dictionary — 2

'cat' : 'gato'

{ 'cat':'gato' , 'dog':'perro' }

“key” : “value”

411
Using a dictionary — 1

>>> en_to_es = { 'cat':'gato' , 'dog':'perro' }

Creating the dictionary

>>> en_to_es['cat'] Using the dictionary

'gato'

412
Using a dictionary — 2

Square brackets

en_to_es[ 'cat' ] 'gato'

dictionary key value

413
Missing keys

>>> en_to_es = { 'cat':'gato' , 'dog':'perro' }

✓
>>> en_to_es['dog']

'perro'

✗
>>> en_to_es['mouse']

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
KeyError: 'mouse' Error message
414
Dictionaries are one-way
!
>>> en_to_es = { 'cat':'gato' , 'dog':'perro' }

✓
>>> en_to_es['dog']

'perro'

✗
>>> en_to_es['perro']

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
KeyError: 'perro'
415
Looking for a key
Adding to a dictionary

>>> en_to_es = { 'cat':'gato' , 'dog':'perro' }

Initial dictionary has no 'mouse'

>>> en_to_es['mouse'] = 'ratón'

Adding 'mouse' to the dictionary

>>> en_to_es['mouse']

'ratón'

416
Removing from a dictionary

>>> print(en_to_es)

{'mouse': 'ratón', 'dog': 'perro', 'cat': 'gato'}

>>> del en_to_es['dog']

>>> print(en_to_es)

{'mouse': 'ratón', 'cat': 'gato'}

417
Progress

Dictionaries Key Value

{ key1:value1 , key2:value2, key3:value3 }

Looking up values dictionary[key] value

Setting values dictionary[key] = value

Removing keys del dictionary[key]

418
Exercise 22

Complete exercise22.py to create

an English to French dictionary.

cat chat

dog chien

mouse souris

snake serpent
5 minutes
419
What’s in a dictionary? ― 1
>>> en_to_es
{'mouse': 'ratón', 'dog': 'perro', 'cat': 'gato'}

>>> en_to_es.keys()
dict_keys(['mouse', 'dog', 'cat'])

Orders
match
>>> en_to_es.values()
dict_values(['ratón', 'perro', 'gato'])

Just treat them like lists (or convert them to lists) 420
What’s in a dictionary? ― 2
>>> en_to_es.items() Most useful method
dict_items([('mouse', 'ratón'), ('dog', 'perro'),
('cat', 'gato')])
(Key,Value) pairs/tuples

>>> for (english, spanish) in en_to_es.items():

... print(spanish, english)
...
ratón mouse
perro dog
gato cat
421
What’s in a dictionary? ― 3
Common simplification

>>> list(en_to_es.items())
[('mouse','ratón'), ('dog','perro'),('cat','gato')]

422
Getting the list of keys

list() list of
dictionary
keys
{'the': 2, 'cat': 1, 'sat': 1, 'on': 1, 'mat': 1}

['on', 'the', 'sat', 'mat', 'cat']

423
Is a key in a dictionary?

>>> en_to_es['snake']

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
KeyError: 'snake' Want to avoid this

>>> 'snake' in en_to_es

False We can test for it

424
Example: Counting words ― 1

words = ['the','cat','sat','on','the','mat']

counts = {'the':2,'cat':1,'sat':1,'on':1,'mat':1}

425
Example: Counting words ― 2

words = ['the','cat','sat','on','the','mat']

counts = {} Start with an empty dictionary

for word in words: Work through all the words

Do something

426
Example: Counting words ― 3

words = ['the','cat','sat','on','the','mat']

counts = {}

for word in words:

✗ counts[word] += 1 This will not work

counter1.py
427
Why doesn’t it work?
counts = {'the':1, 'cat':1}

The key must already

be in the dictionary.
✓
counts['the'] += 1

counts['the'] = counts['the'] + 1

Key is not in

✗
counts['sat'] += 1
the dictionary!

counts['sat'] = counts['sat'] + 1
428
Example: Counting words ― 4

words = ['the','cat','sat','on','the','mat']

counts = {}

for word in words:

if word in counts:

counts[word] += 1

else:

Do something Need to add the key

429
Example: Counting words ― 5

words = ['the','cat','sat','on','the','mat']

counts = {}

for word in words:

if word in counts:

counts[word] += 1

else:

counts[word] = 1 counter2.py
430

print(counts)
Example: Counting words ― 6

$ python3 counter2.py

{'on': 1, 'the': 2, 'sat': 1, 'mat': 1, 'cat': 1}

You cannot predict the order of the

! keys when a dictionary prints out.

431
Example: Counting words ― 7

✗
print(counts) Too ugly

items = list(dictionary.items()) Better

items.sort()

for (key, value) in items:

print(key, value) counter3.py

432
Example: Counting words ― 8

$ python3 counter3.py

cat 1
mat 1
on 1
sat 1
the 2

433
Progress

Inspection methods dictionary.keys()

dictionary.values()
dictionary.items()

Testing keys in dictionaries if key in dictionary:

...

Creating a list of keys keys = list(dictionary)

434
Exercise 23

Complete exercise23.py to write

a script that reverses a dictionary.

{'mouse':'ratón', 'cat':'gato', 'dog':'perro'}

{'ratón':'mouse', 'gato':'cat', 'perro':'dog'}

5 minutes
435
Formatted output
$ python3 counter3.py

cat 1
mat 1
on 1 Ugly!
sat 1
the 2

cat 1
mat 1
on 1 We want data
nicely aligned
sat 1
the 2
436
The format() method

>>> 'xxx{}yyy{}zzz'.format('A', 100)

'xxxAyyy100zzz'

'xxx{}yyy{}zzz'

'xxxAyyy100zzz'
437
String formatting ― 1

>>> 'xxx{:5s}yyy'.format('A')

'xxxA␣␣␣␣yyy'

'xxx{:5s}yyy ' {:5s}

'xxxA␣␣␣␣yyy ' s ― substitute a string

5 ― pad to 5 spaces
(left aligns by default) 438
String formatting ― 2

>>> 'xxx{:<5s}yyy'.format('A')

'xxxA␣␣␣␣yyy'

'xxx{:<5s}yyy ' {:<5s}

'xxxA␣␣␣␣yyy ' < ― align to the left (←)

439
String formatting ― 3

>>> 'xxx{:>5s}yyy'.format('A')

'xxx␣␣␣␣Ayyy'

'xxx{:>5s}yyy ' {:>5s}

'xxx␣␣␣␣Ayyy ' > ― align to the right (→)

440
Integer formatting ― 1

>>> 'xxx{:5d}yyy'.format(123)

'xxx␣␣123yyy'

'xxx{:5d}yyy ' {:5d}

d ― substitute an integer
'xxx␣␣123yyy ' (digits)
5 ― pad to 5 spaces
(right aligns by default)
441
Integer formatting ― 2

>>> 'xxx{:>5d}yyy'.format(123)

'xxx␣␣123yyy'

'xxx{:>5d}yyy ' {:>5d}

> ― align to the right (→)
'xxx␣␣123yyy '
442
Integer formatting ― 3

>>> 'xxx{:>5d}yyy'.format(123)

'xxx␣␣123yyy'

'xxx{:<5d}yyy ' {:<5d}

< ― align to the left (←)
'xxx123␣␣yyy '
443
Integer formatting ― 4

>>> 'xxx{:05d}yyy'.format(123)

'xxx00123yyy'

'xxx{:05d}yyy ' {:05d}

0 ― pad with zeroes
'xxx00123yyy '
444
Integer formatting ― 5

>>> 'xxx{:+5d}yyy'.format(123)

'xxx␣+123yyy'

'xxx{:+5d}yyy ' {:05d}

+ ― always show sign
'xxx␣+123yyy '
445
Integer formatting ― 6

>>> 'xxx{:+05d}yyy'.format(123)

'xxx␣+0123yyy'

'xxx{:+05d}yyy ' {:05d}

+ ― always show sign
'xxx+0123yyy ' 0 ― pad with zeroes

446
Integer formatting ― 7

>>> 'xxx{:5,d}yyy'.format(1234)

'xxx1,234yyy'

'xxx{:5,d}yyy ' {:5,d}

, ― 1,000s
'xxx1,234yyy '
447
Floating point formatting ― 1

>>> 'xxx{:5.2f}yyy'.format(1.2)

'xxx 1.20yyy'

'xxx{:5.2f}yyy ' {:5.2f}

f ― substitute a float
'xxx␣1.20yyy ' 5 ― 5 places in total

.2 ― 2 places after the point

448
Floating point formatting ― 2

>>> 'xxx{:f}yyy'.format(1.2)

'xxx1.200000yyy'

'xxx{:f}yyy ' {:f}

'xxx1.200000yyy ' {:.6f}

449
Ordering and repeats ― 1
0 1 2
>>> 'X{:s}X{:d}X{:f}X'.format('abc', 123, 1.23)
0 1 2
'XabcX123X1.230000X'
0 1 2
Equivalent

>>> 'X{0:s}X{1:d}X{2:f}X'.format('abc', 123, 1.23)

0 1 2
'XabcX123X1.230000X'
0 1 2
450
Ordering and repeats ― 2

>>> 'X{0:s}X {2:f}X{1:d} X'.format('abc', 123, 1.23)

0 1 2
'XabcX 1.230000X123X'
0 2 1

>>> 'X{0:s}X{1:d}X{1:d} X'.format('abc', 123, 1.23)

0 1 2
'XabcX123X123 X'
0 1 1
451
Formatting in practice
...
formatting = '{:3} {:1}'

for (word, number) in items:

print(formatting.format(word,number))

$ python3 counter4.py

cat 1
mat 1
on 1
sat 1
the 2 452
Progress

Formatting string.format(args)

Numbered parameters {0} {1} {2}

Substitutions {:>6s}

{:+06d}

{:+012.7f}

453
Exercise 24

Complete exercise24.py
to format the output as shown:

[(Joe,9), (Samantha,45), (Methuselah,969)]

Joe 9
Samantha 45
Methuselah 969

5 minutes
454
 And that's it! (And “it” is a lot!)
Text “if” test Reading files
Prompting Indented blocks Writing files
Numbers Lists Functions
Arithmetic Indices “Structured programming”
Comparisons Object methods Tuples
Booleans Built-in help “for” loops
Variables “for” loops Modules
Deleting names “Treat it like a list…” Dictionaries
“while” loop Values direct/via index Formatting
455
 But wait! There’s more…

Advanced topics: Self-paced introductions to modules

Object-oriented programming in Python

456
 Congratulations!
Text “if” test Reading files
Prompting Indented blocks Writing files
Numbers Lists Functions
Arithmetic Indices “Structured programming”
Comparisons Object methods Tuples
Booleans Built-in help “for” loops
Variables “for” loops Modules
Deleting names “Treat it like a list…” Dictionaries
“while” loop Values direct/via index Formatting
457
Please don’t forget the feedback.