Cheatsheets / Introduction to Python

Syntax
Comments
A comment is a piece of text within a program that is
not executed. It can be used to provide additional # Comment on a single line
information to aid in understanding the code.
The # character is used to start a comment and it user = "JDoe" # Comment after code
continues until the end of the line.

Arithmetic Operations
Python supports different types of arithmetic
operations that can be performed on literal numbers, # Arithmetic operations
variables, or some combination. The primary arithmetic
operators are: result = 10 + 30
result = 40 - 10
●
+ for addition
result = 50 * 5
●
- for subtraction result = 16 / 4
result = 25 % 2
●
* for multiplication
result = 5 ** 3
●
/ for division
●
% for modulus (returns the remainder)
●
** for exponentiation

Plus-Equals Operator +=
The plus-equals operator += provides a convenient
way to add a value to an existing variable and assign # Plus-Equal Operator
the new value back to the same variable. In the case
where the variable and the value are strings, this counter = 0
operator performs string concatenation instead of counter += 10
addition.
The operation is performed in-place, meaning that any # This is equivalent to
other variable which points to the variable being
updated will also be updated.
counter = 0
counter = counter + 10

# The operator will also perform string

concatenation

message = "Part 1 of message "

message += "Part 2 of message"

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Variables
A variable is used to store data that will be used by
the program. This data can be a number, a string, a # These are all valid variable names and
Boolean, a list or some other data type. Every variable assignment
has a name which can consist of letters, numbers, and
the underscore character _ . user_name = "@sonnynomnom"
The equal sign = is used to assign a value to a user_id = 100
variable. After the initial assignment is made, the value verified = False
of a variable can be updated to new values as needed.

# A variable's value can be changed

after assignment

points = 100
points = 120

Modulo Operator %
A modulo calculation returns the remainder of a
division between the first and second number. For # Modulo operations
example:
zero = 8 % 4
●
The result of the expression 4 % 2 would
result in the value 0, because 4 is evenly divisible
nonzero = 12 % 5
by 2 leaving no remainder.

●
The result of the expression 7 % 3 would
return 1, because 7 is not evenly divisible by 3,
leaving a remainder of 1.

Integers
An integer is a number that can be written without a
fractional part (no decimal). An integer can be a # Example integer numbers
positive number, a negative number or the number 0
so long as there is no decimal portion. chairs = 4
The number 0 represents an integer value but the tables = 1
same number written as 0.0 would represent a broken_chairs = -2
floating point number. sofas = 0

# Non-integer numbers

lights = 2.5
left_overs = 0.0

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String Concatenation
Python supports the joining (concatenation) of strings
together using the + operator. The + operator is # String concatenation
also used for mathematical addition operations. If the
parameters passed to the + operator are strings, first = "Hello "
then concatenation will be performed. If the parameter second = "World"
passed to + have different types, then Python will
report an error condition. Multiple variables or literal result = first + second
strings can be joined together using the + operator.
long_result = first + second + "!"

Errors
The Python interpreter will report errors present in
your code. For most error cases, the interpreter will if False ISNOTEQUAL True:
display the line of code where the error was detected ^
and place a caret character ^ under the portion of SyntaxError: invalid syntax
the code where the error was detected.

ZeroDivisionError
A ZeroDivisionError is reported by the Python
interpreter when it detects a division operation is numerator = 100
being performed and the denominator (bottom denominator = 0
number) is 0. In mathematics, dividing a number by bad_results = numerator / denominator
zero has no defined value, so Python treats this as an
error condition and will report a ZeroDivisionError and
ZeroDivisionError: division by zero
display the line of code where the division occurred.
This can also happen if a variable is used as the
denominator and its value has been set to or changed
to 0.

Strings
A string is a sequence of characters (letters, numbers,
whitespace or punctuation) enclosed by quotation user = "User Full Name"
marks. It can be enclosed using either the double game = 'Monopoly'
quotation mark " or the single quotation mark ' .
If a string has to be broken into multiple lines, the longer = "This string is broken up \
backslash character \ can be used to indicate that over multiple lines"
the string continues on the next line.

SyntaxError
A SyntaxError is reported by the Python interpreter
when some portion of the code is incorrect. This can age = 7 + 5 = 4
include misspelled keywords, missing or too many
brackets or parenthesis, incorrect operators, missing or File "<stdin>", line 1
too many quotation marks, or other conditions. SyntaxError: can't assign to operator

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NameError
A NameError is reported by the Python interpreter
when it detects a variable that is unknown. This can misspelled_variable_name
occur when a variable is used before it has been
assigned a value or if a variable name is spelled NameError: name
differently than the point at which it was defined. The 'misspelled_variable_name' is not
Python interpreter will display the line of code where
defined
the NameError was detected and indicate which name
it found that was not defined.

Floating Point Numbers

Python variables can be assigned different types of
data. One supported data type is the floating point # Floating point numbers
number. A floating point number is a value that
contains a decimal portion. It can be used to represent pi = 3.14159
numbers that have fractional quantities. For example, meal_cost = 12.99
a = 3/5 can not be represented as an integer, so tip_percent = 0.20
the variable a is assigned a floating point value of
0.6 .

print() Function
The print() function is used to output text,
numbers, or other printable information to the console. print("Hello World!")
It takes one or more arguments and will output each of
the arguments to the console separated by a space. If print(100)
no arguments are provided, the print() function
will output a blank line. pi = 3.14159
print(pi)