4/19/2021 The Ultimate Python Beginner's Handbook

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APRIL 15, 2020 / #PYTHON

The Ultimate Python

Beginner's Handbook
Renan Moura Ferreira

Python has become one of the fastest-growing

programming languages over the past few years.

Not only it is widely used, it is also an awesome language to tackle if

you want to get into the world of programming.

This Python Guide for Beginners allows you to learn the core of the
language in a matter of hours instead of weeks.

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Quick info: You can download a PDF version of this Python Guide forDonate
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Beginners.
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Ready to dive in?

Table of contents
1. Introduction to Python

2. Installing Python 3

3. Running Code

4. Syntax

5. Comments

6. Variables

7. Types

8. Typecasting

9. User Input

10. Operators

11. Conditionals

12. Lists

13. Tuples

14. Sets

15. Dictionaries

16. while Loops

17. for Loops

18. Functions

19. Scope
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20. List Comprehensions Forum Donate

21. Lambda Functions

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22. Modules

23. if name == 'main'

24. Files

25. Classes and Objects

26. Inheritance

27. Exceptions

28. Conclusion

Introduction to Python
Python was created in 1990 by Guido van Rossum in Holland.

One of the objectives of the language was to be accessible to non-

programmers.

Python was also designed to be a second language for programmers to

learn due to its low learning curve and ease of use.

Python runs on Mac, Linux, Windows, and many other platforms.

Python is:

Interpreted: it can execute at runtime, and changes in a

program are instantly perceptible. To be very technical, Python
has a compiler. The difference when compared to Java or C++
is how transparent and automatic it is. With Python, we don't
have to worry about the compilation step as it's done in real-
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time. The tradeoff is that interpreted languages are Forum

usually Donate
slower than compiled ones.
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Semantically Dynamic: you don't have to specify types for
variables and there is nothing that makes you do it.

Object-Oriented: everything in Python is an object. But you

can choose to write code in an object-oriented, procedural, or
even functional way.

High level: you don't have to deal with low-level machine

details.

Python has been growing a lot recently partly because of its many
uses in the following areas:

System scripting: it's a great tool to automate everyday

repetitive tasks.

Data Analysis: it is a great language to experiment with and has

tons of libraries and tools to handle data, create models,
visualize results and even deploy solutions. This is used in
areas like Finance, E-commerce, and Research.

Web Development: frameworks like Django and Flask allow

the development of web applications, API's, and websites.

Machine Learning: Tensor ow and Pytorch are some of the

libraries that allow scientists and the industry to develop and
deploy Arti cial Intelligence solutions in Image Recognition,
Health, Self-driving cars, and many other elds.

You can easily organize your code in modules and reuse them or share
them with others.

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Finally, we have to keep in mind that Python had breaking changes

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between versions 2 and 3. And since Python 2 support ended in 2020,
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this article is solely based on Python 3.

So let's get started.

Installing Python 3
If you use a Mac or Linux you already have Python installed. But
Windows doesn't come with Python installed by default.

You also might have Python 2, and we are going to use Python 3. So
you should check to see if you have Python 3 rst.

Type the following in your terminal.

python3 -V

Notice the uppercase V .

If your result is something similar to 'Python 3.x.y', for instance, Pytho

n 3.8.1 , then you are ready to go.

If not, follow the next instructions according to your Operating

System.

Installing Python 3 on Windows

Go to https://www.python.org/downloads/.

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Download the latest version. Forum Donate

After the download,
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On the rst screen, check the box indicating to "Add Python 3.x to
PATH" and then click on "Install Now".

Wait for the installation process to nish until the next screen with
the message "Setup was successful".

Click on "Close".

Installing Python 3 on Mac

Install XCode from the App Store.

Install the command line tools by running the following in your

terminal.

xcode-select --install

I recommend using Homebrew. Go to https://brew.sh/ and follow the

instructions on the rst page to install it.

After installing Homebrew, run the following brew commands to

install Python 3.

brew update
brew install python3

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Installing Python 3 on Linux

To install using apt , available in Ubuntu and Debian, enter the
following:

sudo apt install python3

To install using yum , available in RedHat and CentOS, enter the

following:

sudo yum install python3

Running Code
You can run Python code directly in the terminal as commands or you
can save the code in a le with the .py extension and run the Python
le.

Terminal
Running commands directly in the terminal is recommended when
you want to run something simple.

Open the command line and type python3

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renan@mypc:~$ python3

You should see something like this in your terminal indicating the
version (in my case, Python 3.6.9), the operating system (I'm using
Linux), and some basic commands to help you.

The >>> tells us we are in the Python console.

Python 3.6.9 (default, Nov 7 2019, 10:44:02)

[GCC 8.3.0] on linux
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>>

Let's test it by running our rst program to perform basic math and
add two numbers.

>>> 2 + 2

The output is:

To exit the Python console simply type exit() .

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Running .py files

If you have a complex program, with many lines of code, the Python
console isn't the best option.

The alternative is simply to open a text editor, type the code, and save
the le with a .py extension.

Let's do that, create a le called second_program.py with the

following content.

print('Second Program')

The print() function prints a message on the screen.

The message goes inside the parentheses with either single quotes or
double quotes, both work the same.

To run the program, on your terminal do the following:

renan@mypc:~$ python3 second_program.py

The output is:

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Second Program
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Syntax
Python is known for its clean syntax.

The language avoids using unnecessary characters to indicate some

speci city.

Semicolons
Python doesn't use semicolons to nish lines. A new line is enough to
tell the interpreter that a new command is beginning.

The print() method will display something.

In this example, we have two commands that will display the messages
inside the single quotes.

print('First command')
print('Second command')

Output:

First command
Second command

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But the following is wrong due to the semicolons in the end:
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print('First command');
print('Second command');

Indentation
Many languages use curly-brackets to de ne scope.

Python's interpreter uses only indentation to de ne when a scope

ends and another one starts.

This means you have to be aware of white spaces at the beginning of

each line -- they have meaning and might break your code if misplaced.

This de nition of a function works:

def my_function():
print('First command')

This doesn't work because the indentation of the second line is

missing and will throw an error:

def my_function():
print('First command')

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Case sensitivity and variables

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So the 3,000-hour
variables namecurriculum
and Name are not the
same thing and store different values.

name = 'Renan'
Name = 'Moura'

As you can see, variables are easily created by just assigning values to
them using the = symbol.

This means name stores 'Renan' and Name stores 'Moura'.

Comments
Finally, to comment something in your code, use the hash mark # .

The commented part does not in uence the program ow.

# this function prints something

def my_function():
print('First command')

This was just an overview. The details of each of these will become
clearer in the next chapters with examples and broader explanations.

Comments
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The purpose of comments is to explain what is happening in the code.Donate

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Comments are written along with your code but do not in uence your
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program ow.

When you work by yourself, maybe comments don't feel like

something you should write. After all, at the moment, you know the
whys of every single line of code.

But what if new people come on board your project after a year and
the project has 3 modules, each with 10,000 lines of code?

Think about people who don't know a thing about your app and who
are suddenly having to maintain it, x it, or add new features.

Remember, there is no single solution for a given problem. Your way of

solving things is yours and yours only. If you ask 10 people to solve the
same problem, they will come up with 10 different solutions.

If you want others to fully understand your reasoning, good code

design is mandatory, but comments are an integral part of any
codebase.

How to Write Comments in

Python
The syntax of comments in Python is rather easy: just use the hash
mark # symbol in front of the text you want to be a comment.

#This is a comment and it won't influence my program flow

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You can use a comment to explain what some piece of code does.
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#calculates the sum of any given two numbers

a + b

Multiline Comments
Maybe you want to comment on something very complex or describe
how some process works in your code.

In these cases, you can use multiline comments.

To do that, just use a single hash mark # for each line.

#Everything after the hash mark # is a comment

#This is a comment and it won't influence my program flow

#Calculates the cost of the project given variables a and b

#a is the time in months it will take until the project is finished
#b is how much money it will cost per month
a + b * 10

Variables
In any program, you need to store and manipulate data to create a
ow or some speci c logic.

That's what variables are for.

You can have a variable to store a name, another one to store the age
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of a person, or even use a more complex type to store allForum

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once like a dictionary.
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Creating, also known as Declaring

Declaring a variable is a basic and straightforward operation in
Python

Just pick a name and attribute a value to it using the = symbol.

name='Bob'

age=32

You can use the print() function to show the value of a variable.

print(name)

print(age)

Bob

32

Notice that in Python there is no special word to declare a variable.

The moment you assign a value, the variable is created in memory.

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Python also has dynamic typing, which means you don'tForum

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The interpreter infers the typing based on the value assigned.

If you need it, you can also re-declare a variable just by changing its
value.

#declaring name as a string

name='Bob'
#re-declaring name as an int
name = 32

Keep in my mind, though, that this is not recommended since variables

must have meaning and context.

If I have a variable called name I don't expect it to have a number

stored in it.

Naming Conventions
Let's continue from the last section when I talked about meaning and
context.

Don't use random variable names like x or y .

Say you want to store the time of a party, just call it party_time .

Oh, did you notice the underscore _ ?

By convention, if you want to use a variable name that is composed of

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two or more words, you separate them by underscores. Forum

This is called Donate
Snake Case.
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Another option would be using CamelCase as in partyTime . This is
very common in other languages, but not the convention in Python as
stated before.

Variables are case sensitive, so party_time and Party_time are not

the same. Also, keep in mind that the convention tells us to always use
lower case.

Remember, use names that you can recall inside your program easily.
Bad naming can cost you a lot of time and cause annoying bugs.

In summary, variable names:

Are Case sensitive: time and TIME are not the same

Have to start with an underscore _ or a letter (DO NOT start

with a number)

Are allowed to have only numbers, letters and underscores. No

special characters like: #, $, &, @, etc.

This, for instance, is not allowed: party#time , 10partytime .

Types
To store data in Python you need to use a variable. And every variable
has its type depending on the value of the data stored.

Python has dynamic typing, which means you don't have to explicitly
declare the type of your variable -- but if you want to, you can.

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Lists, Tuples, Sets, and Dictionaries are all data types and have
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dedicated sections later on with more details, but we'll look at them
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brie y here.

This way I can show you the most important aspects and operations of
each one in their own section while keeping this section more concise
and focused on giving you a broad view of the main data types in
Python.

Determining the Type

First of all, let's learn how to determine the data type.

Just use the type() function and pass the variable of your choice as
an argument, like the example below.

print(type(my_variable))

Boolean
The boolean type is one of the most basic types of programming.

A boolean type variable can only represent either True or False.

my_bool = True
print(type(my_bool))

my_bool = bool(1024)
print(type(my_bool))

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<class 'bool'>
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<class 'bool'>

Numbers
There are three types of numeric types: int, oat, and complex.

Integer

my_int = 32
print(type(my_int))

my_int = int(32)
print(type(my_int))

<class 'int'>
<class 'int'>

Float

my_float = 32.85
print(type(my_float))

my_float = float(32.85)
print(type(my_float))

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<class 'float'>
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Complex

my_complex_number = 32+4j
print(type(my_complex_number))

my_complex_number = complex(32+4j)
print(type(my_complex_number))

<class 'complex'>
<class 'complex'>

String
The text type is one of the most commons types out there and is often
called string or, in Python, just str .

my_city = "New York"

print(type(my_city))

#Single quotes have exactly

#the same use as double quotes
my_city = 'New York'
print(type(my_city))

#Setting the variable type explicitly

my_city = str("New York")
print(type(my_city))

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<class 'str'>
<class 'str'>

You can use the + operator to concatenate strings.

Concatenation is when you have two or more strings and you want to
join them into one.

word1 = 'New '

word2 = 'York'

print(word1 + word2)

New York

The string type has many built-in methods that let us manipulate
them. I will demonstrate how some of these methods work.

The len() function returns the length of a string.

print(len('New York'))

8
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The replace() method replaces a part of the string with another. As
an example, let's replace 'New' for 'Old'.

print('New York'.replace('New', 'Old'))

Old York

The upper() method will return all characters as uppercase.

print('New York'.upper())

NEW YORK

The lower() method does the opposite, and returns all characters as
lowercase.

print('New York'.lower())

new york
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Lists
A list has its items ordered and you can add the same item as many
times as you want. An important detail is that lists are mutable.

Mutability means you can change a list after its creation by adding
items, removing them, or even just changing their values. These
operations will be demonstrated later in the section dedicated to
Lists.

my_list = ["bmw", "ferrari", "maclaren"]

print(type(my_list))

my_list = list(("bmw", "ferrari", "maclaren"))

print(type(my_list))

<class 'list'>
<class 'list'>

Tuples
A tuple is just like a list: ordered, and allows repetition of items.

There is just one difference: a tuple is immutable.

Immutability means you can't change a tuple after its creation. If you
try to add an item or update one, for instance, the Python intepreter

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will show you an error. I will show that these errors occur later in the Donate
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my_tuple = ("bmw", "ferrari", "maclaren")

print(type(my_tuple))

my_tuple = tuple(("bmw", "ferrari", "maclaren"))

print(type(my_tuple))

<class 'tuple'>
<class 'tuple'>

Sets
Sets don't guarantee the order of the items and are not indexed.

A key point when using sets: they don't allow repetition of an item.

my_set = {"bmw", "ferrari", "maclaren"}

print(type(my_set))

my_set = set(("bmw", "ferrari", "maclaren"))

print(type(my_set))

<class 'set'>
<class 'set'>

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Dictionaries
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A dictionary doesn't guarantee the order of the elements and is
mutable.

One important characteristic in dictionaries is that you can set your

own access keys for each element.

my_dict = {"country" : "France", "worldcups" : 2}

print(type(my_dict))

my_dict = dict(country="France", worldcups=2)

print(type(my_dict))

<class 'dict'>
<class 'dict'>

Typecasting
Typecasting allows you to convert between different types.

This way you can have an int turned into a str , or a float turned
into an int , for instance.

Explicit conversion
To cast a variable to a string just use the str() function.

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# this is just a regular explicit intialization Forum Donate

my_str = str('32')
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# int to str
my_str = str(32)
print(my_str)

# float to str
my_str = str(32.0)
print(my_str)

32
32
32.0

To cast a variable to an integer just use the int() function.

# this is just a regular explicit intialization

my_int = int(32)
print(my_int)

# float to int: rounds down to 3

my_int = int(3.2)
print(my_int)

# str to int
my_int = int('32')
print(my_int)

32
3
32

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# this is an explicit intialization

my_float = float(3.2)
print(my_float)

# int to float
my_float = float(32)
print(my_float)

# str to float
my_float = float('32')
print(my_float)

3.2
32.0
32.0

What I did above is called an explicit type conversion.

In some cases you don't need to do the conversion explicitly, since

Python can do it by itself.

Implicit conversion
The example below shows implicit conversion when adding an int
and a float .

Notice that my_sum is float . Python uses float to avoid data loss
since the int type can not represent the decimal digits.
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my_int = 32 Learn to code — free 3,000-hour curriculum

my_float = 3.2

my_sum = my_int + my_float

print(my_sum)

print(type(my_sum))

35.2
<class 'float'>

On the other hand, in this example, when you add an int and a str ,
Python will not be able to make the implicit conversion, and the
explicit type conversion is necessary.

my_int = 32
my_str = '32'

# explicit conversion works

my_sum = my_int + int(my_str)
print(my_sum)

#implicit conversion throws an error

my_sum = my_int + my_str

64

Traceback (most recent call last):

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File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>

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TypeError: unsupported operand type(s) for +: 'int' and 'str'
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The same error is thrown when trying to add float and str types
without making an explicit conversion.

my_float = 3.2
my_str = '32'

# explicit conversion works

my_sum = my_float + float(my_str)
print(my_sum)

#implicit conversion throws an error

my_sum = my_float + my_str

35.2

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
TypeError: unsupported operand type(s) for +: 'float' and 'str'

User Input
If you need to interact with a user when running your program in the
command line (for example, to ask for a piece of information), you can
use the input() function.

country = input("What is your country? ") #user enters 'Brazil'

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print(country)
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Brazil

The captured value is always string . Just remember that you might
need to convert it using typecasting.

age = input("How old are you? ") #user enters '29'

print(age)

print(type(age))

age = int(age)

print(type(age))

The output for each print() is:

29

<class 'str'>

<class 'int'>

Notice the age 29 is captured as string and then converted explicitly

to int .

O t
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In a programming language,
Learn operators
to code — are special
free 3,000-hour symbols that you
curriculum
can apply to your variables and values in order to perform operations
such as arithmetic/mathematical and comparison.

Python has lots of operators that you can apply to your variables and I
will demonstrate the most used ones.

Arithmetic Operators
Arithmetic operators are the most common type of operators and also
the most recognizable ones.

They allow you to perform simple mathematical operations.

They are:

+ : Addition

- : Subtraction

* : Multiplication

/ : Division

** : Exponentiation

// : Floor Division, rounds down the result of a division

% : Modulus, gives you the remainder of a division

Let's see a program that shows how each of them is used.

print('Addition:', 5 + 2)
print('Subtraction:', 5 - 2)
print('Multiplication:' 5 * 2)
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print( Multiplication: , 5 * 2)
print('Division:', 5 / 2) Forum Donate
print('Floor Division:', 5 // 2)
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print('Exponentiation:', — free
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print('Modulus:', 5 % 2)

Addition: 7

Subtraction: 3

Multiplication: 10

Division: 2.5

Floor Division: 2

Exponentiation: 25

Modulus: 1

Concatenation
Concatenation is when you have two or more strings and you want to
join them into one.

This useful when you have information in multiple variables and want
to combine them.

For instance, in this next example I combine two variables that contain
my rst name and my last name respectively to have my full name.

The + operator is also used to concatenate.

first_name = 'Renan '

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last_name = 'Moura'
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print(first_name + last_name)

Renan Moura

Since concatenation is applied to strings, to concatenate strings with

other types, you have to do an explicit typecast using str() .

I have to typecast the int value 30 to string with str() to

concatenate it with the rest of the string.

age = 'I have ' + str(30) + ' years old'

print(age)

I have 30 years old

Comparison Operators
Use comparison operators to compare two values.

These operators return either True or False .

They are:

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== : Equal Forum Donate

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!= : Not equal

> : Greater than

< : Less than

>= : Greater than or equal to

<= : Less than or equal to

Let's see a program that shows how each of them is used.

print('Equal:', 5 == 2)
print('Not equal:', 5 != 2)
print('Greater than:', 5 > 2)
print('Less than:', 5 < 2)
print('Greater than or equal to:', 5 >= 2)
print('Less than or equal to:', 5 <= 2)

Equal: False

Not equal: True

Greater than: True

Less than: False

Greater than or equal to: True

Less than or equal to: False

Assignment Operators
As the name implies, these operators are used to assign values to
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variables. Forum Donate

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x = 7 in the rst example is a direct assignment storing the number
7 in the variable x .

The assignment operation takes the value on the right and assigns it to
the variable on the left.

The other operators are simple shorthands for the Arithmetic

Operators.

In the second example x starts with 7 and x += 2 is just another

way to write x = x + 2 . This means the previous value of x is added
by 2 and reassigned to x that is now equal to 9 .

= : simple assignment

x = 7
print(x)

+= : addition and assignment

x = 7
x += 2
print(x)

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9

-= : subtraction and assignment

x = 7
x -= 2
print(x)

*= : multiplication and assignment

x = 7
x *= 2
print(x)

14

/= : division and assignment

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x = 7
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x /= 2
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print(x)

3.5

%= : modulus and assignment

x = 7
x %= 2
print(x)

//= : oor division and assignment

x = 7
x //= 2
print(x)

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**= : exponentiation and assignment Forum Donate

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x = 7
x **= 2
print(x)

49

Logical Operators
Logical operators are used to combine statements applying boolean
algebra.

They are:

and : True only when both statements are true

or : False only when both x and y are false

not : The not operator simply inverts the input, True

becomes False and vice versa.

Let's see a program that shows how each one is used.

x = 5
y = 2

print(x == 5 and y > 3)

print(x == 5 or y > 3)
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print(not (x == 5))
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False

True

False

Membership Operators
These operators provide an easy way to check if a certain object is
present in a sequence: string , list , tuple , set , and dictionary .

They are:

in : returns True if the object is present

not in : returns True if the object is not present

Let's see a program that shows how each one is used.

number_list = [1, 2, 4, 5, 6]

print( 1 in number_list)

print( 5 not in number_list)

print( 3 not in number_list)

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True Forum Donate

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True

Conditionals
Conditionals are one of the cornerstones of any programming
language.

They allow you to control the program ow according to speci c

conditions you can check.

The if statement
The way you implement a conditional is through the if statement.

The general form of an if statement is:

if expression:
statement

The expression contains some logic that returns a boolean, and the s
tatement is executed only if the return is True .

A simple example:

bob age = 32
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bob_age 32
sarah_age = 29 Forum Donate

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if bob_age > sarah_age:
print('Bob is older than Sarah')

Bob is older than Sarah

We have two variables indicating the ages of Bob and Sarah. The
condition in plain English says "if Bob's age is greater than Sarah's age,
then print the phrase 'Bob is older than Sarah'".

Since the condition returns True , the phrase will be printed on the
console.

The if else and elif statements

In our last example, the program only does something if the condition
returns True .

But we also want it to do something if it returns False or even check

a second or third condition if the rst one wasn't met.

In this example, we swapped Bob's and Sarah's age. The rst condition
will return False since Sarah is older now, and then the program will
print the phrase after the else instead.

bob_age = 29
sarah_age = 32

if bob_age > sarah_age:

i t('B b i ld th S h')
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print('Bob is older than Sarah')
else: Forum Donate
print('Bob is younger than Sarah')
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Bob is younger than Sarah

Now, consider the example below with the elif .

bob_age = 32
sarah_age = 32

if bob_age > sarah_age:

print('Bob is older than Sarah')
elif bob_age == sarah_age:
print('Bob and Sarah have the same age')
else:
print('Bob is younger than Sarah')

Bob and Sarah have the same age

The purpose of the elif is to provide a new condition to be checked

before the else is executed.

Once again we changed their ages and now both are 32 years old.

As such, the condition in the elif is met. Since both have the same
age the program will print "Bob and Sarah have the same age".

Notice you can have as many elif s as you want, just put them in
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sequence. Forum Donate

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bob_age = 32
sarah_age = 32

if bob_age > sarah_age:

print('Bob is older than Sarah')
elif bob_age < sarah_age:
print('Bob is younger than Sarah')
elif bob_age == sarah_age:
print('Bob and Sarah have the same age')
else:
print('This one is never executed')

Bob and Sarah have the same age

In this example, the else is never executed because all the

possibilities are covered in the previous conditions and thus could be
removed.

Nested conditionals
You might need to check more than one conditional for something to
happen.

In this case, you can nest your if statements.

For instance, the second phrase "Bob is the oldest" is printed only if
both if s pass.

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bob_age = 32
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sarah_age = 28
mary_age = 25
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if bob_age > sarah_age:

print('Bob is older than Sarah')
if bob_age > mary_age:
print('Bob is the oldest')

Bob is older than Sarah

Bob is the oldest

Or, depending on the logic, make it simpler with Boolean Algebra.

This way, your code is smaller, more readable and easier to maintain.

bob_age = 32
sarah_age = 28
mary_age = 25

if bob_age > sarah_age and bob_age > mary_age:

print('Bob is the oldest')

Bob is the oldest

Ternary Operators
The ternary operator is a one-line if statement.

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It's very handy for simple conditions. Forum Donate

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This is how it looks:

<expression> if <condition> else <expression>

Consider the following Python code:

a = 25
b = 50
x = 0
y = 1

result = x if a > b else y

print(result)

Here we use four variables, a and b are for the condition, while x
and y represent the expressions.

a and b are the values we are checking against each other to

evaluate some condition. In this case, we are checking if a is greater
than b .

If the expression holds true, i.e., a is greater than b , then the value of
x will be attributed to result which will be equal to 0.
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However, if a is less than b , then we have the value of y assigned to
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the value 1 . curriculum

Since a is less than b , 25 < 50, result will have 1 as nal value
from y .

The easy way to remember how the condition is evaluated is to read it

in plain English.

Our example would read: result will be x if a is greater than b

otherwise y .

Lists
As promised in the Types section, this section and the next three
about Tuples, Sets, and Dictionaries will have more in depth
explanations of each of them since they are very important and
broadly used structures in Python to organize and deal with data.

A list has its items ordered and you can add the same item as many
times as you want.

An important detail is that lists are mutable.

Mutability means you can change a list after its creation by adding
items, removing them, or even just changing their values.

Initialization
Empty List

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people = [] Forum Donate

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List with initial values

people = ['Bob', 'Mary']

Adding in a List
To add an item in the end of a list, use append() .

people = ['Bob', 'Mary']

people.append('Sarah')

print(people)

['Bob', 'Mary', 'Sarah']

To specify the position for the new item, use the insert() method.

people = ['Bob', 'Mary']

people.insert(0, 'Sarah')

print(people)

['S h' 'B b' 'M ']

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['Sarah', 'Bob', 'Mary']
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Updating in a List
Specify the position of the item to update and set the new value

people = ['Bob', 'Mary']

people[1] = 'Sarah'
print(people)

['Bob', 'Sarah']

Deleting in a List
Use the remove() method to delete the item given as an argument.

people = ['Bob', 'Mary']

people.remove('Bob')
print(people)

['Mary']

To delete everybody, use the clear() method:

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people = ['Bob', 'Mary']
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Retrieving in a List
Use the index to reference the item.

Remember that the index starts at 0.

So to access the second item use the index 1.

people = ['Bob', 'Mary']

print(people[1])

Mary

Check if a given item already exists in a List

people = ['Bob', 'Mary']

if 'Bob' in people:
print('Bob exists!')
else:
print('There is no Bob!')

Tuples
A tuple is similar to a list: it's ordered, and allows repetition of items.
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A tuple is similar to a list: it s ordered, and allows repetition of items.
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There is just one difference:
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Immutability, if you remember, means you can't change a tuple after

its creation. If you try to add an item or update one, for instance, the
Python interpreter will show you an error.

Initialization
Empty Tuple

people = ()

Tuple with initial values

people = ('Bob', 'Mary')

Adding in a Tuple
Tuples are immutable. This means that if you try to add an item, you
will see an error.

people = ('Bob', 'Mary')

people[2] = 'Sarah'

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
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File stdin , line 1, in module
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Updating in a Tuple
Updating an item will also return an error.

But there is a trick: you can convert into a list, change the item, and
then convert it back to a tuple.

people = ('Bob', 'Mary')

people_list = list(people)
people_list[1] = 'Sarah'
people = tuple(people_list)
print(people)

('Bob', 'Sarah')

Deleting in a Tuple
For the same reason you can't add an item, you also can't delete an
item, since they are immutable.

Retrieving in a Tuple
Use the index to reference the item.

people = ('Bob', 'Mary')

print(people[1])

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Mary

Check if a given item already exists in a

Tuple

people = ('Bob', 'Mary')

if 'Bob' in people:
print('Bob exists!')
else:
print('There is no Bob!')

Sets
Sets don't guarantee the order of items and are not indexed.

A key point when using sets: they don't allow repetition of an item.

Initialization
Empty Set

people = set()

Set with initial values

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people = {'Bob', 'Mary'} Forum Donate

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Adding in a Set
Use the add() method to add one item.

people.add('Sarah')

Use the update() method to add multiple items at once.

people.update(['Carol', 'Susan'])

Remember, Sets do not allow repetition, so if you add 'Mary' again,

nothing changes.

people = {'Bob', 'Mary'}

people.add('Mary')

print(people)

{'Bob', 'Mary'}

Updating in a Set
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Items in a set are not mutable. You have to either add orForum
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Deleting in a Set
To remove Bob from the dictionary:

people = {'Bob', 'Mary'}

people.remove('Bob')
print(people)

{'Mary'}

To delete everybody:

people.clear()

Check if a given item already exists in a set

people = {'Bob', 'Mary'}

if 'Bob' in people:
print('Bob exists!')
else:
print('There is no Bob!')

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The dictionary doesn't guarantee the order of the elements and it is

mutable.

One important characteristic of dictionaries is that you can set your

customized access keys for each element.

Initialization of a Dictionary
Empty Dictionary

people = {}

Dictionary with initial values

people = {'Bob':30, 'Mary':25}

Adding in a Dictionary
If the key doesn't exist yet, it is appended to the dictionary.

people['Sarah']=32

Updating a Dictionary
If the key already exists, the value is just updated.

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people['Bob']=28

Notice that the code is pretty much the same.

Deleting in a Dictionary
To remove Bob from the dictionary:

people.pop('Bob')

To delete everybody:

people.clear()

Retrieving in a Dictionary

bob_age = people['Bob']
print(bob_age)

30

Check if a given key already exists in a

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Dictionary Donate

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if 'Bob' in people:

print('Bob exists!')
else:
print('There is no Bob!')

while Loops
Loops are used when you need to repeat a block of code a certain
number of times or apply the same logic over each item in a collection.

There are two types of loops: for and while .

You will learn about for loops in the next section.

Basic Syntax
The basic syntax of a while loop is as below.

while condition:
statement

The loop will continue while the condition is True .

The square of a number is

The example below takes each value of number and calculates its
squared value
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squared value.
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number = 1
while number <= 5:

print(number, 'squared is', number**2)

number = number + 1

1 squared is 1
2 squared is 4
3 squared is 9
4 squared is 16
5 squared is 25

You can use any variable name, but I chose number because it makes
sense in the context. A common generic choice would be simply i .

The loop will go on until number (initialized with 1) is less than or

equal to 5.

Notice that after the print() command, the variable number is

incremented by 1 to take the next value.

If you don't do the incrementation you will have an in nite loop since
number will never reach a value greater than 5. This is a very
important detail!

else block
When the condition returns False , the else block will be called.

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number = 1 Forum Donate

while number <= 5:
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print(number, to code is',
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number**2)
number = number + 1
else:
print('No numbers left!')

1 squared is 1
2 squared is 4
3 squared is 9
4 squared is 16
5 squared is 25
No numbers left!

Notice the phrase 'No numbers left!' is printed after the loop ends,
that is after the condition number <= 5 evaluates to False .

How to break out of a while loop

in Python
Simply use the break keyword, and the loop will stop its execution.

number = 1
while number <= 5:
print(number, 'squared is', number**2)
number = number + 1
if number == 4:
break

1 squared is 1
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2 squared is 4
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The loop runs normally, and when number reaches 4 the if

statement evaluates to True and the break command is called. This

nishes the loop before the squared value of the numbers 4 and 5 are
calculated.

How to skip an item in a while

loop
The continue will do that for you.

I had to invert the order of the if statement and the print() to

show how it works properly.

number = 0
while number < 5:
number = number + 1
if number == 4:
continue
print(number, 'squared is', number**2)

1 squared is 1
2 squared is 4
3 squared is 9
5 squared is 25

The program always checks if 4 is the current value of number . If it is,

the square of 4 won't be calculated and the continue will skip to the
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next iteration when the value of number is 5. Forum Donate

*
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for loops Loops

for are similar to while loops in the sense that they are used
to repeat blocks of code.

The most important difference is that you can easily iterate over
sequential types.

Basic Syntax
The basic syntax of a for loop is as below.

for item in collection:

statement

Loop over a list

To loop over a list or any other collection, just proceed as shown in the
example below.

cars = ['BMW', 'Ferrari', 'McLaren']

for car in cars:
print(car)

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BMW
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The list of cars contains three items. The for loop will iterate over
the list and store each item in the car variable, and then execute a
statement, in this case print(car) , to print each car in the console.

range() function
The range function is widely used in for loops because it gives you a
simple way to list numbers.

This code will loop through the numbers 0 to 5 and print each of them.

for number in range(5):

print(number)

0
1
2
3
4

In contrast, without the range() function, we would do something

like this.

numbers = [0, 1, 2, 3, 4]
for number in numbers:
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print(number)
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0
1
2
3
4

You can also de ne a start and stop using range() .

Here we are starting in 5 and a stoping in 10. The number you set to
stop is not included.

for number in range(5, 10):

print(number)

5
6
7
8
9

Finally, it is also possible to set a step.

Here we starting in 10 and incrementing by 2 until 20, since 20 is the

stop , it is not included.

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for number in range(10, 20, 2):
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print(number)

10
12
14
16
18

else block
When the items in the list are over, the else block will be called.

cars = ['BMW', 'Ferrari', 'McLaren']

for car in cars:
print(car)
else:
print('No cars left!')

BMW
Ferrari
McLaren
No cars left!

How to break out of a for loop in

Python
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Simply use the break keyword, and the loop will stop itsForum
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cars = ['BMW', 'Ferrari', 'McLaren']

for car in cars:
print(car)
if car == 'Ferrari':
break

BMW
Ferrari

The loop will iterate through the list and print each car.

In this case, after the loop reaches 'Ferrari', the break is called and
'McLaren' won't be printed.

How to skip an item in a for loop

In this section, we'll learn how continue can do this for you.

I had to invert the order of the if statement and the continue to

show how it works properly.

Notice that I always check if 'Ferrari' is the current item. If it is,

'Ferrari' won't be printed, and the continue will skip to the next item
'McLaren'.

cars = ['BMW', 'Ferrari', 'McLaren']

for car in cars:
if 'F i'
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if car == 'Ferrari':
continue Forum Donate
print(car)
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BMW
McLaren

Loop over a Loop: Nested Loops

Sometimes you have more complex collections, like a list of lists.

To iterate over these lists, you need nested for loops.

In this case, I have three lists: one of BMW models, another on Ferrari
models, and nally one with McLaren models.

The rst loop iterates over each brand's list, and the second will
iterate over the models of each brand.

car_models = [
['BMW I8', 'BMW X3',
'BMW X1'],
['Ferrari 812', 'Ferrari F8',
'Ferrari GTC4'],
['McLaren 570S', 'McLaren 570GT',
'McLaren 720S']
]

for brand in car_models:

for model in brand:
print(model)

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BMW X3
BMW X1
Ferrari 812
Ferrari F8

Ferrari GTC4
McLaren 570S
McLaren 570GT
McLaren 720S

Loop over other Data Structures

The same logic that applies for loops over a list can be extended to
the other data structures: tuple , set , and dictionary .

I will brie y demonstrate how to make a basic loop over each one of
them.

Loop over a Tuple

people = ('Bob', 'Mary')

for person in people:

print(person)

Bob
Mary

Loop over a Set

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people = {'Bob', to code — free 3,000-hour curriculum
'Mary'}

for person in people:

print(person)

Bob
Mary

Loop over a Dictionary

To print the keys:

people = {'Bob':30, 'Mary':25}

for person in people:

print(person)

Bob
Mary

To print the values:

people = {'Bob':30, 'Mary':25}

for person in people:

print(people[person])

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30
25

Functions
As the code grows the complexity also grows. And functions help
organize the code.

Functions are a handy way to create blocks of code that you can reuse.

Definition and Calling

In Python use the def keyword to de ne a function.

Give it a name and use parentheses to inform 0 or more arguments.

In the line after the declaration starts, remember to indent the block
of code.

Here is an example of a function called print_first_function() that

only prints a phrase 'My rst function!'.

To call the function just use its name as de ned.

def print_first_function():
print('My first function!')

print_first_function()

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My first function!

return a value
Use the return keyword to return a value from the function.

In this example the function second_function() returns the string

'My second function!'.

Notice that print() is a built-in function and our function is called

from inside it.

The string returned by second_function() is passed as an argument

to the print() function.

def second_function():
return 'My second function!'

print(second_function())

My second function!

return multiple values

Functions can also return multiple values at once.
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return_numbers() returns two values simultaneously.
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def return_numbers():
return 10, 2

print(return_numbers())

(10, 2)

Arguments
You can de ne parameters between the parentheses.

When calling a function with parameters you have to pass arguments

according to the parameters de ned.

The past examples had no parameters, so there was no need for

arguments. The parentheses remained empty when the functions
were called.

One Argument
To specify one parameter, just de ne it inside the parentheses.

In this example, the function my_number expects one number as

argument de ned by the parameter num .

The value of the argument is then accessible inside the function to be

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used.
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def my_number(num):
return 'My number is: ' + str(num)

print(my_number(10))

My number is: 10

Two or more Arguments

To de ne more parameters, just use a comma to separate them.

Here we have a function that adds two numbers called add . It expects
two arguments de ned by first_num and second_num .

The arguments are added by the + operator and the result is then
returned by the return .

def add(first_num, second_num):

return first_num + second_num

print(add(10,2))

12

This example is very similar to the last one The only difference is that
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This example is very similar to the last one. The only difference is that
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def add(first_num, second_num, third_num):

return first_num + second_num + third_num

print(add(10,2,3))

15

This logic of de ning parameters and passing arguments is the same

for any number of parameters.

It is important to point out that the arguments have to be passed in

the same order that the parameters are de ned.

Default value.
You can set a default value for a parameter if no argument is given
using the = operator and a value of choice.

In this function, if no argument is given, the number 30 is assumed as

the expected value by default.

def my_number(my_number = 30):

return 'My number is: ' + str(my_number)

print(my_number(10))
print(my_number())

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My number is: 30

Keyword or Named Arguments

When calling a function, the order of the arguments have to match the
order of the parameters.

The alternative is if you use keyword or named arguments.

Set the arguments to their respective parameters directly using the

name of the parameters and the = operators.

This example ips the arguments, but the function works as expected
because I tell it which value goes to which parameter by name.

def my_numbers(first_number, second_number):

return 'The numbers are: ' + str(first_number) + ' and ' + str(second

print(my_numbers(second_number=30, first_number=10))

The numbers are: 10 and 30

Any number of arguments: *args

If you don't want to specify the number of parameters, just use the *
before the parameter name. Then the function will take as many
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arguments as necessary.
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The parameter Learn

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could be anything like *numbers , but there is a
convention in Python to use *args for this de nition of a variable
number of arguments.

def my_numbers(*args):
for arg in args:
print(number)

my_numbers(10,2,3)

10
2
3

Any number of Keyword/Named

arguments: **kwargs
Similar to *args , we can use **kwargs to pass as many keyword
arguments as we want, as long as we use ** .

Again, the name could be anything like **numbers , but **kwargs is a

convention.

def my_numbers(**kwargs):
for key, value in kwargs.items():
print(key)
print(value)

my_numbers(first_number=30, second_number=10)
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first_number
30
second_number
10

Other types as arguments

The past examples used mainly numbers, but you can pass any type as
argument and they will be treated as such inside the function.

This example takes strings as arguments.

def my_sport(sport):
print('I like ' + sport)

my_sport('football')
my_sport('swimming')

I like football
I like swimming

This function takes a list as argument.

def my_numbers(numbers):
for number in numbers:
print(number)

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my_numbers([30, 10, 64, 92, 105])
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30
10
64

92
105

Scope
The place where a variable is created de nes its availability to be
accessed and manipulated by the rest of the code. This is known as
scope.

There are two types of scope: local and global.

Global Scope
A global scope allows you to use the variable anywhere in your
program.

If your variable is outside a function, it has global scope by default.

name = 'Bob'

def print_name():
print('My name is ' + name)

print_name()

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My name is Bob

Notice that the function could use the variable name and print My nam
e is Bob .

Local Scope
When you declare a variable inside a function, it only exists inside that
function and can't be accessed from the outside.

def print_name():
name = "Bob"
print('My name is ' + name)

print_name()

My name is Bob

The variable name was declared inside the function, so the output is
the same as before.

But this will throw an error:

def print_name():
name = 'Bob'
print('My name is ' + name)
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p ( y )
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print(name)
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The output of the code above is:

Traceback (most recent call last):

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

I tried to print the variable name from outside the function, but the
scope of the variable was local and could not be found in a global
scope.

Mixing Scopes
If you use the same name for variables inside and outside a function,
the function will use the one inside its scope.

So when you call print_name() , the name='Bob' is used to print the

phrase.

On the other hand, when calling print() outside the function scope,
name="Sarah" is used because of its global scope.

name = "Sarah"

def print_name():
name = 'Bob'
print('My name is ' + name)

print_name()

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The output of the code above is:

My name is Bob

Sarah

List Comprehensions
Sometimes we want to perform some very simple operations over the
items of a list.

List comprehensions give us a succinct way to work on lists as an

alternative to other methods of iteration, such as for loops.

Basic syntax
To use a list comprehension to replace a regular for loop, we can make:

[expression for item in list]

Which is the same as doing:

for item in list:

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expression Forum Donate

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If we want some conditional to apply the expression, we have:

[expression for item in list if conditional ]

Which is the same as doing:

for item in list:

if conditional:
expression

Example 1: calculating the cube

of a number
Regular way

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

for n in numbers:
new_list.append(n**3)

print(new_list)

[1, 8, 27, 64, 125]

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Using list comprehensions

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

new_list = [n**3 for n in numbers]

print(new_list)

[1, 8, 27, 64, 125]

Example 2: calculating the cube

of a number only if it is greater
than 3
Using the conditional, we can lter only the values we want the
expression to be applied to.

Regular way

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

for n in numbers:
if(n > 3):
new_list.append(n**3)

print(new_list)
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[64, 125]

Using list comprehensions

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

new_list = [n**3 for n in numbers if n > 3]

print(new_list)

[64, 125]

Example 3: calling functions with

list comprehensions
We can also call functions using the list comprehension syntax:

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

def cube(number):
return number**3

new_list = [cube(n) for n in numbers if n > 3]

print(new list)
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print(new_list)
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[64, 125]

Lambda Functions
A Python lambda function can only have one expression and can't
have multiple lines.

It is supposed to make it easier to create some small logic in one line

instead of a whole function as is usually done.

Lambda functions are also anonymous, which means there is no need

to name them.

Basic Syntax
The basic syntax is very simple: just use the lambda keyword, de ne
the parameters needed, and use ":" to separate the parameters from
the expression.

The general forms is:

lambda arguments : expression

One parameter example

Look at this example using only one parameter
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cubic = lambda number : number**3
print(cubic(2))

Multiple parameter example

If you want, you can also have multiple parameters.

exponential = lambda multiplier, number, exponent : multiplier * number**

print(exponential(2, 2, 3))

16

Calling the Lambda Function directly

You don't need to use a variable as we did before. Instead you can
make use of parenthesis around the lambda function and another pair
of parenthesis around the arguments.

The declaration of the function and the execution will happen in the
same line.

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(lambda multiplier, number, exponent : multiplier * number**exponent)(2,
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16

Examples using lambda functions

with other built-in functions
Map
The Map function applies the expression to each item in a list.

Let's calculate the cubic of each number in the list.

numbers = [2, 5, 10]

cubics = list(map(lambda number : number**3, numbers))
print(cubics)

[8, 125, 1000]

Filter
The Filter function will lter the list based on the expression.

Let's lter to have only the numbers greater than 5.

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filtered_list = list(filter(lambda number : number > 5, numbers))
print(filtered_list)

[10]

Modules
After some time your code starts to get more complex with lots of
functions and variables.

To make it easier to organize the code we use Modules.

A well-designed Module also has the advantage of being reusable, so

you write code once and reuse it everywhere.

You can write a module with all the mathematical operations and
other people can use it.

And, if you need, you can use someone else's modules to simplify your
code, speeding up your project.

In other programming languages, these are also referred to as

libraries.

Using a Module
To use a module we use the import keyword.
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As the name implies we have to tell our program what module to
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import.

After that, we can use any function available in that module.

Let's see an example using the math module.

First, let's see how to have access to a constant, Euler's number.

import math

math.e

2.718281828459045

In this second example, we are going to use a function that calculates

the square root of a number.

It is also possible to use the as keyword to create an alias.

import math as m

m.sqrt(121)

m.sqrt(729)

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27 Forum Donate

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Finally, using the from keyword, we can specify exactly what to

import instead of the whole module and use the function directly
without the module's name.

This example uses the floor() function that returns the largest
integer less than or equal to a given number.

from math import floor

floor(9.8923)

Creating a Module
Now that we know how to use modules, let's see how to create one.

It is going to be a module with the basic math operations add , subtra

ct , multiply , divide and it is gonna be called basic_operations .

Create the basic_operations.py le with the four functions.

def add(first_num, second_num):

return first_num + second_num

def subtract(first num second num):

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def multiply(first_num, — free 3,000-hour curriculum
second_num):
return first_num * second_num

def divide(first_num, second_num):

return first_num / second_num

Then, just import the basic_operations module and use the

functions.

import basic_operations

basic_operations.add(10,2)
basic_operations.subtract(10,2)
basic_operations.multiply(10,2)
basic_operations.divide(10,2)

12
8
20
5.0

if __name__ == '__main__'
You are in the process of building a module with the basic math
operations add , subtract , multiply , and divide called basic_oper
ations saved in the basic_operations.py le.

To guarantee everything is ne, you can run some tests.

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Learnsecond_num):
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return first_num + second_num

def subtract(first_num, second_num):

return first_num - second_num

def multiply(first_num, second_num):

return first_num * second_num

def divide(first_num, second_num):

return first_num / second_num

print(add(10, 2))
print(subtract(10,2))
print(multiply(10,2))
print(divide(10,2))

After running the code:

renan@pro-home:~$ python3 basic_operations.py

The output is:

12
8
20
5.0

The output for those tests are what we expected.

Our code is right and ready to share.

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Let's import the new module run it in the Python console.
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Python 3.6.9 (default, Nov 7 2019, 10:44:02)

[GCC 8.3.0] on linux
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> import basic_operations
12
8

20
5.0
>>>

When the module is imported our tests are displayed on the screen
even though we didn't do anything besides importing basic_operatio
ns .

To x that we use if __name__ == '__main__' in the basic_operatio

ns.py le like this:

def add(first_num, second_num):

return first_num + second_num

def subtract(first_num, second_num):

return first_num - second_num

def multiply(first_num, second_num):

return first_num * second_num

def divide(first_num, second_num):

return first_num / second_num

if __name__ == '__main__':
print(add(10, 2))
print(subtract(10,2))
print(multiply(10 2))
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Running the code directly on the terminal will continue to display the
tests. But when you import it like a module, the tests won't show and
you can use the functions the way you intended.

Python 3.6.9 (default, Nov 7 2019, 10:44:02)

[GCC 8.3.0] on linux
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> import basic_operations
>>> basic_operations.multiply(10,2)
20
>>>

Now that you know how to use the if __name__ == '__main__' , let's
understand how it works.

The condition tells when the interpreter is treating the code as a

module or as a program itself being executed directly.

Python has this native variable called __name__ .

This variable represents the name of the module which is the name of
the .py le.

Create a le my_program.py with the following and execute it.

print(__name__)

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The output will be: Forum Donate

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__main__

This tells us that when a program is executed directly, the variable __n
ame__ is de ned as __main__ .

But when it is imported as a module, the value of __name__ is the

name of the module.

Python 3.6.9 (default, Nov 7 2019, 10:44:02)

[GCC 8.3.0] on linux
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> import my_program
my_program
>>>

This is how the Python interpreter differentiates the behavior of an

imported module and a program executed directly on the terminal.

Files
Creating, deleting, reading, and many other functions applied to les
are an integral part of many programs.

As such, it is very important to know how to organize and deal with

les directly from your code.

L t' h t h dl l i P th
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Let's see how to handle les in Python.
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File create
First things rst, create!

We are going to use the open() function.

This function opens a le and returns its corresponding object.

The rst argument is the name of the le we are handling, the second
refers to the operation we are using.

The code below creates the le "people.txt", the x argument is used

when we just want to create the le. If a le with the same name
already exists, it will throw an exception.

people_file = open("people.txt", "x")

You can also use the w mode to create a le. Unlike the x mode, it will
not throw an exception since this mode indicates the writing mode. We
are opening a le to write data into it and, if the le doesn't exist, it is
created.

people_file = open("people.txt", "w")

The last one is the a mode which stands for append. As the name
implies, you can append more data to the le, while the w mode
simply overwrites any existing data.
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When appending, if the le doesn't exist, it also creates it.
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people_file = open("people.txt", "a")

File
To write write
data into a le, you simply open a le with the w mode.

Then, to add data, you use the object return by the open() function.
In this case, the object is called people_file . Then you call the write()
function passing the data as argument.

people_file = open("people.txt", "w")

people_file.write("Bob\n")
people_file.write("Mary\n")
people_file.write("Sarah\n")
people_file.close()

We use \n at the end to break the line, otherwise the content in the
le will stay in the same line as "BobMarySarah".

One more detail is to close() the le. This is not only a good practice,
but also ensures that your changes were applied to the le.

Remember that when using w mode, the data that already existed in
the le will be overwritten by the new data. To add new data without
losing what was already there, we have to use the append mode.

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The a mode appends codedata
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the le, keeping the existing one.

In this example, after the rst writing with w mode, we are using the
a mode to append. The result is that each name will appear twice in
the le "people.txt".

#first write
people_file = open("people.txt", "w")
people_file.write("Bob\n")
people_file.write("Mary\n")
people_file.write("Sarah\n")
people_file.close()

#appending more data

#keeping the existing data
people_file = open("people.txt", "a")
people_file.write("Bob\n")
people_file.write("Mary\n")
people_file.write("Sarah\n")
people_file.close()

File read
Reading the le is also very straightforward: just use the r mode like
so.

If you read the "people.txt" le created in the last example, you should
see 6 names in your output.

people_file = open("people.txt", "r")

print(people_file.read())

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Bob
Mary
Sarah
Bob
Mary
Sarah

The read() function reads the whole le at once. If you use the read
line() function, you can read the le line by line.

people_file = open("people.txt", "r")

print(people_file.readline())
print(people_file.readline())
print(people_file.readline())

Bob
Mary
Sarah

You can also loop to read the lines like the example below.

people_file = open("people.txt", "r")

for person in people_file:
print(person)

Bob
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ob
Mary Forum Donate
Sarah
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Mary
Sarah

Delete a File
To delete a le, you also need the os module.

Use the remove() method.

import os

os.remove('my_file.txt')

Check if a File Exists

Use the os.path.exists() method to check the existence of a le.

import os

if os.path.exists('my_file.txt'):
os.remove('my_file.txt')
else:
print('There is no such file!')

Copy a File
For this one, I like to use the copyfile() method from the shutil
d l
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module.
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from shutil import copyfile

copyfile('my_file.txt','another_file.txt')

There are a few options to copy a le, but copyfile() is the fastest
one.

Rename and Move a File

If you need to move or rename a le you can use the move() method
from the shutil module.

from shutil import move

move('my_file.txt','another_file.txt')

Classes and Objects

Classes and Objects are the fundamental concepts of Object-
Oriented Programming.

In Python, everything is an object!

A variable (object) is just an instance of its type (class).

That's why when you check the type of a variable you can see the cla
ss keyword right next to its type (class).
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This code snippet shows that my_city is an object and it is an instance
of the class strLearn
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my_city = "New York"

print(type(my_city))

<class 'str'>

Differentiate Class x Object

The class gives you a standard way to create objects. A class is like a
base project.

Say you are an engineer working for Boeing.

Your new mission is to build the new product for the company, a new
model called 747-Space. This aircraft ies higher altitudes than other
commercial models.

Boeing needs to build dozens of those to sell to airlines all over the
world, and the aircrafts have to be all the same.

To guarantee that the aircrafts (objects) follow the same standards,

you need to have a project (class) that can be replicable.

The class is a project, a blueprint for an object.

This way you make the project once, and reuse it many times.
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In our code example before, consider that every string has the same
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behavior and the same attributes. So it only makes sense for strings to
have a class str to de ne them.

Attributes and Methods

Objects have some behavior which is is given by attributes and

methods.

In simple terms, in the context of an object, attributes are variables

and methods are functions attached to an object.

For example, a string has many built-in methods that we can use.

They work like functions, you just need to separate them from the
objects using a . .

In this code snippet, I'm calling the replace() method from the string
variable my_city which is an object, and an instance of the class str .

The replace() method replaces a part of the string for another and
returns a new string with the change. The original string remains the
same.

Let's replace 'New' for 'Old' in 'New York'.

my_city = 'New York'

print(my_city.replace('New', 'Old'))
print(my_city)

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Creating a Class
We have used many objects (instances of classes) like strings, integers,

lists, and dictionaries. All of them are instances of prede ned classes
in Python.
To create our own classes we use the class keyword.

By convention, the name of the class matches the name of the .py le
and the module by consequence. It is also a good practice to organize
the code.

Create a le vehicle.py with the following class Vehicle .

class Vehicle:
def __init__(self, year, model, plate_number, current_speed = 0):
self.year = year
self.model = model
self.plate_number = plate_number
self.current_speed = current_speed

def move(self):
self.current_speed += 1

def accelerate(self, value):

self.current_speed += value

def stop(self):
self.current_speed = 0

def vehicle_details(self):
return self.model + ', ' + str(self.year) + ', ' + self.plate_num

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Let's break down the class to explain it in parts.

The class keyword is used to specify the name of the class Vehicle .

The __init__ function is a built-in function that all classes have. It is

called when an object is created and is often used to initialize the
attributes, assigning values to them, similar to what is done to
variables.

The rst parameter self in the __init__ function is a reference to

the object (instance) itself. We call it self by convention and it has to
be the rst parameter in every instance method, as you can see in the
other method de nitions def move(self) , def accelerate(self, va
lue) , def stop(self) , and def vehicle_details(self) .

Vehicle has 5 attributes (including self): year , model ,

plate_number , and current_speed .

Inside the __init__ , each one of them is initialized with the

parameters given when the object is instantiated.

Notice that current_speed is initialized with 0 by default, meaning

that if no value is given, current_speed will be equal to 0 when the
object is rst instantiated.

Finally, we have three methods to manipulate our vehicle regarding its

speed: def move(self) , def accelerate(self, value) , and def sto
p(self) .

And one method to give back information about the vehicle: def vehi
cle_details(self) .
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_ ( )
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The implementation inside
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3,000-hour the same way as in
functions. You can also have a return to give you back some value at
the end of the method as demonstrated by def vehicle_details(sel
f) .

Using the Class

To use the class in your terminal, import the Vehicle class from the v
ehicle module.

Create an instance called my_car , initializing year with 2009, model

with 'F8', plate_number with 'ABC1234', and current_speed with
100.

The self parameter is not taken into consideration when calling

methods. The Python interpreter infers its value as being the current
object/instance automatically, so we just have to pass the other
arguments when instantiating and calling methods.

Now use the methods to move() the car which increases its current_
speed by 1, accelerate(10) which increases its current_speed by
the value given in the argument, and stop() which sets the current_
speed to 0.

Remember to print the value of current_speed at every command to

see the changes.

To nish the test, call vehicle_details() to print the information

about our vehicle.

f hi l i t V hi l
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>>> from vehicle import Vehicle
>>> Forum Donate
>>> my_car = Vehicle(2009, 'F8', 'ABC1234', 100)
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print(my_car.current_speed)
100
>>> my_car.move()
>>> print(my_car.current_speed)
101
>>> my_car.accelerate(10)
>>> print(my_car.current_speed)
111
>>> my_car.stop()
>>> print(my_car.current_speed)
0
>>> print(my_car.vehicle_details())
F8, 2009, ABC1234

If we don't set the initial value for current_speed , it will be zero by

default as stated before and demonstrated in the next example.

>>> from vehicle import Vehicle

>>>
>>> my_car = Vehicle(2009, 'F8', 'ABC1234')
>>> print(my_car.current_speed)
0
>>> my_car.move()
>>> print(my_car.current_speed)
1
>>> my_car.accelerate(10)
>>> print(my_car.current_speed)
11
>>> my_car.stop()
>>> print(my_car.current_speed)
0
>>> print(my_car.vehicle_details())
F8, 2009, ABC1234

Inheritance
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Let's de ne a generic Vehicle class and save it inside the vehicle.py
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le.

class Vehicle:
def __init__(self, year, model, plate_number, current_speed):
self.year = year
self.model = model

self.plate_number = plate_number
self.current_speed = current_speed

def move(self):
self.current_speed += 1

def accelerate(self, value):

self.current_speed += value

def stop(self):
self.current_speed = 0

def vehicle_details(self):
return self.model + ', ' + str(self.year) + ', ' + self.plate_num

A vehicle has attributes year , model , plate_number , and current_s

peed .

The de nition of vehicle in the Vehicle is very generic and might not
be suitable for trucks, for instance, because it should include a cargo
attribute.

On the other hand, a cargo attribute does not make much sense for
small vehicles like motorcycles.

To solve this we can use inheritance.

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When a class (child) inherits another class (parent), all the attributes Donate
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Parent and Child

In our case, we want a new Truck class to inherit everything from the
Vehicle class. Then we want it to add its own speci c attribute curre
nt_cargo to control the addition and removal of cargo from the truck.

The Truck class is called a child class that inherits from its parent class
Vehicle .

A parent class is also called a superclass while a child class is also known
as a subclass.

Create the class Truck and save it inside the truck.py le.

from vehicle import Vehicle

class Truck(Vehicle):
def __init__(self, year, model, plate_number, current_speed, current_
super().__init__(year, model, plate_number, current_speed)
self.current_cargo = current_cargo

def add_cargo(self, cargo):

self.current_cargo += cargo

def remove_cargo(self, cargo):

self.current_cargo -= cargo

Let's break down the class to explain it in parts.

The class Vehicle inside the parentheses when de ning the class Tr
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uck indicates that the parent Vehicle is being inheritedForum

by its child TDonate
ruck .
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The __init__ method has self as its rst parameter, as usual.

The parameters year , model , plate_number , and current_speed are

there to match the ones in the Vehicle class.

We added a new parameter current_cargo suited for the Truck

class.
In the rst line of the __init__ method of the Truck class we have to
call the __init__ method of the Vehicle class.

To do that we use super() to make a reference to the supperclass Veh

icle , so when super().__init__(year, model, plate_number, curre
nt_speed) is called we avoid repetition of our code.

After that, we can assign the value of current_cargo normally.

Finally, we have two methods to deal with the current_cargo : def ad

d_cargo(self, cargo): , and def remove_cargo(self, cargo): .

Remember that Truck inherits attributes and methods from

Vehicle , so we also have an implicit access to the methods that
manipulate the speed: def move(self) , def accelerate(self, valu
e) , and def stop(self) .

Using the Truck class

To use the class in your terminal, import the Truck class from the tru
ck module.

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Create an instance called my_truck , initializing year with 2015, modDonate

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el with 'V8', plate_number with 'XYZ1234', current_speed with 0,
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and current_cargo with 0.

Use add_cargo(10) to increase current_cargo by 10, remove_cargo

(4) , to decrease current_cargo by 4.

Remember to print the value of current_cargo at every command to

see the changes.

By inheritance, we can use the methods from the Vehicle class to mo

ve() the truck which increases its current_speed by 1, accelerate(1
0) which increases its current_speed by the value given in the
argument, and stop() which sets the current_speed to 0.

Remember to print the value of current_speed at every interaction to

see the changes.

To nish the test, call vehicle_details() inherited from the Vehicle

class to print the information about our truck.

>>> from truck import Truck

>>>
>>> my_truck = Truck(2015, 'V8', 'XYZ1234', 0, 0)
>>> print(my_truck.current_cargo)
0
>>> my_truck.add_cargo(10)
>>> print(my_truck.current_cargo)
10
>>> my_truck.remove_cargo(4)
>>> print(my_truck.current_cargo)
6
>>> print(my_truck.current_speed)
0
>>> my_truck.accelerate(10)
>>> print(my_truck.current_speed)
0
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10
>>> my_truck.stop() Forum Donate
>>> print(my_truck.current_speed)
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>>> print(my_truck.vehicle_details())
V8, 2015, XYZ1234

Exceptions
Errors are a part of every programmer's life, and knowing how to deal
with them is a skill on its own.

The way Python deals with errors is called 'Exception Handling'.

If some piece of code runs into an error, the Python interpreter will
raise an exception.

Types of Exceptions
Let's try to raise some exceptions on purpose and see the errors they
produce.

TypeError

First, try to add a string and an integer

'I am a string' + 32

Traceback (most recent call last):

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File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>

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TypeError: must be str, not int
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IndexError

Now, try to access an index that doesn't exist in a list.

A common mistake is to forget that sequences are 0-indexed, meaning

the rst item has index 0, not 1.
In this example, the list car_brands ends at index 2.

car_brands = ['ford', 'ferrari', 'bmw']

print(car_brands[3])

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
IndexError: list index out of range

NameError

If we try to print a variable that doesn't exist:

print(my_variable)

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Traceback (most recent call last):

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File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
NameError: name 'my_variable'
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not defined
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ZeroDivisionError

Math doesn't allow division by zero, so trying to do so will raise an

error, as expected.

32/0

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
ZeroDivisionError: division by zero

This was just a sample of the kinds of exceptions you might see during
your daily routine and what can cause each of them.

Exception Handling
Now we know how to cause errors that will crash our code and show
us some message saying something is wrong.

To handle these exceptions just make use of the try/except

statement.

try:
32/0
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3 /0
except: Forum Donate
print('Dividing by zero!')
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Dividing by zero!

The example above shows the use of the try statement.

Put the block of code that may cause an exception inside the try
scope. If everything runs alright, the except block is not invoked. But
if an exception is raised, the block of code inside the except is
executed.

This way the program doesn't crash and if you have some code after
the exception, it will keep running if you want it to.

Specific Exception Handling

In the last example the except block was generic, meaning it was
catching anything.

Good practice it to specify the type of exception we are trying to

catch, which helps a lot when debugging the code later.

If you know a block of code can throw an IndexError , specify it in the

except :

try:
car_brands = ['ford', 'ferrari', 'bmw']
print(car_brands[3])
except IndexError:
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except IndexError:
print('There is no such index!') Forum Donate

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There is no such index!

You can use a tuple to specify as many exception types as you want in

a single except :

try:
print('My code!')
except(IndexError, ZeroDivisionError, TypeError):
print('My Excepetion!')

else
It is possible to add an else command at the end of the try/except .
It runs only if there are no exceptions.

my_variable = 'My variable'

try:
print(my_variable)
except NameError:
print('NameError caught!')
else:
print('No NameError')

My variable
No NameError
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Raising Exceptions
The raise command allows you to manually raise an exception.

This is particularly useful if you want to catch an exception and do

something with it -- like logging the error in some personalized way

like redirecting it to a log aggregator, or ending the execution of the

code since the error should not allow the progress of the program.

try:
raise IndexError('This index is not allowed')
except:
print('Doing something with the exception!')
raise

Doing something with the exception!

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<stdin>", line 2, in <module>
IndexError: This index is not allowed

finally
The finally block is executed independently of exceptions being
raised or not.

They are usually there to allow the program to clean up resources like
les, memory, network connections, etc.

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try:
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print(my_variable)
except NameError:
print('Except block')
finally:
print('Finally block')

Except block
Finally block

Conclusion
That's it!

Congratulations on reaching the end.

I want to thank you for reading this article.

If you want to learn more, checkout my blog renanmf.com.

Remember to download a PDF version of this Python Guide for

Beginners.

You can also nd me on Twitter: @renanmouraf.

Renan Moura Ferreira

I've been coding for 10+ years. I'm currently a Tech Lead working with Java,
Angular, Docker, Python, and Data Science.

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