Lecture 1: Overview of

Python Language
 Programming Basics
v Code or source code: The sequence of instructions in a
program.

v Syntax: The set of legal structures and commands that

can be used in a particular programming language.

v Output: The messages printed to the user by a program.

v Console: The text box onto which output is printed.

 Compilation vs Interpretation
v Compilation translates your program into a form that the
machine understands (machine language).

vInterpretation: interpreted into machine instructions.

 Python overview
v Conceived in the late 1980s by Guido van Rossum at
Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI, Netherlands)

v Python is a high-level, general-purpose programming

language. It supports multiple programming paradigms:
v structured programming

v object-oriented programming

v functional programming
 Python overview
v Core design philosophy [The Zen of Python (PEP 20)]
Ø Beautiful is better than ugly.

Ø Explicit is better than implicit.

Ø Simple is better than complex.

Ø Complex is better than complicated.

Ø Readability counts.
 Python interpreter
v Python is an interpreted
language

v The interpreter provides an

interactive environment to play
with the language

v Results of expressions are

printed on the screen
 Early Learner: Syntax Errors
• We need to learn the Python language so we can communicate our instructions to
Python. In the beginning we will make lots of mistakes and speak gibberish like
small children.

• When you make a mistake, the computer does not think you are “cute”. It says
“syntax error” - given that it knows the language and you are just learning it. It
seems like Python is cruel and unfeeling.

• You must remember that you are intelligent and can learn. The computer is
simple and very fast, but cannot learn. So it is easier for you to learn Python than
for the computer to learn English...
Talking to Python
csev$ python3
Python 3.5.1 (v3.5.1:37a07cee5969, Dec 5 2015, 21:12:44)
[GCC 4.2.1 (Apple Inc. build 5666) (dot 3)] on darwinType
"help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>>
What
next?
csev$ python3
Python 3.5.1 (v3.5.1:37a07cee5969, Dec 5 2015, 21:12:44)
[GCC 4.2.1 (Apple Inc. build 5666) (dot 3)] on darwinType
"help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> x = 1
>>> print(x)
1
>>> x = x + 1 This is a good test to make sure that you have
>>> print(x) Python correctly installed. Note that quit() also
2 works to end the interactive session.
>>> exit()
What Do We Say?
 Elements of Python
• Vocabulary / Words - Variables and Reserved words (Chapter 2)
• Sentence structure - valid syntax patterns (Chapters 3-5)
• Story structure - constructing a program for a purpose
name = input('Enter file:')
handle = open(name)
A short “story”
counts = dict()
for line in handle:
about how to count
words = line.split() words in a file in
for word in words:
counts[word] = counts.get(word,0) + 1
Python
bigcount = None python words.py
bigword = None
for word,count in counts.items():
Enter file: words.txt
if bigcount is None or count > bigcount: to 16
bigword = word
bigcount = count

print(bigword, bigcount)
 Reserved Words
You cannot use reserved words as variable names / identifiers

False class return is finally

None if for lambda continue
True def from while nonlocal
and del global not with
as elif try or yield
assert else import pass
break except in raise
 Sentences or Lines

x = 2 Assignment statement
x = x + 2 Assignment with expression
print(x) Print statement

Variable Operator Constant Function

Programming Paragraphs
 Python Scripts
• Interactive Python is good for experiments and programs of 3-4 lines
long.

• Most programs are much longer, so we type them into a file and tell
Python to run the commands in the file.

• In a sense, we are “giving Python a script”.

• As a convention, we add “.py” as the suffix on the end of these files to

indicate they contain Python.
 Interactive versus Script
• Interactive
- You type directly to Python one line at a time and it responds

• Script
- You enter a sequence of statements (lines) into a file using a text
editor and tell Python to execute the statements in the file
Program Steps or Program Flow
• Like a recipe or installation instructions, a program is a sequence of
steps to be done in order.

• Some steps are conditional - they may be skipped.

• Sometimes a step or group of steps is to be repeated.
• Sometimes we store a set of steps to be used over and over as
needed several places throughout the program (Chapter 4).
 Sequential Steps
x=2 Program:
Output:
print(x) x = 2
print(x) 2
x=x+2 x = x + 2 4
print(x)
print(x)

When a program is running, it flows from one step to the next. As

programmers, we set up “paths” for the program to follow.
 x=5
Conditional Steps
Yes
x < 10 ?

print('Smaller') Program:
No Output:
x = 5
Yes if x < 10: Smaller
x > 20 ? print('Smaller') Finis
if x > 20:
print('Bigger') print('Bigger')
No
print('Finis')

print('Finis')
 n=5 Repeated Steps
No Yes Output:
n>0? Program:
5
print(n) n = 5 4
while n > 0 :
print(n)
3
n = n -1 n = n – 1 2
print('Blastoff!') 1
Blastoff!
Loops (repeated steps) have iteration variables that
print('Blastoff')
change each time through a loop.
name = input('Enter file:')
handle = open(name, 'r') Sequential
Repeated
counts = dict()
for line in handle: Conditional
words = line.split()
for word in words:
counts[word] = counts.get(word,0) + 1

bigcount = None
bigword = None
for word,count in counts.items():
if bigcount is None or count > bigcount:
bigword = word
bigcount = count

print(bigword, bigcount)
name = input('Enter file:') A short Python “Story”
handle = open(name, 'r') about how to count
counts = dict()
words in a file
for line in handle:
words = line.split() A word used to read
for word in words: data from a user
counts[word] = counts.get(word,0) + 1

bigcount = None A sentence about

bigword = None updating one of the
for word,count in counts.items(): many counts
if bigcount is None or count > bigcount:
bigword = word
bigcount = count A paragraph about how
to find the largest item
print(bigword, bigcount) in a list
 Summary

• We will revisit these concepts throughout the course

• Focus on the big picture
 Acknowledgements / Contributions
These slides are Copyright 2010- Charles R. Severance
Continue…
(www.dr-chuck.com) of the University of Michigan School of
Information and made available under a Creative Commons
Attribution 4.0 License. Please maintain this last slide in all
copies of the document to comply with the attribution
requirements of the license. If you make a change, feel free to
add your name and organization to the list of contributors on this
page as you republish the materials.

Initial Development: Charles Severance, University of Michigan

School of Information

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