Lecture 4

Writing code in Python

 Functions Group Multiple Statements
• To solve a problem, we generally need to execute more
than one statements.

• One way to do this is to use a file

• Another way to do this is to use a function

>>> def hello():

print("Hello")
print("Computers are Fun")

>>>

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 Defining Functions in Python
>>> def hello():
print("Hello")
print("Computers are Fun")
>>>
• The first line tells Python we are defining a new function
called “hello”.
• The following lines are indented to show that they are part
of the hello function. Indent must be uniform
• The blank line (hit enter/return twice) on shell lets Python
know the definition is finished.

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 Executing, or Invoking, a Function
>>> def hello():
print("Hello")
print("Computers are Fun")
>>>

• Notice that nothing has happened yet! We defined the

function, but we haven’t told Python to execute the
function!
• A function is invoked or executed by typing its name.
>>> hello() Brackets are important!
Hello
Computers are Fun
>>>

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 Problems with scripts (files without functions)
 In the scripts we have seen, the entire script consists of just one
“block” of statements, executed in order – but this can become
unmanageable when your script is thousands of lines long,
contained in just one file.
 You may want to use previously written code in other programs.
But cutting and pasting bits of code can create inadvertent variable
name clashes.
 Scripts are not as flexible as we would like.
 How to address this?
A general problem solving technique is to break down complex
problems into smaller, more manageable tasks: divide and conquer
Functions help us to avoid those problems

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Functions as black box

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 Functions can take Inputs (Parameters)
• Functions can have changeable parts called parameters
that are placed between the brackets.
• The function “hello” did not need any parameters.
• Here is another function that has one parameter.

>>> def greet(person):

print("Hello", person)
print ("How are you?")

>>>

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 Invoking a Function that has parameter(s)

• A function that has parameters requires arguments

• If we try to execute the function greet()

>>> greet()
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<pyshell#74>", line 1, in <module>
greet()
TypeError: greet() takes exactly 1 argument (0 given)

• It gives us an error because we did not specify a

value for the parameter “person”

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 Passing Parameters to Functions

>>> greet("Terry")
Hello Terry
How are you?
>>> greet("Paula")
Hello Paula
How are you?
>>>

• When we use parameters, we can customize the output

of a function.

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 Why You need to Use Functions
• Define once, use many times
– Replace repeated code sections with a parameterized
function
• Aids problem decomposition
– Even if code is used just once, helps break problem
into smaller, manageable pieces
– Like sections and paragraphs in a paper, or chapters
and paragraphs in a story
• Defining code as functions allows independent
testing/validation of code

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 Functions in a file
• When we exit the Python interpreter, all functions that
we defined will cease to exist.
• How about writing them in a file and saving it.
– Saves a LOT of retyping
• A programming environment is designed to help
programmers write programs and usually include
automatic indenting, highlighting, etc.

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 Creating a Module File
# File: cel2fah.py
# A simple program is illustrating Celsius to Fahrenheit conversion

def c2f():
print("This program converts Celsius into Fahrenheit")
cel = float(input("Enter temperature in Celsius: "))
fah = 9/5*cel+32
print("The temperature in Fahrenheit is:",fah)
print("End of the program.")
c2f()

• We use a filename ending in .py when we save our work to

indicate it’s a Python program.
• Click green button (run) on Thonny to run the program.

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 cel2fah.py using Thonny IDE

Is the Run button, or choose from main menu

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Running cel2fah.py using Thonny

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 Inside a Python Program
# File: cel2fah.py
# A simple program is illustrating Celsius to Fahrenheit
conversion
• Lines that start with # are called comments.
• Comments can begin in the middle of lines, too
• Intended for human readers and ignored by Python
– Important, so you or other maintainers of that code
know what you were intending
– Helps maintainability
• Python skips text from # to end of line

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 Inside a Python Program
def c2f():

• Beginning of the definition of a function called c2f

– Note the : is important. It separates header
from the function body

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 Inside a Python Program
print(" This program converts Celsius into Fahrenheit")

• This line causes Python to print a message introducing

the program to the user.
– The message is sent to Standard Output (usually the
computer screen)
– Standard Input is usually the keyboard

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 Inside a Python Program
cel = float(input("Enter temperature in Celsius: "))
• cel is an example of a variable
• A variable is used to assign a name to a memory location
so that a value can be stored there and later retrieved.
• Variables come into existence when first assigned to
• The quoted text is displayed. The user enters a number
(which is text, i.e., just numerical letters).
• The function float converts the string, e.g., “0.5”, into
the number 0.5, which is then stored in cel.
• Note function call within function call (inner one called
first)

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 Inside a Python Program
fah = 9/5 * cel + 32
• This is called an assignment statement
• The part on the right-hand side (RHS) of the = is a
mathematical expression
• *, + and / are used to indicate multiplication, addition
and division respectively
• Once the value on the RHS is computed, it is stored back
into (assigned) into fah
print("The temperature in Fahrenheit is:",fah)

• Prints the calculated temperature fah to standard

output

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 Indenting your Python programs
# File: cel2fah.py
# A simple program is illustrating Celsius to Fahrenheit conversion

def c2f():
print("This program converts Celsius into Fahrenheit")
cel = float(input("Enter temperature in Celsius: "))
fah = 9/5*cel+32
print("The temperature in Fahrenheit is:",fah)
print("End of the program.")

• Indentation is used in Python programs to indicate

the different blocks of statements. These are
executed together, one after the other
• Note the colon highlighted in purple

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 Inside a Python Program

c2f()

• The interpreter first creates a function definition

• The last line tells Python to execute the code in the
function c2f
– No arguments expected so none supplied

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 Executing a Python Program from a File
• You can run a program in a file any time you want
using one of the following methods:
1. Using Thonny, the easiest way is to click the green
forward arrow or select Run from the Run Module
2. On the command line (windows) or terminal (Mac
OS), enter python ./cel2fah.py (./ generally
not be need if path variable has been specified)
- Paths are where system looks for files and
programs
3. You can also double click the .py file in Windows to
run it “Option 2 and 3 will work if you have installed Python for the your
computer/laptop, which means that you download and install Python directly
from the official Python website (https://www.python.org) or through your
operating system's package manager (e.g., apt-get on Ubuntu, Homebrew on
macOS). This installs the Python interpreter and related tools globally on your
L3 Introduction to Python - 22 computer, making Python accessible from the command line or any terminal on
your system.”
 Importing a module
>>> import cel2fah Note: No .py suffix!
This program converts Celsius into Fahrenheit
Enter temperature in Celsius: 0
The temperature in Fahrenheit is: 32.0
End of the program.
>>>
• This tells Python interpreter to load the file cel2fah.py
into the main memory.
• Since the last statement of cel2fah.py is c2f() the
function will get executed upon importing the file.
• Importing modules very common (particularly library
modules – huge range, performing many useful functions)

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 Importing a Module
• When Python imports a module, it executes each line.
– The def causes Python to create the function c2f:
– c2f() call at the end executes the function
• Upon first import, Python creates a companion file with
.pyc extension. This is an intermediate file containing
the byte code used by the interpreter.
• Modules need to be imported in a session only once.

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 Modules and Functions

• You can define multiple functions in a module file

• You can call a function by typing

moduleFileName.functionName( …)
– E.g. >>> cel2fah.c2f()
>>> math.sqrt(2)

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 Summary
• Python is an interpreted language. We can execute
commands directly in a shell or write a Python file.

• A Python program is a sequence of commands

(statements) for the interpreter to execute. It can take
input from the user, print output to the screen and run
a set of statements.

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