CHAPTER 5

Standard
Library
Functions

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Pearson Addison-Wesley

Standard Library Functions and
the import Statement
 Standard library: library of pre-written
functions that comes with Python
Library functions perform tasks that
programmers commonly need
Example: print, input, range
 Viewed by programmers as a “black box”
 Some library functions built into Python
interpreter
To use, just call the function
Standard Library Functions and
the import Statement (cont’d.)
 Modules: files that stores functions of the
standard library
Help organize library functions not built into
the interpreter
Copied to computer when you install Python
 To call a function stored in a module, need to
write an import statement
Written at the top of the program
Format: import module_name
Standard Library Functions and
the import Statement (cont’d.)
Standard Library Functions and
the import Statement (cont’d.)
Numeric and Mathematical Modules
 numbers: Numeric abstract base classes
 math: Mathematical functions
 cmath: Mathematical functions for complex
numbers
 decimal: Decimal fixed-point and floating-point
arithmetic
 fractions: Rational numbers
 random: Generate pseudo-random numbers
 statistics: Mathematical statistics functions
Generating Random Numbers

 Random number are useful in a lot of

programming tasks
 random module: includes library functions
for working with random numbers
 Dot notation: notation for calling a function
belonging to a module
Format: module_name.function_name()
Generating Random Numbers
(cont’d.)
 randint function: generates a random
number in the range provided by the
arguments
Returns the random number to part of
program that called the function
Returned integer can be used anywhere that
an integer would be used
You can experiment with the function in
interactive mode
Generating Random Numbers
(cont’d.)
Generating Random Numbers
(cont’d.)
Generating Random Numbers
(cont’d.)
 randrange function: similar to range
function, but returns randomly selected
integer from the resulting sequence
Same arguments as for the range function
 random function: returns a random float in
the range of 0.0 and 1.0
Does not receive arguments
 uniform function: returns a random float but
allows user to specify range
 Random Number Seeds
 Random number created by functions
in random module are actually pseudo-
random numbers
 Seed value: initializes the formula that
generates random numbers
Need to use different seeds in order to get
different series of random numbers
By default uses system time for seed
Can use random.seed() function to specify
desired seed value
 The math Module
 math module: part of standard library
that contains functions that are useful
for performing mathematical
calculations
Typically accept one or more values as
arguments, perform mathematical operation,
and return the result
Use of module requires an import math
statement
 The math Module (cont’d.)
Number-theoretic and representation
functions
 math.fabs(x): Absolute value of x.
 math.ceil(x): Ceiling of x, the smallest
integer greater than or equal to x.
 math.floor(x): Floor of x, the largest
integer less than or equal to x.
 math.trunc(x): x with the fractional part
removed, leaving the integer part (rounds
toward 0).
 The math Module (cont’d.)
Power and logarithmic functions
 math.exp(x): e raised to the power x.
 math.log(x[, base]): Natural
logarithm of x (to base e) or logarithm of x
to the given base.
 math.log10(x): Base-10 logarithm of x.
 math.sqrt(x): Square root of x.
 The math Module (cont’d.)
Trigonometric functions
 math.acos(x): Arc cosine of x, in radians.
The result is between 0 and pi.
 math.asin(x): Arc sine of x, in radians.
The result is between -pi/2 and pi/2.
 math.atan(x): Arc tangent of x, in radians.
The result is between -pi/2 and pi/2.
 math.cos(x): Cosine of x radians.
 math.sin(x): Sine of x radians.
 math.tan(x): Tangent of x radians.
 The math Module (cont’d.)
Angular conversion
 math.degrees(x): Converts angle x
from radians to degrees.
 math.radians(x): Converts angle x
from degrees to radians.
 The math Module (cont’d.)
Hyperbolic functions
Analogs of trigonometric functions that are based
on hyperbolas instead of circles.
 math.acosh(x): Inverse hyperbolic cosine of x.
 math.asinh(x): Inverse hyperbolic sine of x.
 math.atanh(x): Inverse hyperbolic tangent of x.
 math.cosh(x): Hyperbolic cosine of x.
 math.sinh(x): Hyperbolic sine of x.
 math.tanh(x): Hyperbolic tangent of x.
 The math Module (cont’d.)
Constants
 math.pi: 3.141592…
 math.e: 2.718281…
 math.tau: 6.283185… (equal to 2π)
 math.inf: A floating-point positive
infinity. (For negative infinity, use
-math.inf).