Python Cheat Sheet & Quick Reference

Python
The Python cheat sheet is a one-page reference sheet for the Python 3 programming language.

#Getting Started
#Hello World
>>> print("Hello, World!")
Hello, World!

The famous "Hello World" program in Python

#Variables
age = 18 # age is of type int
name = "John" # name is now of type str
print(name)

Python can't declare a variable without assignment.

#Data Types

str Text
int, float, complex Numeric
list, tuple, range Sequence
dict Mapping
set, frozenset Set
bool Boolean
bytes, bytearray, memoryview Binary

See: Data Types

#Slicing String
>>> msg = "Hello, World!"
>>> print(msg[2:5])
llo

See: Strings

#Lists
mylist = []
mylist.append(1)
mylist.append(2)
for item in mylist:
print(item) # prints out 1,2

See: Lists
#If Else
num = 200
if num > 0:
print("num is greater than 0")
else:
print("num is not greater than 0")

See: Flow control

#Loops
for item in range(6):
if item == 3: break
print(item)
else:
print("Finally finished!")

See: Loops

#Functions
>>> def my_function():
... print("Hello from a function")
...
>>> my_function()
Hello from a function

See: Functions

#File Handling
with open("myfile.txt", "r", encoding='utf8') as file:
for line in file:
print(line)

See: File Handling

#Arithmetic
result = 10 + 30 # => 40
result = 40 - 10 # => 30
result = 50 * 5 # => 250
result = 16 / 4 # => 4.0 (Float Division)
result = 16 // 4 # => 4 (Integer Division)
result = 25 % 2 # => 1
result = 5 ** 3 # => 125

The / means quotient of x and y, and the // means floored quotient of x and y, also see StackOverflow

#Plus-Equals
counter = 0
counter += 10 # => 10
counter = 0
counter = counter + 10 # => 10

message = "Part 1."

# => Part 1.Part 2.

message += "Part 2."
#f-Strings (Python 3.6+)
>>> website = 'Quickref.ME'
>>> f"Hello, {website}"
"Hello, Quickref.ME"

>>> num = 10
>>> f'{num} + 10 = {num + 10}'
'10 + 10 = 20'

See: Python F-Strings

#Python Built-in Data Types

#Strings
hello = "Hello World"
hello = 'Hello World'

multi_string = """Multiline Strings

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet,
consectetur adipiscing elit """

See: Strings

#Numbers
x = 1 # int
y = 2.8 # float
z = 1j # complex

>>> print(type(x))
<class 'int'>

#Booleans
my_bool = True
my_bool = False

bool(0) # => False

bool(1) # => True

#Lists
list1 = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
list2 = [True, False, False]
list3 = [1, 5, 7, 9, 3]
list4 = list((1, 5, 7, 9, 3))

See: Lists

#Tuple
my_tuple = (1, 2, 3)
my_tuple = tuple((1, 2, 3))

Similar to List but immutable

#Set
set1 = {"a", "b", "c"}
set2 = set(("a", "b", "c"))

Set of unique items/objects

#Dictionary
>>> empty_dict = {}
>>> a = {"one": 1, "two": 2, "three": 3}
>>> a["one"]
1
>>> a.keys()
dict_keys(['one', 'two', 'three'])
>>> a.values()
dict_values([1, 2, 3])
>>> a.update({"four": 4})
>>> a.keys()
dict_keys(['one', 'two', 'three', 'four'])
>>> a['four']
4

Key: Value pair, JSON like object

#Casting

#Integers

x = int(1) # x will be 1
y = int(2.8) # y will be 2
z = int("3") # z will be 3

#Floats

x = float(1) # x will be 1.0

y = float(2.8) # y will be 2.8
z = float("3") # z will be 3.0
w = float("4.2") # w will be 4.2

#Strings

x = str("s1") # x will be 's1'

y = str(2) # y will be '2'
z = str(3.0) # z will be '3.0'

#Python Advanced Data Types

#Heaps
import heapq

myList = [9, 5, 4, 1, 3, 2]
heapq.heapify(myList) # turn myList into a Min Heap
print(myList) # => [1, 3, 2, 5, 9, 4]
print(myList[0]) # first value is always the smallest in the heap

heapq.heappush(myList, 10) # insert 10

x = heapq.heappop(myList) # pop and return smallest item
print(x) # => 1

#Negate all values to use Min Heap as Max Heap

myList = [9, 5, 4, 1, 3, 2]
myList = [-val for val in myList] # multiply by -1 to negate
heapq.heapify(myList)

x = heapq.heappop(myList)
print(-x) # => 9 (making sure to multiply by -1 again)

Heaps are binary trees for which every parent node has a value less than or equal to any of its children. Useful for
accessing min/max value quickly. Time complexity: O(n) for heapify, O(log n) push and pop. See: Heapq

#Stacks and Queues

from collections import deque

q = deque() # empty
q = deque([1, 2, 3]) # with values

q.append(4) # append to right side

q.appendleft(0) # append to left side
print(q) # => deque([0, 1, 2, 3, 4])

x = q.pop() # remove & return from right

y = q.popleft() # remove & return from left
print(x) # => 4
print(y) # => 0
print(q) # => deque([1, 2, 3])

q.rotate(1) # rotate 1 step to the right

print(q) # => deque([3, 1, 2])

Deque is a double-ended queue with O(1) time for append/pop operations from both sides. Used as stacks and
queues. See: Deque

#Python Strings
#Array-like
>>> hello = "Hello, World"
>>> print(hello[1])
e
>>> print(hello[-1])
d

Get the character at position 1 or last

#Looping
>>> for char in "foo":
... print(char)
f
o
o

Loop through the letters in the word "foo"

#Slicing string
┌───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┐
| m | y | b | a | c | o | n |
└───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┘
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
-7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1
>>> s = 'mybacon'
>>> s[2:5]
'bac'
>>> s[0:2]
'my'

>>> s = 'mybacon'
>>> s[:2]
'my'
>>> s[2:]
'bacon'
>>> s[:2] + s[2:]
'mybacon'
>>> s[:]
'mybacon'

>>> s = 'mybacon'
>>> s[-5:-1]
'baco'
>>> s[2:6]
'baco'

#With a stride

>>> s = '12345' * 5
>>> s
'1234512345123451234512345'
>>> s[::5]
'11111'
>>> s[4::5]
'55555'
>>> s[::-5]
'55555'
>>> s[::-1]
'5432154321543215432154321'

#String Length
>>> hello = "Hello, World!"
>>> print(len(hello))
13

The len() function returns the length of a string

#Multiple copies
>>> s = '===+'
>>> n = 8
>>> s * n
'===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+'

#Check String
>>> s = 'spam'
>>> s in 'I saw spamalot!'
True
>>> s not in 'I saw The Holy Grail!'
True

#Concatenates
>>> s = 'spam'
>>> t = 'egg'
>>> s + t
'spamegg'
>>> 'spam' 'egg'
'spamegg'

#Formatting
name = "John"
print("Hello, %s!" % name)

name = "John"
age = 23
print("%s is %d years old." % (name, age))

#format() Method

txt1 = "My name is {fname}, I'm {age}".format(fname="John", age=36)

txt2 = "My name is {0}, I'm {1}".format("John", 36)
txt3 = "My name is {}, I'm {}".format("John", 36)

#Input
>>> name = input("Enter your name: ")
Enter your name: Tom
>>> name
'Tom'

Get input data from console

#Join
>>> "#".join(["John", "Peter", "Vicky"])
'John#Peter#Vicky'

#Endswith
>>> "Hello, world!".endswith("!")
True

#Python F-Strings (Since Python 3.6+)

#f-Strings usage
>>> website = 'Quickref.ME'
>>> f"Hello, {website}"
"Hello, Quickref.ME"

>>> num = 10
>>> f'{num} + 10 = {num + 10}'
'10 + 10 = 20'

>>> f"""He said {"I'm John"}"""

"He said I'm John"

>>> f'5 {"{stars}"}'

'5 {stars}'
>>> f'{{5}} {"stars"}'
'{5} stars'

>>> name = 'Eric'

>>> age = 27
>>> f"""Hello!
... I'm {name}.
... I'm {age}."""
"Hello!\n I'm Eric.\n I'm 27."

it is available since Python 3.6, also see: Formatted string literals

#f-Strings Fill Align

>>> f'{"text":10}' # [width]
'text '
>>> f'{"test":*>10}' # fill left
'******test'
>>> f'{"test":*<10}' # fill right
'test******'
>>> f'{"test":*^10}' # fill center
'***test***'
>>> f'{12345:0>10}' # fill with numbers
'0000012345'

#f-Strings Type
>>> f'{10:b}' # binary type
'1010'
>>> f'{10:o}' # octal type
'12'
>>> f'{200:x}' # hexadecimal type
'c8'
>>> f'{200:X}'
'C8'
>>> f'{345600000000:e}' # scientific notation
'3.456000e+11'
>>> f'{65:c}' # character type
'A'
>>> f'{10:#b}' # [type] with notation (base)
'0b1010'
>>> f'{10:#o}'
'0o12'
>>> f'{10:#x}'
'0xa'

#F-Strings Others
>>> f'{-12345:0=10}' # negative numbers
'-000012345'
>>> f'{12345:010}' # [0] shortcut (no align)
'0000012345'
>>> f'{-12345:010}'
'-000012345'
>>> import math # [.precision]
>>> math.pi
3.141592653589793
>>> f'{math.pi:.2f}'
'3.14'
>>> f'{1000000:,.2f}' # [grouping_option]
'1,000,000.00'
>>> f'{1000000:_.2f}'
'1_000_000.00'
>>> f'{0.25:0%}' # percentage
'25.000000%'
>>> f'{0.25:.0%}'
'25%'

#F-Strings Sign
>>> f'{12345:+}' # [sign] (+/-)
'+12345'
>>> f'{-12345:+}'
'-12345'
>>> f'{-12345:+10}'
' -12345'
>>> f'{-12345:+010}'
'-000012345'

#Python Lists
#Defining
>>> li1 = []
>>> li1
[]
>>> li2 = [4, 5, 6]
>>> li2
[4, 5, 6]
>>> li3 = list((1, 2, 3))
>>> li3
[1, 2, 3]
>>> li4 = list(range(1, 11))
>>> li4
[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]

#Generate
>>> list(filter(lambda x : x % 2 == 1, range(1, 20)))
[1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19]

>>> [x ** 2 for x in range (1, 11) if x % 2 == 1]

[1, 9, 25, 49, 81]

>>> [x for x in [3, 4, 5, 6, 7] if x > 5]

[6, 7]

>>> list(filter(lambda x: x > 5, [3, 4, 5, 6, 7]))

[6, 7]

#Append
>>> li = []
>>> li.append(1)
>>> li
[1]
>>> li.append(2)
>>> li
[1, 2]
>>> li.append(4)
>>> li
[1, 2, 4]
>>> li.append(3)
>>> li
[1, 2, 4, 3]

#List Slicing

Syntax of list slicing:

a_list[start:end]
a_list[start:end:step]

#Slicing
>>> a = ['spam', 'egg', 'bacon', 'tomato', 'ham', 'lobster']
>>> a[2:5]
['bacon', 'tomato', 'ham']
>>> a[-5:-2]
['egg', 'bacon', 'tomato']
>>> a[1:4]
['egg', 'bacon', 'tomato']

#Omitting index

>>> a[:4]
['spam', 'egg', 'bacon', 'tomato']
>>> a[0:4]
['spam', 'egg', 'bacon', 'tomato']
>>> a[2:]
['bacon', 'tomato', 'ham', 'lobster']
>>> a[2:len(a)]
['bacon', 'tomato', 'ham', 'lobster']
>>> a
['spam', 'egg', 'bacon', 'tomato', 'ham', 'lobster']
>>> a[:]
['spam', 'egg', 'bacon', 'tomato', 'ham', 'lobster']

#With a stride

['spam', 'egg', 'bacon', 'tomato', 'ham', 'lobster']

>>> a[0:6:2]
['spam', 'bacon', 'ham']
>>> a[1:6:2]
['egg', 'tomato', 'lobster']
>>> a[6:0:-2]
['lobster', 'tomato', 'egg']
>>> a
['spam', 'egg', 'bacon', 'tomato', 'ham', 'lobster']
>>> a[::-1]
['lobster', 'ham', 'tomato', 'bacon', 'egg', 'spam']

#Remove
>>> li = ['bread', 'butter', 'milk']
>>> li.pop()
'milk'
>>> li
['bread', 'butter']
>>> del li[0]
>>> li
['butter']

#Access
>>> li = ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd']
>>> li[0]
'a'
>>> li[-1]
'd'
>>> li[4]
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
IndexError: list index out of range

#Concatenating
>>> odd = [1, 3, 5]
>>> odd.extend([9, 11, 13])
>>> odd
[1, 3, 5, 9, 11, 13]
>>> odd = [1, 3, 5]
>>> odd + [9, 11, 13]
[1, 3, 5, 9, 11, 13]

#Sort & Reverse

>>> li = [3, 1, 3, 2, 5]
>>> li.sort()
>>> li
[1, 2, 3, 3, 5]
>>> li.reverse()
>>> li
[5, 3, 3, 2, 1]

#Count
>>> li = [3, 1, 3, 2, 5]
>>> li.count(3)
2

#Repeating
>>> li = ["re"] * 3
>>> li
['re', 're', 're']

#Python Flow control

#Basic
num = 5
if num > 10:
print("num is totally bigger than 10.")
elif num < 10:
print("num is smaller than 10.")
else:
print("num is indeed 10.")

#One line
>>> a = 330
>>> b = 200
>>> r = "a" if a > b else "b"
>>> print(r)
a

#else if
value = True
if not value:
print("Value is False")
elif value is None:
print("Value is None")
else:
print("Value is True")

#Python Loops
#Basic
primes = [2, 3, 5, 7]
for prime in primes:
print(prime)

Prints: 2 3 5 7

#With index
animals = ["dog", "cat", "mouse"]
# enumerate() adds counter to an iterable
for i, value in enumerate(animals):
print(i, value)

Prints: 0 dog 1 cat 2 mouse

#While
x = 0
while x < 4:
print(x)
x += 1 # Shorthand for x = x + 1

Prints: 0 1 2 3

#Break
x = 0
for index in range(10):
x = index * 10
if index == 5:
break
print(x)

Prints: 0 10 20 30 40

#Continue
for index in range(3, 8):
x = index * 10
if index == 5:
continue
print(x)

Prints: 30 40 60 70

#Range
for i in range(4):
print(i) # Prints: 0 1 2 3

for i in range(4, 8):

print(i) # Prints: 4 5 6 7

for i in range(4, 10, 2):

print(i) # Prints: 4 6 8

#With zip()
words = ['Mon', 'Tue', 'Wed']
nums = [1, 2, 3]
# Use zip to pack into a tuple list
for w, n in zip(words, nums):
print('%d:%s, ' %(n, w))

Prints: 1:Mon, 2:Tue, 3:Wed,

#for/else
nums = [60, 70, 30, 110, 90]
for n in nums:
if n > 100:
print("%d is bigger than 100" %n)
break
else:
print("Not found!")

Also see: Python Tips

#Python Functions
#Basic
def hello_world():
print('Hello, World!')

#Return
def add(x, y):
print("x is %s, y is %s" %(x, y))
return x + y

add(5, 6) # => 11

#Positional arguments
def varargs(*args):
return args

varargs(1, 2, 3) # => (1, 2, 3)

#Keyword arguments
def keyword_args(**kwargs):
return kwargs

# => {"big": "foot", "loch": "ness"}

keyword_args(big="foot", loch="ness")

#Returning multiple
def swap(x, y):
return y, x

x = 1
y = 2
x, y = swap(x, y) # => x = 2, y = 1

#Default Value
def add(x, y=10):
return x + y
add(5) # => 15
add(5, 20) # => 25

#Anonymous functions
# => True
(lambda x: x > 2)(3)

# => 5
(lambda x, y: x ** 2 + y ** 2)(2, 1)

#Python Modules
#Import modules
import math
print(math.sqrt(16)) # => 4.0

#From a module
from math import ceil, floor
print(ceil(3.7)) # => 4.0
print(floor(3.7)) # => 3.0

#Import all

#Shorten module
import math as m

# => True
math.sqrt(16) == m.sqrt(16)

#Functions and attributes

#Python File Handling

#Read file

#Line by line

with open("myfile.txt") as file:

for line in file:
print(line)

#With line number

file = open('myfile.txt', 'r')

for i, line in enumerate(file, start=1):
print("Number %s: %s" % (i, line))

#String

#Write a string

contents = {"aa": 12, "bb": 21}

with open("myfile1.txt", "w+") as file:
file.write(str(contents))

#Read a string

with open('myfile1.txt', "r+") as file:

contents = file.read()
print(contents)

#Object

#Write an object

contents = {"aa": 12, "bb": 21}

with open("myfile2.txt", "w+") as file:
file.write(json.dumps(contents))

#Read an object

with open('myfile2.txt', "r+") as file:

contents = json.load(file)
print(contents)

#Delete a File
import os
os.remove("myfile.txt")

#Check and Delete

import os
if os.path.exists("myfile.txt"):
os.remove("myfile.txt")
else:
print("The file does not exist")

#Delete Folder
import os
os.rmdir("myfolder")

#Python Classes & Inheritance

#Defining
class MyNewClass:
pass

# Class Instantiation
my = MyNewClass()

#Constructors
class Animal:
def __init__(self, voice):
self.voice = voice

cat = Animal('Meow')
print(cat.voice) # => Meow
dog = Animal('Woof')
print(dog.voice) # => Woof

#Method
class Dog:

# Method of the class

def bark(self):
print("Ham-Ham")

charlie = Dog()
charlie.bark() # => "Ham-Ham"

#Class Variables
class MyClass:
class_variable = "A class variable!"

# => A class variable!

print(MyClass.class_variable)

x = MyClass()

# => A class variable!

print(x.class_variable)

#Super() Function
class ParentClass:
def print_test(self):
print("Parent Method")

class ChildClass(ParentClass):
def print_test(self):
print("Child Method")
# Calls the parent's print_test()
super().print_test()

>>> child_instance = ChildClass()

>>> child_instance.print_test()
Child Method
Parent Method

#repr() method
class Employee:
def __init__(self, name):
self.name = name

def __repr__(self):
return self.name

john = Employee('John')
print(john) # => John

#User-defined exceptions
class CustomError(Exception):
pass

#Polymorphism
class ParentClass:
def print_self(self):
print('A')

class ChildClass(ParentClass):
def print_self(self):
print('B')

obj_A = ParentClass()
obj_B = ChildClass()

obj_A.print_self() # => A
obj_B.print_self() # => B

#Overriding
class ParentClass:
def print_self(self):
print("Parent")

class ChildClass(ParentClass):
def print_self(self):
print("Child")

child_instance = ChildClass()
child_instance.print_self() # => Child

#Inheritance
class Animal:
def __init__(self, name, legs):
self.name = name
self.legs = legs

class Dog(Animal):
def sound(self):
print("Woof!")

Yoki = Dog("Yoki", 4)
print(Yoki.name) # => YOKI
print(Yoki.legs) # => 4
Yoki.sound() # => Woof!

#Miscellaneous
# This is a single line comments.

""" Multiline strings can be written

using three "s, and are often used
as documentation.
"""

''' Multiline strings can be written

using three 's, and are often used
as documentation.
'''

#Generators
def double_numbers(iterable):
for i in iterable:
yield i + i

Generators help you make lazy code.

#Generator to list
values = (-x for x in [1,2,3,4,5])
gen_to_list = list(values)

# => [-1, -2, -3, -4, -5]

print(gen_to_list)

#Handle exceptions
try:
# Use "raise" to raise an error
raise IndexError("This is an index error")
except IndexError as e:
pass # Pass is just a no-op. Usually you would do recovery here.
except (TypeError, NameError):
pass # Multiple exceptions can be handled together, if required.
else: # Optional clause to the try/except block. Must follow all except blocks
print("All good!") # Runs only if the code in try raises no exceptions
finally: # Execute under all circumstances
print("We can clean up resources here")