CONCEPTS IN PRACTICE

Python vs Java syntax

5. In general, Python programs are _____ than Java programs.
a. faster
b. longer
c. shorter
6. In the example programs above, what syntax required by Java is not required by Python?
a. semicolons
b. parentheses
c. quote marks
TRY IT
Favorite song
The program below asks for your name and displays a friendly greeting. Run the program and
see what
happens. In the error message, EOF stands for End of File.
• Many of the programs in this chapter expect input from the user. Enter your name in the Input
box
below the code. Run the program again, and see what changes.
• Copy the following lines to the end of the program: print("What is your favorite song?")
song = input() print("Cool! I like", song, "too.")
• The modified program reads two lines of input: name and song. Add your favorite song to the
Input
box below your name, and run the program again.
The next section of the book will explain how print() and input() work. Feel free to experiment
with this
code until you are ready to move on.
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1.2 Input/output
Learning objectives
By the end of this section you should be able to
• Display output using the print() function.
• Obtain user input using the input() function.
Basic output
The print() function displays output to the user. Output is the information or result produced by a
program.
The sep and end options can be used to customize the output. Table 1.1 shows examples of
sep and end.
Multiple values, separated by commas, can be printed in the same statement. By default, each
value is
separated by a space character in the output. The sep option can be used to change this
behavior.
By default, the print() function adds a newline character at the end of the output. A newline
character tells
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the display to move to the next line. The end option can be used to continue printing on the
same line.
Code Output
print("Today is Monday.")
print("I like string beans.")
Today is Monday.
I like string beans.
print("Today", "is", "Monday")
print("Today", "is", "Monday", sep="...")
Today is Monday
Today...is...Monday
print("Today is Monday, ", end="")
print("I like string beans.")
Today is Monday, I like string
beans.
print("Today", "is", "Monday", sep="? ",
end="!!")
print("I like string beans.")
Today? is? Monday!!I like string
beans.
Table 1.1 Example uses of print().
CHECKPOINT
Displaying output to the user
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CONCEPTS IN PRACTICE
The print() function
1. Which line of code prints Hello world! as one line of output?
a. print(Hello world!)
b. print("Hello", "world", "!")
c. print("Hello world!")
2. Which lines of code prints Hello world! as one line of output?
a. print("Hello")
print(" world!")
b. print("Hello")
print(" world!", end="")
c. print("Hello", end="")
print(" world!")
3. What output is produced by the following statement?
print("555", "0123", sep="-")
1.2 • Input/output 11
a. 555 0123
b. 5550123-
c. 555-0123
DO SPACES REALLY MATTER?
Spaces and newline characters are not inherently important. However, learning to be precise is
an essential
skill for programming. Noticing little details, like how words are separated and how lines end,
helps new
programmers become better.
Basic input
Computer programs often receive input from the user. Input is what a user enters into a
program. An input
statement, variable = input("prompt"), has three parts:
1. A variable refers to a value stored in memory. In the statement above,
variable can be replaced with any
name the programmer chooses.
2. The input() function reads one line of input from the user. A function is a named, reusable
block of code
that performs a task when called. The input is stored in the computer's memory and can be
accessed later
using the variable.
3. A prompt is a short message that indicates the program is waiting for input. In the statement
above,"prompt" can be omitted or replaced with any message.
CHECKPOINT
Obtaining input from the user
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CONCEPTS IN PRACTICE
The input() function
4. Which line of code correctly obtains and stores user input?
a. input()
b. today_is = input
c. today_is = input()
5. Someone named Sophia enters their name when prompted with
print("Please enter your name: ")
name = input()
What is displayed by print("You entered:", name)?
a. You entered: name
b. You entered: Sophia
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c. You entered:, Sophia
6. What is the output if the user enters "six" as the input?
print("Please enter a number: ")
number = input()
print("Value =", number)
a. Value = six
b. Value = 6
c. Value = number
TRY IT
Frost poem
Write a program that uses multiple print() statements to output the following poem by Robert
Frost
(https://openstax.org/r/100robertfrost). Each print() statement should correspond to one line of
output.Tip: You don't need to write the entire program all at once. Try writing the first print()
statement, and
then click the Run button. Then write the next print() statement, and click the Run button again.
Continue writing and testing the code incrementally until you finish the program.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
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TRY IT
Name and likes
Write a program that asks the following two questions (example input in bold):
Shakira
What do you like? singing
What is your name? Shakira
What do you like? singing
Output a blank line after reading the input. Then output the following message based on the
input:
1.2 • Input/output 13
Shakira likes singing
Shakira likes singing
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1.3 Variables
Learning objectives
By the end of this section you should be able to
• Assign variables and print variables.
• Explain rules for naming variables.
Assignment statement
Variables allow programs to refer to values using names rather than memory locations. Ex: age
refers to a
person's age, and birth refers to a person's date of birth.
A statement can set a variable to a value using the assignment operator (=). Note that this is
different from
the equal sign of mathematics. Ex: age = 6 or birth = "May 15". The left side of the assignment
statement
is a variable, and the right side is the value the variable is assigned.
CHECKPOINT
Assigning and using variables
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CONCEPTS IN PRACTICE
Assigning and using variables
1. Which line of code correctly retrieves the value of the variable, city, after the following
assignment?
city = "Chicago"
a. print("In which city do you live?")
b. city = "London"
c. print("The city where you live is", city)
2. Which program stores and retrieves a variable correctly?
a. print("Total =", total)
total = 6
b. total = 6
print("Total =", total)
c. print("Total =", total)
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total = input()
3. Which is the assignment operator?
a. :
b. ==
c. =
4. Which is a valid assignment?
a. temperature = 98.5
b. 98.5 = temperature
c. temperature - 23.2
Variable naming rules
A variable name can consist of letters, digits, and underscores and be of any length. The name
cannot start
with a digit. Ex: 101class is invalid. Also, letter case matters. Ex: Total is different from total.
Python's style
guide recommends writing variable names in snake case, which is all lowercase with
underscores in between
each word, such as first_name or total_price.
A name should be short and descriptive, so words are preferred over single characters in
programs for
readability. Ex: A variable named count indicates the variable's purpose better than a variable
named c.
Python has reserved words, known as keywords, which have special functions and cannot be
used as names
for variables (or other objects).