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Chapter 07

Chapter 7 of 'Python Programming: An Introduction to Computer Science' focuses on decision structures in Python, including simple, two-way, and multi-way decisions using if, if-else, and if-elif-else statements. It covers the implementation of these structures through examples, such as temperature warnings and solving quadratic equations, while also introducing exception handling and Boolean expressions. The chapter emphasizes the importance of controlling program flow to handle different scenarios effectively.

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4 views83 pages

Chapter 07

Chapter 7 of 'Python Programming: An Introduction to Computer Science' focuses on decision structures in Python, including simple, two-way, and multi-way decisions using if, if-else, and if-elif-else statements. It covers the implementation of these structures through examples, such as temperature warnings and solving quadratic equations, while also introducing exception handling and Boolean expressions. The chapter emphasizes the importance of controlling program flow to handle different scenarios effectively.

Uploaded by

divach77
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 83

Python Programming:

An Introduction to
Computer Science

Chapter 7
Decision Structures

Python Programming, 3/e 1


Objectives
 To understand the programming
pattern simple decision and its
implementation using a Python if
statement.
 To understand the programming
pattern two-way decision and its
implementation using a Python if-
else statement.
Python Programming, 3/e 2
Objectives
 To understand the programming
pattern multi-way decision and its
implementation using a Python if-
elif-else statement.
 To understand the idea of
exception handling and be able to
write simple exception handling
code that catches standard Python
run-time errors.
Python Programming, 3/e 3
Objectives
 To understand the concept of
Boolean expressions and the bool
data type.
 To be able to read, write, and
implement algorithms that employ
decision structures, including those
that employ sequences of
decisions and nested decision
structures.
Python Programming, 3/e 4
Simple Decisions
 So far, we’ve viewed programs as
sequences of instructions that are
followed one after the other.
 While this is a fundamental
programming concept, it is not
sufficient in itself to solve every
problem. We need to be able to
alter the sequential flow of a
program to suit a particular
situation.
Python Programming, 3/e 5
Simple Decisions
 Control structures allow us to alter
this sequential program flow.
 In this chapter, we’ll learn about
decision structures, which are
statements that allow a program to
execute different sequences of
instructions for different cases,
allowing the program to “choose”
an appropriate course of action.
Python Programming, 3/e 6
Example:
Temperature Warnings
 Let’s return to our Celsius to Fahrenheit
temperature conversion program from Chapter
2.

# convert.py
# A program to convert Celsius temps to Fahrenheit
# by: Susan Computewell

def main():
celsius = float(input("What is the Celsius temperature? "))
fahrenheit = 9/5 * celsius + 32
print("The temperature is", fahrenheit, "degrees Fahrenheit.")

Python Programming, 3/e 7


Example:
Temperature Warnings
 Let’s say we want to modify the
program to print a warning when
the weather is extreme.
 Any temperature over 90 degrees
Fahrenheit and lower than 30
degrees Fahrenheit will cause a hot
and cold weather warning,
respectively.
Python Programming, 3/e 8
Example:
Temperature Warnings
Input the temperature in degrees Celsius
(call it celsius)
Calculate fahrenheit as 9/5 celsius + 32
Output fahrenheit
If fahrenheit > 90
print a heat warning
If fahrenheit > 30
print a cold warning

Python Programming, 3/e 9


Example:
Temperature Warnings
 This new algorithm has two
decisions at the end. The
indentation indicates that a step
should be performed only if the
condition listed in the previous line
is true.

Python Programming, 3/e 10


Example:
Temperature Warnings

Python Programming, 3/e 11


Example:
Temperature Warnings
# convert2.py
# A program to convert Celsius temps to Fahrenheit.
# This version issues heat and cold warnings.

def main():
celsius = float(input("What is the Celsius temperature? "))
fahrenheit = 9 / 5 * celsius + 32
print("The temperature is", fahrenheit, "degrees fahrenheit.")
if fahrenheit >= 90:
print("It's really hot out there, be careful!")
if fahrenheit <= 30:
print("Brrrrr. Be sure to dress warmly")

main()

Python Programming, 3/e 12


Example:
Temperature Warnings
 The Python if statement is used to
implement the decision.
 if <condition>:
<body>
 The body is a sequence of one or
more statements indented under
the if heading.

Python Programming, 3/e 13


Example:
Temperature Warnings
 The semantics of the if should be clear.
 First, the condition in the heading is
evaluated.
 If the condition is true, the sequence of
statements in the body is executed, and
then control passes to the next statement in
the program.
 If the condition is false, the statements in
the body are skipped, and control passes to
the next statement in the program.

Python Programming, 3/e 14


Example:
Temperature Warnings

Python Programming, 3/e 15


Example:
Temperature Warnings
 The body of the if either executes
or not depending on the condition.
In any case, control then passes to
the next statement after the if.
 This is a one-way or simple
decision.

Python Programming, 3/e 16


Forming Simple Conditions
 What does a condition look like?
 At this point, let’s use simple
comparisons.
 <expr> <relop> <expr>
 <relop> is short for relational
operator

Python Programming, 3/e 17


Forming Simple Conditions
Python Mathemati Meaning
cs
< < Less than
<= ≤ Less than or equal to
== = Equal to
>= ≥ Greater than or equal
to
> > Greater than
!= ≠ Python Programming,
Not equal 3/e
to 18
Forming Simple Conditions
 Notice the use of == for equality.
Since Python uses = to indicate
assignment, a different symbol is
required for the concept of
equality.
 A common mistake is using = in
conditions!

Python Programming, 3/e 19


Forming Simple Conditions
 Conditions may compare either
numbers or strings.
 When comparing strings, the
ordering is lexigraphic, meaning
that the strings are sorted based
on the underlying Unicode.
Because of this, all upper-case
Latin letters come before lower-
case letters. (“Bbbb” comes before
Python Programming, 3/e 20
Forming Simple Conditions
 Conditions are based on Boolean
expressions, named for the English
mathematician George Boole.
 When a Boolean expression is
evaluated, it produces either a value of
true (meaning the condition holds), or it
produces false (it does not hold).
 Some computer languages use 1 and 0
to represent “true” and “false”.

Python Programming, 3/e 21


Forming Simple Conditions
 Boolean conditions are of type bool and
the Boolean values of true and false are
represented by the literals True and
False.
>>> 3 < 4
True
>>> 3 * 4 < 3 + 4
False
>>> "hello" == "hello"
True
>>> "Hello" < "hello"
True Python Programming, 3/e 22
Example: Conditional
Program Execution
 There are several ways of running
Python programs.
 Some modules are designed to be run
directly. These are referred to as programs
or scripts.
 Others are made to be imported and used
by other programs. These are referred to as
libraries.
 Sometimes we want to create a hybrid that
can be used both as a stand-alone program
and as a library.
Python Programming, 3/e 23
Example: Conditional
Program Execution
 When we want to start a program
once it’s loaded, we include the
line main()
at the bottom of the code.
 Since Python evaluates the lines of
the program during the import
process, our current programs also
run when they are imported into
an interactive Python session or
Python Programming, 3/e 24
Example: Conditional
Program Execution
 Generally, when we import a
module, we don’t want it to
execute!
 In a program that can be either run
stand-alone or loaded as a library,
the call to main at the bottom
should be made conditional, e.g.
if <condition>:
main()
Python Programming, 3/e 25
Example: Conditional
Program Execution
 Whenever a module is imported,
Python creates a special variable in
the module called __name__ to be
the name of the imported module.
 Example:
>>> import math
>>> math.__name__
'math'
Python Programming, 3/e 26
Example: Conditional
Program Execution
 When imported, the __name__
variable inside the math module is
assigned the string ‘math’.
 When Python code is run directly
and not imported, the value of
__name__ is ‘__main__’. E.g.:
>>> __name__
'__main__'
Python Programming, 3/e 27
Example: Conditional
Program Execution
 To recap: if a module is imported, the
code in the module will see a variable
called __name__ whose value is the
name of the module.
 When a file is run directly, the code will
see the value ‘__main__’.
 We can change the final lines of our
programs to:
if __name__ == '__main__':
main()
 Virtually every Python module ends this
way! Python Programming, 3/e 28
Two-Way Decisions
 Consider the quadratic program as we left
it.
# quadratic.py
# A program that computes the real roots of a quadratic equation.
# Note: This program crashes if the equation has no real roots.

import math

def main():
print("This program finds the real solutions to a quadratic\n")

a = float(input("Enter coefficient a: "))


b = float(input("Enter coefficient b: "))
c = float(input("Enter coefficient c: "))
discRoot = math.sqrt(b * b - 4 * a * c)
root1 = (-b + discRoot) / (2 * a)
root2 = (-b - discRoot) / (2 * a)

print("\nThe solutionsPython
are:", root1, root2)
Programming, 3/e 29
Two-Way Decisions
 As per the comment, when
b2-4ac < 0, the program crashes.
This program finds the real solutions to a quadratic

Please enter the coefficients (a, b, c): 1,1,2

Traceback (most recent call last):


File "C:\Documents and Settings\Terry\My Documents\Teaching\W04\CS
120\Textbook\code\chapter3\quadratic.py", line 21, in -toplevel-
main()
File "C:\Documents and Settings\Terry\My Documents\Teaching\W04\CS
120\Textbook\code\chapter3\quadratic.py", line 14, in main
discRoot = math.sqrt(b * b - 4 * a * c)
ValueError: math domain error

Python Programming, 3/e 30


Two-Way Decisions
 We can check for this situation. Here’s our first attempt.
# quadratic2.py
# A program that computes the real roots of a quadratic equation.
# Bad version using a simple if to avoid program crash

import math

def main():
print("This program finds the real solutions to a quadratic\n")
a = float(input("Enter coefficient a: "))
b = float(input("Enter coefficient b: "))
c = float(input("Enter coefficient c: "))
discrim = b * b - 4 * a * c
if discrim >= 0:
discRoot = math.sqrt(discrim)
root1 = (-b + discRoot) / (2 * a)
root2 = (-b - discRoot) / (2 * a)
print("\nThe solutions are:", root1, root2)

Python Programming, 3/e 31


Two-Way Decisions
 We first calculate the discriminant
(b2-4ac) and then check to make
sure it’s nonnegative. If it is, the
program proceeds and we
calculate the roots.
 Look carefully at the program.
What’s wrong with it? Hint: What
happens when there are no real
roots?
Python Programming, 3/e 32
Two-Way Decisions
This program finds the real solutions to a quadratic

Enter coefficient a: 1
Enter coefficient b: 1
Enter coefficient c: 1
>>>
 This is almost worse than the version
that crashes, because we don’t know
what went wrong!

Python Programming, 3/e 33


Two-Way Decisions
 We could add another if to the
end:
if discrim < 0:
print("The equation has no real roots!" )
 This works, but feels wrong. We
have two decisions, with mutually
exclusive outcomes (if discrim >=
0 then discrim < 0 must be false,
and vice versa).
Python Programming, 3/e 34
Two-Way Decisions

Python Programming, 3/e 35


Two-Way Decisions
 In Python, a two-way decision can
be implemented by attaching an
else clause onto an if clause.
 This is called an if-else
statement:
if <condition>:
<statements>
else:
<statements>

Python Programming, 3/e 36


Two-Way Decisions
 When Python encounters this structure,
it first evaluates the condition. If the
condition is true, the statements under
the if are executed.
 If the condition is false, the statements
under the else are executed.
 In either case, the statements following
the if-else are executed after either
set of statements are executed.

Python Programming, 3/e 37


Two-Way Decisions
# quadratic3.py
# A program that computes the real roots of a quadratic equation.
# Illustrates use of a two-way decision

import math

def main():
print "This program finds the real solutions to a quadratic\n"
a = float(input("Enter coefficient a: "))
b = float(input("Enter coefficient b: "))
c = float(input("Enter coefficient c: "))
discrim = b * b - 4 * a * c
if discrim < 0:
print("\nThe equation has no real roots!")
else:
discRoot = math.sqrt(b * b - 4 * a * c)
root1 = (-b + discRoot) / (2 * a)
root2 = (-b - discRoot) / (2 * a)
print ("\nThe solutions are:", root1, root2 )

Python Programming, 3/e 38


Two-Way Decisions
This program finds the real solutions to a quadratic

Enter coefficient a: 1
Enter coefficient b: 1
Enter coefficient c: 2

The equation has no real roots!


>>>
This program finds the real solutions to a quadratic

Enter coefficient a: 2
Enter coefficient b: 5
Enter coefficient c: 2

The solutions are: -0.5 -2.0

Python Programming, 3/e 39


Multi-Way Decisions
The newest program is great, but it
still has some quirks!
This program finds the real solutions to a quadratic

Enter coefficient a: 1
Enter coefficient b: 2
Enter coefficient c: 1

The solutions are: -1.0 -1.0

Python Programming, 3/e 40


Multi-Way Decisions
 While correct, this method might
be confusing for some people. It
looks like it has mistakenly printed
the same number twice!
 Double roots occur when the
discriminant is exactly 0, and then
the roots are –b/2a.
 It looks like we need a three-way
decision!
Python Programming, 3/e 41
Multi-Way Decisions
 Check the value of discrim
when < 0: handle the case of no roots
when = 0: handle the case of a double root
when > 0: handle the case of two distinct
roots
 We can do this with two if-else
statements, one inside the other.
 Putting one compound statement
inside of another is called nesting.

Python Programming, 3/e 42


Multi-Way Decisions
if discrim < 0:
print("Equation has no real roots")
else:
if discrim == 0:
root = -b / (2 * a)
print("There is a double root at", root)
else:
# Do stuff for two roots

Python Programming, 3/e 43


Multi-Way Decisions

Python Programming, 3/e 44


Multi-Way Decisions
 Imagine if we needed to make a
five-way decision using nesting.
The if-else statements would be
nested four levels deep!
 There is a construct in Python that
achieves this, combining an else
followed immediately by an if into
a single elif.
Python Programming, 3/e 45
Multi-Way Decisions
 if <condition1>:
<case1 statements>
elif <condition2>:
<case2 statements>
elif <condition3>:
<case3 statements>
…
else:
<default statements>
Python Programming, 3/e 46
Multi-Way Decisions
 This form sets off any number of
mutually exclusive code blocks.
 Python evaluates each condition in turn
looking for the first one that is true. If a
true condition is found, the statements
indented under that condition are
executed, and control passes to the
next statement after the entire if-
elif-else.
 If none are true, the statements under
else are performed.
Python Programming, 3/e 47
Multi-Way Decisions
 The else is optional. If there is no
else, it’s possible no indented
block would be executed.

Python Programming, 3/e 48


Multi-Way Decisions
# quadratic4.py
import math

def main():
print("This program finds the real solutions to a quadratic\n")

a = float(input("Enter coefficient a: "))


b = float(input("Enter coefficient b: "))
c = float(input("Enter coefficient c: "))

discrim = b * b - 4 * a * c
if discrim < 0:
print("\nThe equation has no real roots!")
elif discrim == 0:
root = -b / (2 * a)
print("\nThere is a double root at", root)
else:
discRoot = math.sqrt(b * b - 4 * a * c)
root1 = (-b + discRoot) / (2 * a)
root2 = (-b - discRoot) / (2 * a)
print("\nThe solutions are:", root1, root2 )

Python Programming, 3/e 49


Exception Handling
 In the quadratic program we used
decision structures to avoid taking
the square root of a negative
number, thus avoiding a run-time
error.
 This is true for many programs:
decision structures are used to
protect against rare but possible
errors.
Python Programming, 3/e 50
Exception Handling
 In the quadratic example, we checked
the data before calling sqrt. Sometimes
functions will check for errors and return
a special value to indicate the operation
was unsuccessful.
 E.g., a different square root operation
might return a –1 to indicate an error
(since square roots are never negative,
we know this value will be unique).

Python Programming, 3/e 51


Exception Handling
 discRt = otherSqrt(b*b - 4*a*c)
if discRt < 0:
print("No real roots.“)
else:
...
 Sometimes programs get so many
checks for special cases that the
algorithm becomes hard to follow.
 Programming language designers have
come up with a mechanism to handle
exception handling to solve this design
problem.
Python Programming, 3/e 52
Exception Handling
 The programmer can write code
that catches and deals with errors
that arise while the program is
running, i.e., “Do these steps, and
if any problem crops up, handle it
this way.”
 This approach obviates the need to
do explicit checking at each step in
the algorithm.
Python Programming, 3/e 53
Exception Handling
# quadratic5.py
import math

def main():
print ("This program finds the real solutions to a quadratic\n")

try:
a = float(input("Enter coefficient a: "))
b = float(input("Enter coefficient b: "))
c = float(input("Enter coefficient c: "))
discRoot = math.sqrt(b * b - 4 * a * c)
root1 = (-b + discRoot) / (2 * a)
root2 = (-b - discRoot) / (2 * a)
print("\nThe solutions are:", root1, root2)
except ValueError:
print("\nNo real roots")

Python Programming, 3/e 54


Exception Handling
 The try statement has the following
form:
try:
<body>
except <ErrorType>:
<handler>
 When Python encounters a try
statement, it attempts to execute the
statements inside the body.
 If there is no error, control passes to the
next statement after the try…except.
Python Programming, 3/e 55
Exception Handling
 If an error occurs while executing the
body, Python looks for an except clause
with a matching error type. If one is
found, the handler code is executed.
 The original program generated this
error with a negative discriminant:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "C:\Documents and Settings\Terry\My Documents\Teaching\W04\CS120\
Textbook\code\chapter3\quadratic.py", line 21, in -toplevel-
main()
File "C:\Documents and Settings\Terry\My Documents\Teaching\W04\CS 120\
Textbook\code\chapter3\quadratic.py", line 14, in main
discRoot = math.sqrt(b * b - 4 * a * c)
ValueError: math domain error

Python Programming, 3/e 56


Exception Handling
 The last line, “ValueError: math
domain error”, indicates the specific
type of error.
 Here’s the new code in action:
This program finds the real solutions to a quadratic

Enter coefficient a: 1
Enter coefficient b: 1
Enter coefficient c: 1

No real roots

Python Programming, 3/e 57


Exception Handling
 Instead of crashing, the exception
handler prints a message indicating that
there are no real roots.
 The try…except can be used to catch
any kind of error and provide for a
graceful exit.
 A single try statement can have
multiple except clauses.

Python Programming, 3/e 58


Exception Handling
# quadratic6.py
import math

def main():
print("This program finds the real solutions to a quadratic\n")

try:
a = float(input("Enter coefficient a: "))
b = float(input("Enter coefficient b: "))
c = float(input("Enter coefficient c: "))
discRoot = math.sqrt(b * b - 4 * a * c)
root1 = (-b + discRoot) / (2 * a)
root2 = (-b - discRoot) / (2 * a)
print("\nThe solutions are:", root1, root2 )
except ValueError as excObj:
if str(excObj) == "math domain error":
print("No Real Roots")
else:
print("Invalid coefficient given.")
except:
print("\nSomething went wrong, sorry!")
Python Programming, 3/e 59
Exception Handling
 The multiple excepts act like elifs. If
an error occurs, Python will try each
except looking for one that matches the
type of error.
 The bare except at the bottom acts like
an else and catches any errors without
a specific match.
 If there was no bare except at the end
and none of the except clauses match,
the program would still crash and report
an error.
Python Programming, 3/e 60
Exception Handling
 Exceptions themselves are a type
of object.
 If you follow the error type with an
identifier in an except clause,
Python will assign to that identifier
the actual exception object.

Python Programming, 3/e 61


Study in Design: Max of
Three
 Now that we have decision
structures, we can solve more
complicated programming
problems. The negative is that
writing these programs becomes
harder!
 Suppose we need an algorithm to
find the largest of three numbers.
Python Programming, 3/e 62
Study in Design: Max of
Three
def main():
x1, x2, x3 = eval(input("Please enter three values: "))

# missing code sets max to the value of the largest

print("The largest value is", maxval)

Python Programming, 3/e 63


Strategy 1:
Compare Each to All
 This looks like a three-way
decision, where we need to
execute one of the following:
maxval = x1
maxval = x2
maxval = x3
 All we need to do now is preface
each one of these with the right
condition!

Python Programming, 3/e 64


Strategy 1:
Compare Each to All
 Let’s look at the case where x1 is the
largest.
 if x1 >= x2 >= x3:
maxval = x1
 Is this syntactically correct?
 Many languages would not allow this
compound condition
 Python does allow it, though. It’s equivalent
to
x1 ≥ x2 ≥ x3.
Python Programming, 3/e 65
Strategy 1:
Compare Each to All
 Whenever you write a decision,
there are two crucial questions:
1. When the condition is true, is
executing the body of the decision
the right action to take?

x1 is at least as large as x2 and x3, so
assigning maxval to x1 is OK.

Always pay attention to borderline
values!!

Python Programming, 3/e 66


Strategy 1:
Compare Each to All
2. Secondly, ask the converse of the
first question, namely, are we
certain that this condition is true in
all cases where x1 is the max?

Suppose the values are 5, 2, and 4.

Clearly, x1 is the largest, but does x1 ≥
x2 ≥ x3 hold?

We don’t really care about the relative
ordering of x2 and x3, so we can make
two separate tests: x1 >= x2 and x1 >=
x3.

Python Programming, 3/e 67


Strategy 1:
Compare Each to All
 We can separate these conditions with
and!
if x1 >= x2 and x1 >= x3:
maxval = x1
elif x2 >= x1 and x2 >= x3:
maxval = x2
else:
maxval = x3
 We’re comparing each possible value
against all the others to determine
which one is largest.
Python Programming, 3/e 68
Strategy 1:
Compare Each to All
 What would happen if we were
trying to find the max of five
values?
 We would need four Boolean
expressions, each consisting of
four conditions anded together.
 Yuck!

Python Programming, 3/e 69


Strategy 2: Decision Tree
 We can avoid the redundant tests
of the previous algorithm using a
decision tree approach.
 Suppose we start with x1 >= x2.
This knocks either x1 or x2 out of
contention to be the max.
 If the conidition is true, we need to
see which is larger, x1 or x3.

Python Programming, 3/e 70


Strategy 2: Decision Tree
if x1 >= x2:
if x1 >= x3:
maxval = x1
else:
maxval = x3
else:
if x2 >= x3:
maxval = x2
else
maxval = x3

Python Programming, 3/e 71


Strategy 2: Decision Tree

Python Programming, 3/e 72


Strategy 2: Decision Tree
 This approach makes exactly two
comparisons, regardless of the
ordering of the original three
variables.
 However, this approach is more
complicated than the first. To find
the max of four values you’d need
if-elses nested three levels deep
with eight assignment statements!
Python Programming, 3/e 73
Strategy 3:
Sequential Processing
 How would you solve the problem?
 You could probably look at three
numbers and just know which is the
largest. But what if you were given a list
of a hundred numbers?
 One strategy is to scan through the list
looking for a big number. When one is
found, mark it, and continue looking. If
you find a larger value, mark it, erase
the previous mark, and continue
looking.
Python Programming, 3/e 74
Strategy 3:
Sequential Processing

Python Programming, 3/e 75


Strategy 3:
Sequential Processing
 This idea can easily be translated
into Python.
maxval = x1
if x2 > maxval:
maxval = x2
if x3 > maxval:
maxval = x3

Python Programming, 3/e 76


Strategy 3:
Sequential Programming
 This process is repetitive and lends
itself to using a loop.
 We prompt the user for a number,
we compare it to our current max,
if it is larger, we update the max
value, repeat.

Python Programming, 3/e 77


Strategy 3:
Sequential Programming
# program: maxn.py
# Finds the maximum of a series of numbers

def main():
n = int(input("How many numbers are there? "))

# Set max to be the first value


max = float(input("Enter a number >> "))

# Now compare the n-1 successive values


for i in range(n-1):
x = float(input("Enter a number >> "))
if x > max:
max = x

print("The largest value is", max)

Python Programming, 3/e 78


Strategy 4:
Use Python
 Python has a built-in function
called max that returns the largest
of its parameters.
 def main():
x1, x2, x3 = eval(input("Please enter three values: "))
print("The largest value is", max(x1, x2, x3))

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Some Lessons
 There’s usually more than one way to
solve a problem.
 Don’t rush to code the first idea that

pops out of your head. Think about


the design and ask if there’s a better
way to approach the problem.
 Your first task is to find a correct

algorithm. After that, strive for clarity,


simplicity, efficiency, scalability, and
elegance.

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Some Lessons
 Be the computer.
 One of the best ways to formulate an
algorithm is to ask yourself how you
would solve the problem.
 This straightforward approach is often
simple, clear, and efficient enough.

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Some Lessons
 Generality is good.
 Consideration of a more general
problem can lead to a better solution
for some special case.
 If the max of n program is just as
easy to write as the max of three,
write the more general program
because it’s more likely to be useful
in other situations.
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Some Lessons
 Don’t reinvent the wheel.
 If the problem you’re trying to solve is
one that lots of other people have
encountered, find out if there’s
already a solution for it!
 As you learn to program, designing
programs from scratch is a great
experience!
 Truly expert programmers know when
to borrow.
Python Programming, 3/e 83

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