DIVE INTO PYTHON

1. Welcome to this course where you will begin your journey through data science! My name is
Hillary Green-Lerman, and I'll be your guide to the wonderful world of Python. The purpose of this
course is to gently introduce you to programming and data science by playing with some simple
datasets. This course is intended for learners with no coding experience. I'll aim to answer all of your
questions as we move through the course.

2. What you'll learn: In this course, you'll learn how to write and execute Python code with
DataCamp, load data from a spreadsheet file into Python, and turn that loaded data into beautiful
plots. By the end of this course, you'll be familiar with Python syntax and ready to learn more.

3. Solving a mystery with data: While we learn, we'll be solving a mystery using data. Someone has
kidnapped Bayes, DataCamp's prize-winning Golden Retriever. The kidnapper has left clues that we
can analyze. We'll use techniques like chemical analysis and letter frequency to pick the correct
suspect.

4. Using the IPython shell: Before we can solve our mystery, we need to get familiar with how code is
written. There are two ways of executing code on DataCamp. The first is the IPython Shell, located in
the bottom-right of each exercise. In the Python Shell (which is sometimes called "the console"), we
can type a single line of code use the "Return" key to execute that line. This is a good place for
experimenting with new ideas.

5. Using the script editor: The second place we can enter code is the script editor, located in the top-
right of each exercise. The script editor lets us write multiple lines of code, as well as comments,
which are lines beginning with a "pound" or "hash" symbol. When we are ready to execute all of the
code in the script editor, we can click "Run Code". When we think our code is correct, we can click
"Submit Answer".

6. What is a module? Now that we know where to write code, let's dive into our first concept:
modules. Modules help group together related tools in Python. For example, we might want to group
together all of the tools that make different types of charts: bar charts, line charts, and histograms.
Some common examples of modules are matplotlib (which creates charts), pandas (which loads
tabular data), scikit-learn (which performs machine learning), scipy (which contains statistics
functions), and nltk (which works with text data).

7. Importing pandas and matplotlib: We must import any modules that we plan on using before we
can write any other code. We do this at the top of the script editor. If we don't import modules, we
can't use the tools that they contain. In this example, by importing the modules pandas and
matplotlib, we're able to unbox the tools necessary to create a graph. In this case, pandas gives us
the tools to read data from a file, and matplotlib gives us the tools to plot the data.
8. Importing a module: To import a module, simply type "import" followed by a space and then the
module name. Oftentimes, module names are long, so we can shorten them by using an alias. To give
your module an alias, just add "as" and a shorter name to your original import statement. This
statement will alias "pandas" as "pd".

CREATING VARIABLES
# Creating variables

1. Previously, you started writing Python code in the script editor and the console. You learned what
a module is, and how to import it. You also learned to simplify module names using an alias. In this
lesson, you'll learn about variables, which help us reference a piece of data for later use.

2. Filing a missing puppy report: In the previous lesson, we told you about our kidnapped Golden
Retriever, Bayes. To solve the mystery, let's start by filling out a Missing Puppy Report. In order to file
the report, we'll need to record some information about Bayes, such as his height and weight. In
Python, we will represent each line from the missing puppy report with a variable. A variable gives us
an easy-to-use shortcut to a piece of data. Whenever we use the variable name in our code, it will be
replaced with the original piece of data. In this case, one of our variables is "name" and its value is
"Bayes". Another variable is "height" and its value is "24". We define variables using an equals sign.

3. Rules for variable names: When defining variables, we need to follow a few rules. Variables must
start with a letter. You can use a capital letter, but we usually use lowercase. After the first letter, we
can use letters, numbers, and underscores in our variable name. We can't use special characters like
exclamation points or dashes. Variable names are case sensitive, so these two different ways of
typing "my_var" would be different variables. On the left are some examples of valid variable names,
and on the right are some examples of invalid variable names.

4. Error messages: Let's see what happens when we try to use an invalid variable name. The variable
bayes-height is invalid because of the hyphen. When we try to enter it, we will receive a SyntaxError.
Above the Syntax Error, we see the line of code that caused the problem and a caret that indicates
approximately where the problem occurred.

5. Floats and strings: Variables come in many "flavors". Two important flavors are floats and strings.
Floats represent either integers or decimals. Strings represent text and can contain letters, numbers,
spaces, and special characters. We define a string by putting either single or double quotes around a
piece of text.
 FUNCTIONS

A function is an action. It turns one or more inputs into an output. In this example, the function is
called "turn_orange". The input is a shape (such as a blue square) and the "action" is to color the
input shape orange.

Consider the following code snippet. In a previous lesson, we learned that this code would read
some data and produce a graph. In this snippet there are three functions: pd-dot-read_csv turns a
csv file into a table in Python, plt-dot-plot turns data into a line plot, and plt-dot-show displays the
plot in a new window. Let's learn about functions by examining one from our code snippets.

This function takes the data from the table in the bottom-left and plots letter_index on the x-axis and
frequency on the y-axis, resulting in the graph on the bottom-right.

First, let’s look at the function name. The function name has two parts: the first tells us what module
the function comes from. In this case, it's from plt, which was the alias we used when we imported
matplotlib. The second part (which comes after the period) is the name of the function: plot. After
the name of the function, comes a set of parentheses. The inputs to the function will all come inside
of these parentheses.

Positional arguments are one type of input that a function can have. Positional arguments must
come in a specific order. In this case, the first argument is the x-value of each point, and the second
argument is the y-value of each point. Each argument is separated by a comma. If you forget the
comma, you will get a syntax error. It's good practice to put a space after the comma, but your code
will run even if you forget that space.

Keyword arguments come after positional arguments, but if there are multiple keyword arguments,
they can come in any order. In this case, the keyword argument is called "label". After the equals
sign, we've put the actual input to the function, which is "Ransom". Eventually, this argument will let
us create a legend for our graph. Before you start practicing, let's discuss two common errors for
functions: If you get a syntax error, you might be missing commas between each argument. Both
positional and keyword arguments need to be separated by commas. Alternatively, you might be
missing a parenthesis at the end of your function. While you write code, syntax highlighting in the
script editor will help remind you to close your parentheses.

6. Common string mistakes: It's easy to get errors when working with strings. If you get one, there
are two likely causes. You might have forgotten to put quotation marks around your string. If you do
this, Python will think that your string is a variable, and if that variable wasn't previously defined,
you'll get a "name error". Alternatively, you might have started your string with one type of quote
and finished with a different type. If you mix single and double quotes, you'll get a syntax error.

7. Displaying variables: If we want to know the current value of one of our variables, we can use
"print". We simply type the word "print" and put our variable name inside of the parentheses. When
we execute the code, the value will appear in the console. Remember: the variable name is not a
string, so we don't put it in quotes.

1. [Stack Overflow - gitlab runner throws "Cleaning up file based variables

00](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/65412154/gitlab-runner-throws-cleaning-up-file-based-
variables-0001-error-job-failed)

2. [Real Python - How to Run Your Python Scripts and Code](https://realpython.com/run-python-

scripts/)

3. [Stack Overflow - Import modules using an alias

[duplicate]](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/42459939/import-modules-using-an-alias)

5. [Visual Studio Code - Get Started Tutorial for

Python](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/python/python-tutorial)

6. [Bottega - How to Import a Module and Assign an Alias in Python]

(https://bottega.devcamp.com/full-stack-development-javascript-python/guide/how-to-import-
module-assign-alias-python)