What is Python?

• Python is a popular programming

language. It was created by Guido van
Rossum, and released in 1991.
• It is used for:
• web development (server-side),
• software development,
• mathematics,
• system scripting.
What can Python do?

• Python can be used on a server to create web applications.

• Python can be used alongside software to create workflows.
• Python can connect to database systems. It can also read and modify files.
• Python can be used to handle big data and perform complex mathematics.
• Python can be used for rapid prototyping, or for production-ready software
development.
Why Python?
• Python works on different platforms
(Windows, Mac, Linux, Raspberry Pi, etc).
• Python has a simple syntax similar to the
English language.
• Python has syntax that allows developers
to write programs with fewer lines than
some other programming languages.
Why Python?

• Python runs on an interpreter system, meaning that code can be executed as soon
as it is written. This means that prototyping can be very quick.
• Python can be treated in a procedural way, an object-oriented way or a functional
way.
Good to know

• The most recent major version of Python is Python 3. However, Python 2, although
not being updated with anything other than security updates, is still quite popular.
• Python will be written in a text editor. It is possible to write Python in an Integrated
Development Environment, such as Thonny, Pycharm, Netbeans or Eclipse which are
particularly useful when managing larger collections of Python files.
Python Syntax compared to other programming languages

• Python was designed for readability, and has some similarities to the English language
with influence from mathematics.
• Python uses new lines to complete a command, as opposed to other programming
languages which often use semicolons or parentheses.
• Python relies on indentation, using whitespace, to define scope; such as the scope of
loops, functions and classes. Other programming languages often use curly-brackets for
this purpose.
Example

• print("Hello, World!")
Python Comments

• Comments can be used to explain Python code.

• Comments can be used to make the code more readable.
• Comments can be used to prevent execution when testing code.

Comments starts with a #, and Python will ignore them:

• #This is a comment
print("Hello, World!")

Comments can be placed at the end of a line, and Python will ignore the rest of the line:

• print("Hello, World!") #This is a comment

A comment does not have to be text that explains the code, it can also be used to
prevent Python from executing code:

• #print("Hello, World!")
print("Cheers, Mate!")
Python Variables

• Variables are containers for storing data values.

• Python has no command for declaring a variable.

A variable is created the moment you first assign a value to it.

• x=5
y = "John"
print(x)
print(y)

Variables do not need to be declared with any particular type, and can even change type
after they have been set.
• x=4 # x is of type int
x = "Sally" # x is now of type str
print(x)

Casting

• If you want to specify the data type of a variable, this can be done with casting.
• x = str(3) # x will be '3'
y = int(3) # y will be 3
z = float(3) # z will be 3.0
Get the Type

• You can get the data type of a variable with the type() function.
• x=5
y = "John"
print(type(x))
print(type(y))

Single or Double Quotes?

• String variables can be declared either by using single or double quotes:

• x = "John"
# is the same as
x = 'John'

Case-Sensitive

• Variable names are case-sensitive.

• This will create two variables:
• a=4
A = "Sally"
#A will not overwrite a
Python - Variable Names

• A variable can have a short name (like x and y) or a more descriptive name (age,
carname, total_volume).

Rules for Python variables:

• A variable name must start with a letter or the underscore character

• A variable name cannot start with a number
• A variable name can only contain alpha-numeric characters and underscores (A-z, 0-9, and _ )
• Variable names are case-sensitive (age, Age and AGE are three different variables)
• A variable name cannot be any of the Python keywords.
Legal variable names: Illegal variable names:

myvar = "John" 2myvar = "John"

my_var = "John" my-var = "John"
_my_var = "John" my var = "John"
myVar = "John"
MYVAR = "John"
myvar2 = "John"
Multi Words Variable Names

• Variable names with more than one word can be difficult to read.
• There are several techniques you can use to make them more readable:

Camel Case

• Each word, except the first, starts with a capital letter:

• myVariableName = "John"

Pascal Case

• Each word starts with a capital letter:

• MyVariableName = "John"

Snake Case

• Each word is separated by an underscore character:

• my_variable_name = "John"
Python Variables - Assign Multiple Values

• Many Values to Multiple Variables

• Python allows you to assign values to multiple variables in one line:
• x, y, z = "Orange", "Banana", "Cherry"
print(x)
print(y)
print(z)

One Value to Multiple Variables

• you can assign the same value to multiple variables in one line:
• x = y = z = "Orange"
print(x)
print(y)
print(z)

Unpack a Collection

• If you have a collection of values in a list, tuple etc. Python allows you to extract the values into variables. This is
called unpacking.

Unpack a list:

• fruits = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

x, y, z = fruits
print(x)
print(y)
print(z)
Python - Output Variables

• The Python print() function is often used to output variables.

• x = "Python is awesome"
print(x)

In the print() function, you output multiple variables, separated by a comma:

• x = "Python"
y = "is"
z = "awesome"
print(x, y, z)

You can also use the + operator to output multiple variables:

• x = "Python "
y = "is "
z = "awesome"
print(x + y + z)
For numbers, the + character works as a mathematical operator:

• x=5
y = 10
print(x + y)

In the print() function, when you try to combine a string and a number with
the + operator, Python will give you an error:

• x=5
y = "John"
print(x + y)

The best way to output multiple variables in the print() function is to separate them with
commas, which even support different data types:

• x=5
y = "John"
print(x, y)
Python - Global Variables

• Variables that are created outside of a function (as in all of the examples above) are known as global variables.
• Global variables can be used by everyone, both inside of functions and outside.
• Create a variable outside of a function, and use it inside the function
• x = "awesome"

def myfunc():
print("Python is " + x)

myfunc()
Python - Global Variables

• If you create a variable with the same name inside a function, this variable will be local, and can only be used inside the function. The global variable
with the same name will remain as it was, global and with the original value.
• Create a variable inside a function, with the same name as the global variable
• x = "awesome"

def myfunc():
x = "fantastic"
print("Python is " + x)

myfunc()

print("Python is " + x)
Python - The global Keyword

• Normally, when you create a variable inside a function, that variable is local, and can only be used inside that function.
• To create a global variable inside a function, you can use the global keyword.
• If you use the global keyword, the variable belongs to the global scope:
• def myfunc():
global x
x = "fantastic"

myfunc()

print("Python is " + x)
Python - The global Keyword

• Also, use the global keyword if you want to change a global variable inside a function.
• To change the value of a global variable inside a function, refer to the variable by using the global keyword:
• x = "awesome"

def myfunc():
global x
x = "fantastic"

myfunc()

print("Python is " + x)
Built-in Data Types

• In programming, data type is an important concept.

• Variables can store data of different types, and different types can do different things.
• Python has the following data types built-in by default, in these categories:
• Text Type: str
• Numeric Types: int, float, complex
• Sequence Types: list, tuple, range
• Mapping Type: dict
• Set Types: set, frozenset
• Boolean Type: bool
• Binary Types: bytes, bytearray, memoryview
• None Type: NoneType
Python Numbers

• There are three numeric types in Python:

• int
• float
• complex
• Variables of numeric types are created when you assign a value to them:
• Example
• x = 1 # int
y = 2.8 # float
z = 1j # complex
• print(type(x))
print(type(y))
print(type(z))
Int

• Int, or integer, is a whole number, positive or negative, without decimals, of unlimited length.
• Example
• Integers:
• x=1
y = 35656222554887711
z = -3255522

print(type(x))
print(type(y))
print(type(z))
Float

• Float, or "floating point number" is a number, positive or negative, containing one or more
decimals.
• x = 1.10
y = 1.0
z = -35.59
print(type(x))
print(type(y))
print(type(z))
Float

• Float can also be scientific numbers with an "e" to indicate the power of 10.
• x = 35e3
y = 12E4
z = -87.7e100
print(type(x))
print(type(y))
print(type(z))
Complex

• Complex numbers are written with a "j" as the imaginary part:

• Example
• x = 3+5j
y = 5j
z = -5j

print(type(x))
print(type(y))
print(type(z))
 Type Conversion

• You can convert from one type to another with the int(), float(), and complex() methods:
• Example
• Convert from one type to another:
• x = 1 # int
y = 2.8 # float
z = 1j # complex
#convert from int to float:
a = float(x)
#convert from float to int:
b = int(y)
#convert from int to complex:
c = complex(x)
print(a)
print(b)
print(c)
print(type(a))
print(type(b))
print(type(c))
Random Number

• Python does not have a random() function to make a random number, but Python has
a built-in module called random that can be used to make random numbers:
• Example
• Import the random module, and display a random number between 1 and 9:
• import random

print(random.randrange(1, 10))
Python Strings

• Strings in python are surrounded by either single quotation marks, or double quotation marks.
• 'hello' is the same as "hello".
• You can display a string literal with the print() function:
• Example
• print("Hello")
print('Hello')
• Assign String to a Variable
• Assigning a string to a variable is done with the variable name followed by an equal sign and the string:
• Example
• a = "Hello"
print(a)
Multiline Strings

• You can assign a multiline string to a variable by using three quotes:

• Example
• You can use three double quotes:
• a = """Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet,
consectetur adipiscing elit,
sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt
ut labore et dolore magna aliqua."""
print(a)
• Or three single quotes:
• Example
• a = '''Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet,
consectetur adipiscing elit,
sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt
ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.'''
print(a)
Strings are Arrays

• Like many other popular programming languages, strings in Python are arrays of bytes representing unicode
characters.
• However, Python does not have a character data type, a single character is simply a string with a length of 1.
• Square brackets can be used to access elements of the string.
• Example
• Get the character at position 1 (remember that the first character has the position 0):
• a = "Hello, World!"
print(a[1])
Looping Through a String

• Since strings are arrays, we can loop through the characters in a string, with
a for loop.
• Example
• Loop through the letters in the word "banana":
• for x in "banana":
print(x)
String Length

• To get the length of a string, use the len() function.

• Example
• The len() function returns the length of a string:
• a = "Hello, World!"
print(len(a))
Check String

• To check if a certain phrase or character is present in a string, we can use the keyword in.
• Example
• Check if "free" is present in the following text:
• txt = "The best things in life are free!"
print("free" in txt)

Use it in an if statement:

• Print only if "free" is present:

• txt = "The best things in life are free!"
if "free" in txt:
print("Yes, 'free' is present.")
Check if NOT

• To check if a certain phrase or character is NOT present in a string, we can use the keyword not in.
• Check if "expensive" is NOT present in the following text:
• txt = "The best things in life are free!"
print("expensive" not in txt)

Use it in an if statement:

• print only if "expensive" is NOT present:

• txt = "The best things in life are free!"
if "expensive" not in txt:
print("No, 'expensive' is NOT present.")
Slice From the Start

• By leaving out the start index, the range will start at the first character:
• Example
• Get the characters from the start to position 5 (not included):
• b = "Hello, World!"
print(b[:5])
Slice To the End

• By leaving out the end index, the range will go to the end:
• Example
• Get the characters from position 2, and all the way to the end:
• b = "Hello, World!"
print(b[2:])
Negative Indexing

• Use negative indexes to start the slice from the end of the string:Example
• Get the characters:
• From: "o" in "World!" (position -5)
• To, but not included: "d" in "World!" (position -2):
• b = "Hello, World!"
print(b[-5:-2])
Python - Modify Strings

• Python has a set of built-in methods that you can use on strings.

Upper Case

• The upper() method returns the string in upper case:

• a = "Hello, World!"
print(a.upper())

Lower Case

• The lower() method returns the string in lower case:

• a = "Hello, World!"
print(a.lower())
Remove Whitespace

• Whitespace is the space before and/or after the actual text, and very often you want to remove this space.
• The strip() method removes any whitespace from the beginning or the end:
• a = " Hello, World! "
print(a.strip()) # returns "Hello, World!"

Replace String

• Example
• The replace() method replaces a string with another string:
• a = "Hello, World!"
print(a.replace("H", "J"))
Split String

• The split() method returns a list where the text between the specified separator
becomes the list items.
• Example
• The split() method splits the string into substrings if it finds instances of the
separator:
• a = "Hello, World!"
print(a.split(",")) # returns ['Hello', ' World!']
Python - String Concatenation

• To concatenate, or combine, two strings you can use the + operator.

• Example
• Merge variable a with variable b into variable c:
• a = "Hello"
b = "World"
c=a+b
print(c)
• Example
• To add a space between them, add a " ":
• a = "Hello"
b = "World"
c=a+""+b
print(c)
Python - Format - Strings

• we cannot combine strings and numbers like this:

• Example
• age = 36
txt = "My name is John, I am " + age
print(txt)
• But we can combine strings and numbers by using the format() method!
• The format() method takes the passed arguments, formats them, and places them in the string where the placeholders {} are:
• Example
• Use the format() method to insert numbers into strings:
• age = 36
txt = "My name is John, and I am {}"
print(txt.format(age))
Python - Format - Strings

• The format() method takes unlimited number of arguments, and are placed into the respective placeholders:
• Example
• quantity = 3
itemno = 567
price = 49.95
myorder = "I want {} pieces of item {} for {} dollars."
print(myorder.format(quantity, itemno, price))
• You can use index numbers {0} to be sure the arguments are placed in the correct placeholders:
• Example
• quantity = 3
itemno = 567
price = 49.95
myorder = "I want to pay {2} dollars for {0} pieces of item {1}."
print(myorder.format(quantity, itemno, price))
Python - Escape Characters

• To insert characters that are illegal in a string, use an escape character.

• An escape character is a backslash \ followed by the character you want to insert.
• An example of an illegal character is a double quote inside a string that is surrounded by double quotes:
• Example
• You will get an error if you use double quotes inside a string that is surrounded by double quotes:
• txt = "We are the so-called "Vikings" from the north."
• To fix this problem, use the escape character \":
• Example
• The escape character allows you to use double quotes when you normally would not be allowed:
• txt = "We are the so-called \"Vikings\" from the north."
Python - Escape Characters

• Other escape characters used in Python:

• \' Single Quote
• \\ Backslash
• \n New Line
• \r Carriage Return
• \t Tab
• \b Backspace
• \f Form Feed
• \ooo Octal value
• \xhh Hex value
Python - String Methods

• Python has a set of built-in methods that you can use on strings
• All string methods return new values. They do not change the original string.
• capitalize() Converts the first character to upper case
• casefold()Converts string into lower case
• center() Returns a centered string
• count() Returns the number of times a specified value occurs in a
string
Python - String Methods

• encode() Returns an encoded version of the string

• endswith() Returns true if the string ends with the specified value
• expandtabs() Sets the tab size of the string
• find() Searches the string for a specified value and
returns the position of where it was found
• format() Formats specified values in a string
• format_map() Formats specified values in a string
Python - String Methods

• index() Searches the string for a specified value and

returns the position of where it was found
• isalnum() Returns True if all characters in the string are alphanumeric
• isalpha() Returns True if all characters in the string are in the alphabet
• isascii() Returns True if all characters in the string are ascii characters
• isdecimal() Returns True if all characters in the string are
decimals
Python - String Methods

• isdigit() Returns True if all characters in the string are digits

• isidentifier() Returns True if the string is an identifier
• islower() Returns True if all characters in the string are lower case
• isnumeric() Returns True if all characters in the string are numeric
• isprintable() Returns True if all characters in the string are printable
Python - String Methods

• isspace() Returns True if all characters in the string are whitespaces

• istitle() Returns True if the string follows the rules of a title
• isupper() Returns True if all characters in the string are upper case
• join() Joins the elements of an iterable to the
end of the string
• ljust() Returns a left justified version of the string
• lower() Converts a string into lower case
Python - String Methods

• lstrip() Returns a left trim version of the string

• maketrans() Returns a translation table to be used in
translations
• partition() Returns a tuple where the string is parted into three parts
• replace() Returns a string where a specified value is replaced with a
specified value
• rfind() Searches the string for a specified value and returns
the last position of where it was found
Python - String Methods

• rindex() Searches the string for a specified value and

returns the last position of where it was found
• rjust() Returns a right justified version of the string
• rpartition() Returns a tuple where the string is parted into three
parts
• rsplit() Splits the string at the specified separator, and
returns a list
Python - String Methods

• rstrip() Returns a right trim version of the string

• split() Splits the string at the specified
separator, and returns a list
• splitlines() Splits the string at line breaks and returns a list
• startswith() Returns true if the string starts with the specified
value
• strip() Returns a trimmed version of the string
Python Booleans

• Booleans represent one of two values: True or False.

• Boolean Values
• In programming you often need to know if an expression is True or False.
• You can evaluate any expression in Python, and get one of two answers, True or False.
• When you compare two values, the expression is evaluated and Python returns the Boolean answer:
• Example
• print(10 > 9)
print(10 == 9)
print(10 < 9)
Python Operators

• Operators are used to perform operations on variables and values.

• In the example below, we use the + operator to add together two values:
• Example
• print(10 + 5)
• Python divides the operators in the following groups:
• Arithmetic operators
• Assignment operators
• Comparison operators
• Logical operators
• Identity operators
• Membership operators
• Bitwise operators
Operator
Python ArithmeticName
Operators Example
+ Addition x+y x=5 8
y=3
print(x + y)
- Subtraction x-y x=5 2
y=3
print(x - y)
* Multiplication x*y x=5 15
y=3
print(x * y)
•/ Arithmetic operators
Divisionare used with
x / numeric
y values xto= perform
12 4 mathematical
common
y=3
operations: print(x / y)
Python Arithmetic Operators
Operator Name Example
% Modulus x%y x=5 1
y=2
print(x % y)
** Exponentiation x ** y x=2 32
y=5
print(x ** y)
// Floor division x // y x = 15 7
y=2
print(x // y)
• Arithmetic operators are used with numeric values to perform common mathematical
operations: