Programming in Python I

Notes
Python I Notes Page 2

Table of Contents
Python Features Overview ................................................................................................... 11
Key Features........................................................................................................................ 11
Python’s Programming Features ................................................................................................... 15

Python.org .......................................................................................................................... 16
About ........................................................................................................................................... 17
Downloads ................................................................................................................................... 18
Documentation ............................................................................................................................ 19
Community Section ...................................................................................................................... 20
Other Web Resources ................................................................................................................... 21

Programming Language Compatibility .................................................................................. 22

Python and Other Languages ........................................................................................................ 23

Languages ........................................................................................................................... 24
Variable............................................................................................................................... 25
Scenario 1............................................................................................................................ 25
Scenario 2............................................................................................................................ 25
Scenario 3............................................................................................................................ 25
Variable Naming ........................................................................................................................... 27

Program 1............................................................................................................................ 29
Program 2............................................................................................................................ 29
Assignment Operator.................................................................................................................... 31
Python’s Math Operators.............................................................................................................. 31

Symbol ................................................................................................................................ 31
Operation ............................................................................................................................ 31
Comments ............................................................................................................................................37
Line Continuation Character .......................................................................................................... 38

Syntax ................................................................................................................................. 40
The Print Function ............................................................................................................... 41
The Bin Statement ........................................................................................................................ 42
In Anaconda .................................................................................................................................44

Overview ............................................................................................................................. 46
Boolean Expressions ..................................................................................................................... 48
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Relational Operator ............................................................................................................. 48

Meaning .............................................................................................................................. 48
Logical Operators.......................................................................................................................... 54

Operator ............................................................................................................................. 54
Meaning .............................................................................................................................. 54
Boolean Variables ......................................................................................................................... 58

Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 59
Indexing of a String ....................................................................................................................... 60
Len Function .................................................................................................................................62
Concatenation .............................................................................................................................. 63
String Slicing .................................................................................................................................63

Python Code ........................................................................................................................ 64

Result .................................................................................................................................. 64
“In” and “Not In” Operators .......................................................................................................... 65
String Testing Methods ................................................................................................................. 67

String Testing Method ......................................................................................................... 67

Result .................................................................................................................................. 67
String Modification Methods ..............................................................................................................69

String Modification Method ................................................................................................. 69

Result .................................................................................................................................. 69
String Search and Replace Methods ...................................................................................................70

String Search and Replace Methods ..................................................................................... 70

Results ................................................................................................................................ 70
The Input Function .............................................................................................................. 72
Common Type Conversions .................................................................................................. 73
Meaning .............................................................................................................................. 73
The Print Function ........................................................................................................................ 74

Statement ........................................................................................................................... 74
Output ................................................................................................................................ 74
Python Code ........................................................................................................................ 75
Result .................................................................................................................................. 75
Python Code ........................................................................................................................ 75
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Result .................................................................................................................................. 75
Python Code ........................................................................................................................ 76
Result .................................................................................................................................. 76
Python Code ........................................................................................................................ 76
Result .................................................................................................................................. 76
Python Code ........................................................................................................................ 77
Result .................................................................................................................................. 77
Python Code ........................................................................................................................ 78
Result .................................................................................................................................. 78
Python Code ........................................................................................................................ 79
Result .................................................................................................................................. 79
Python’s Escape Characters........................................................................................................... 79

Escape Character ................................................................................................................. 79

Effect................................................................................................................................... 79
String Concatenation in the Print Function .................................................................................... 83

Python Code ........................................................................................................................ 83

Result .................................................................................................................................. 83
String Formatting.......................................................................................................................... 88
Formatting Floating Point Values .................................................................................................. 89

Python Code ........................................................................................................................ 89

Result .................................................................................................................................. 89
Formatting Integer Values............................................................................................................. 91

Python Code ........................................................................................................................ 91

Result .................................................................................................................................. 91
Formatting String Values............................................................................................................... 92

Python Code ........................................................................................................................ 92

Result .................................................................................................................................. 92
Combination of Format Specifiers .................................................................................................92

Looping Structure ................................................................................................................ 94

Background .................................................................................................................................. 95
The Primary Loop Statements ....................................................................................................... 97
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Overview ........................................................................................................................... 100

Python Example.......................................................................................................................... 102

Overview – The While Loop ............................................................................................... 104

For Loops........................................................................................................................... 108
General Form .................................................................................................................... 109
Index ................................................................................................................................. 119
Value................................................................................................................................. 119
Overview ........................................................................................................................... 120
Overview ........................................................................................................................... 126
Local Variables .................................................................................................................. 126
Global Variables ......................................................................................................................... 131

Overview ........................................................................................................................... 133

Definitions......................................................................................................................... 133
Global Function Example ............................................................................................................ 134
Local Function Example............................................................................................................... 135
Lambda Function Example .......................................................................................................... 136
Methods Example ....................................................................................................................... 137

Overview ........................................................................................................................... 138

Overview ........................................................................................................................... 140
Overview ........................................................................................................................... 145
Regular Function ............................................................................................................... 145
Lambda Function ........................................................................................................................ 145

Overview ........................................................................................................................... 147

Overview ........................................................................................................................... 153
Overview ........................................................................................................................... 155
Overview ........................................................................................................................... 159
Creating a Module ............................................................................................................. 159
File Handling Overview ............................................................................................................... 163
Opening a File: General Format ................................................................................................... 166
Writing to a File: General Format ................................................................................................ 168
Reading from a File – Entire Content: General Format.................................................................. 169
Reading from a File – Line by Line: General Format ...................................................................... 169
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Detecting End of File Using While ................................................................................................ 171

Detecting End of File Using For Loop ........................................................................................... 172
Record Structure ........................................................................................................................ 172
Modifying an Existing File ........................................................................................................... 174

Overview ........................................................................................................................... 176

Sequence Operators ................................................................................................................... 176
Indexing ..................................................................................................................................... 177
• start defaults to 0 ......................................................................................................................178
• end defaults to the length of the list .........................................................................................178
• increment defaults to 1 .............................................................................................................178
Concatenation ............................................................................................................................ 181
Checking for Membership ........................................................................................................... 181
Repetitions ................................................................................................................................. 183

Lists Overview ................................................................................................................... 184

Creating Lists ..................................................................................................................... 185
Functions for Lists ....................................................................................................................... 190
Out of Bounds ............................................................................................................................ 190
For Loop ..................................................................................................................................... 192
Alternative for Loop.................................................................................................................... 193
List Slicing................................................................................................................................... 193
+ Operator.................................................................................................................................. 194
* Operator.................................................................................................................................. 195
in/not in Operator ...................................................................................................................... 196
List Methods............................................................................................................................... 196
Copying a List ............................................................................................................................. 200
Functions and Lists ..................................................................................................................... 200
Multidimensional Lists ................................................................................................................ 202
Overview.................................................................................................................................... 203
Why Use a Tuple? ....................................................................................................................... 203
Creating Tuples........................................................................................................................... 204
Tuple Operations ........................................................................................................................ 206

Operation .......................................................................................................................... 206

Meaning ............................................................................................................................ 206
Tuple Indexing and Slicing ........................................................................................................... 209

Index ................................................................................................................................. 210

Value................................................................................................................................. 210
No Enclosing Delimiters .............................................................................................................. 211
Updating Tuples ......................................................................................................................... 212
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Delete Tuple Elements ................................................................................................................ 212

Higher Order Functions Overview ............................................................................................... 214
Overview.................................................................................................................................... 217
Dictionary: Creation.................................................................................................................... 218
Dictionary: Adding and Modifying Entries.................................................................................... 219
Dictionary: Deleting Entries......................................................................................................... 220
Dictionary: Retrieving Values ...................................................................................................... 220
Dictionary: Looping Through all Entries Example ......................................................................... 222
Dictionary: Determining the Size of the Dictionary....................................................................... 222
Dictionary: Checking to see if the Dictionary Contains a Certain Entry .......................................... 223
Dictionary: Methods ................................................................................................................... 224

Overview ........................................................................................................................... 225

Types of Exception Handling ....................................................................................................... 226
Programmer-defined .........................................................................................................................226
System-defined ..................................................................................................................................226
Assertions ...........................................................................................................................................226

Exception Handling – Usage ............................................................................................... 227

Common Errors .......................................................................................................................... 228
Outside Components .................................................................................................................. 228
Real Life Example: ..............................................................................................................................229
Example: .............................................................................................................................................230
Example ..............................................................................................................................................232
Exception Handling – Control Flow Mechanism ........................................................................... 234

The Overuse of Exception Handling to Control the Flow of a Program ................................. 236
Pros to the use of Exception Handling Control the Flow ...................................................... 237
Overview ........................................................................................................................... 239
Overview ........................................................................................................................... 243
Theoretical Approach to Efficiency .............................................................................................. 245
Linear Search .............................................................................................................................. 245
• If the search value is not on the list, then n searches have to be performed. ..........................245
• If the search value is not on the list, then n/2 searches on average have to be performed. ...245
What is C? .................................................................................................................................. 248

Overview ........................................................................................................................... 249

Test Design Techniques............................................................................................................... 250

Overview ........................................................................................................................... 252

Test Design Techniques............................................................................................................... 255

Overview ........................................................................................................................... 256

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• Although there are more clever ways to implement database lookups, I always programmed it
in the simplest manner. ......................................................................................................................257
• If you are developing your own algorithms, then the keep-it-simple idea may not hold but try
to follow this principle as much as possible. ......................................................................................257
• Another pair of eyes also means that you set aside the program and take a break from the
examination. .......................................................................................................................................258
• Work on some other project or get a good night’s sleep! Sometimes then the problem is
obvious. ..............................................................................................................................................258

Overview ........................................................................................................................... 260

Defining Classes – General Form ................................................................................................. 261
Accessing Instance Variables ....................................................................................................... 264
Methods..................................................................................................................................... 266
Overview.................................................................................................................................... 269
Types ......................................................................................................................................... 272
Polynomial ................................................................................................................................. 273
Trinomial.................................................................................................................................... 274

Overview ........................................................................................................................... 278

Abstraction................................................................................................................................. 278
Encapsulation ............................................................................................................................. 280
Data Types and Objects .............................................................................................................. 280
Data Attributes ........................................................................................................................... 281

Overview ........................................................................................................................... 282

Overview ........................................................................................................................... 286
Sample Mean ............................................................................................................................. 286
Programming Considerations ...................................................................................................... 288
Median ...............................................................................................................................................288
Programming Considerations ...................................................................................................... 290
Programming Considerations ...................................................................................................... 291
Programming Considerations ...................................................................................................... 292
Standard Deviation ..................................................................................................................... 293
Variance (S2) = average squared deviation of values from mean .....................................................293
Standard deviation (S) = square root of the variance ........................................................................293
Think it through!......................................................................................................................... 293

Functions........................................................................................................................... 294
Measures of Spread ........................................................................................................... 294
Don’t recreate the wheel! ........................................................................................................... 294

Built-in Functions............................................................................................................... 295

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Overview ........................................................................................................................... 297

Programming Considerations ...................................................................................................... 299

Probability Simulations ...................................................................................................... 300

Programming Considerations ...................................................................................................... 301
Programming Considerations ...................................................................................................... 301
Programming Considerations ...................................................................................................... 303

Critical Values.................................................................................................................... 304

Programming Considerations ...................................................................................................... 305
Classical Approach (By Hand) ............................................................................................................306
Programming Considerations ...................................................................................................... 307
Linear Correlation Coefficient ..................................................................................................... 308

Correlation Coefficient....................................................................................................... 309

Correlation ........................................................................................................................ 310
Formulas ........................................................................................................................... 310
Use .................................................................................................................................... 310
Linear Regression Equation ......................................................................................................... 311

Simple Linear Regression ................................................................................................... 311

Formulas ........................................................................................................................... 311
Meanings .......................................................................................................................... 311
Confidence Intervals ................................................................................................................... 314
Estimation ..........................................................................................................................................315
NumPy and SciPy ........................................................................................................................ 316
Mean Confidence Interval in Python ........................................................................................... 317

Overview of Hypothesis Testing ......................................................................................... 318

• Null hypothesis – Statement regarding the value(s) of unknown parameter(s)(will always
contain an equality), Represented by H0 ............................................................................................318
• Alternative hypothesis – Statement contradictory to the null hypothesis (will always contain an
inequality), Represented by H1 ...........................................................................................................318
• Quantity based on sample data and null hypothesis used to test between null and alternative
hypotheses .........................................................................................................................................318

Hypothesis Testing ............................................................................................................ 319

Formulas ........................................................................................................................... 319
Terms ................................................................................................................................ 320
• α is the probability of Type I error .............................................................................................321
• β is the probability of Type II error ............................................................................................321
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Standard Normal Distribution ..................................................................................................... 321

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Notes: Overview of Python Features

Python Features Overview

Python was designed for simplicity but a programming language needs to have
certain basic programming features. Some of the key features are listed in the
next section. For a full discussion of these features, visit python.org:
https://wiki.python.org/moin/BeginnersGuide/Overview

Key Features

1. Uses a syntax that makes the program readable by humans. There is a

reason why the Python site lists this feature first: Many languages are
very difficult to interpret straightaway.

Consider this piece of code (not any specific language):

a = 1000
b = 0.05
c=a*b
print(“sales tax was “, c)

Compared to this code:

sales = 1000
tax_rate = 0.05
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sales_tax = sales * tax_rate

print(“sales tax was “, sales_tax)

This comparison shows how it is possible to make a program easier to read

simply by ensuring an effective use of variable names. Syntax can also make
a program more readable. Consider this APL program:

x [□x 6?40]

This program generates 6 random numbers from 1 to 40 that are non-

repeating and sorted from smallest to largest. Even if the variable name
was not x, then the syntax makes this code very difficult to read.

2. Syntax is simpler than other popular high-level languages. Besides

making programming easier for beginners, it allows for rapid
development. “Simpler” in this case means increased productivity and a
reduction in errors.
3. Has a large standard library. This simplifies and speeds up coding,
reducing development time. If you have a particular function that you
would like to perform in Python, there probably is a library that would
simplify the coding; that is, someone else has already done the testing
and research for the code and made it available as a packaged library.
4. As an example. I was debugging a socket Perl program for a website on a
Windows platform that sent emails. The program had to be fixed before I
could go home. The company was potentially losing sales leads. After six
hours, I asked if the program had to be written in Perl using sockets.
Python I Notes Page 13

Based on their reaction, these individuals did not even know what Perl or
sockets were used for. I found sample ASP code for sending an email (not
a library) and had the website working in twenty minutes. From a
business standpoint, they would have liked the idea to have come up six
hours ago due to potentially losing customers. Libraries are very similar to
this example. A company would prefer you to use a pre-constructed
library versus writing the code from scratch. Libraries may be a bit tricky
to set up in your environment but, once they are, it can drastically reduce
the development time of your project!
5. Python’s interpretative nature allows easy testing and debugging.
Compiled languages are often difficult to test and debug, mainly because
code must be compiled before it can be tested. Syntax errors are fairly
easy to identify and correct. Logic errors, on the other hand, can be
challenging as well as testing. Python’s interpretative nature allows a line-
by-line testing and debugging.
6. Easy integration of modules implemented in a compiled language. It can
be a challenge to bring in new languages into an organization. Consider if
all of your systems are written in C including the payroll component.
Consider if the desire is to add a new feature into Payroll but have it
programming in Python. If there is no way to interface programming
languages, the new feature will have to be done in C. Without an
appropriate interface, there would be two options: 1) Rewrite the entire
system in Python (costly and not practical) or 2) Write the new feature in
C (which is why many companies continue to program in the same archaic
language).
Python I Notes Page 14

7. Can be embedded into an application that allows a programmable

interface. This feature again allows for greater compatibility between
different systems.
8. Is designed to run on many platforms. Many programs are discovering
that applications need to be run on different operating
systems/hardware. For example, the developers of YouTube would like
their videos to run on every operating system/hardware.
9. Is available under an open source license and has free versions. Open
source has many nice features that are not included in the scope of this
course. For further reading on the benefits of open source:

http://www.cioinsight.com/it-strategy/application-
development/slideshows/nine-advantages-of-open-source-software.html
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Python’s Programming Features

The following is a list of Python’s Programming features:

1. Many basic data types, including numbers (floating point, complex, and
unlimited-length long integers), strings, lists, and dictionaries.
2. Object-oriented programming, including classes and multiple
inheritances.
3. Modules and packages to allow re-use of code.
4. Exception handling, including raising and catching exceptions.
5. Data types are strongly and dynamically typed.
6. Generators and list comprehensions.
7. Excellent memory management that is automatically handled.

The above items can be found in other programming languages. The website is
pointing out these features to emphasize that, while Python has many features
that simplify coding, it also has the same programming features as more complex
languages.
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Notes: Python Documentation and Resources

Python.org

Python documentation and resources can be found on the main Python website:
www.python.org

Keep in mind that this website might change on a regular basis but the main
resources that are presented here should be present somewhere on the site.
Python I Notes Page 17

About

The About section has some starting information on this website and the
resources available, but the quotes section is the most interesting part of this
section. Here is a quote from https://www.python.org/about/quotes/: “Python is
fast enough for our site and allows us to produce maintainable features in record
times, with a minimum of developers,” said Cuong Do, Software Architect,
YouTube.com. There are many interesting quotes on this website to point out the
power of Python.
Python I Notes Page 18

Downloads

In this course, Anaconda software will be used but, if you wish to install all the
libraries by hand, then the download section will give you the basic Python
software to get started. In this section, you will find many different releases of the
software. Realize that old releases are kept on the site because some of the
newer releases may have software bugs.
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Documentation

This is a very useful section for Python documentation. For this course, the Python
3.x Docs will be your best resource. If you are struggling with the syntax or how to
use a particular function, then this page should be your starting point. Sometimes
doing a web search on www.google.com will help with syntax, but the code found
might be written in Python 2.x and, unfortunately, Python 3.x is not backward
compatible, thus the code may not work. This can be frustrating. Watch your
versions of documentation and examples, whether it is 2.x or 3.x.
Python I Notes Page 20

Community Section

Open source does not necessarily mean that the software is well designed or
supported. SourceForge (http://sourceforge.net/) is a repository of open source
projects. Many of these projects (software) are not updated on a regular basis
and do not have community support. Imagine a software product that is being
used in a business on a regular basis. If there is a software issue, then it can be
frustrating if there is no support. One huge advantage of Python is that the
software and many of the libraries are well supported. If you have difficulty, you
can post your problem in the Community section and get help. Once you develop
a comfort level, be sure to support others by contributing!
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Other Web Resources

• Python FAQ: https://docs.python.org/3/faq/general.html#how-do-i-

obtain-a-copy-of-the-python-source

• Python Beginner’s Guide Wiki:

https://wiki.python.org/moin/BeginnersGuide

• Learn Python Tutorial: http://www.learnpython.org/

• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Python: http://docs.python-

guide.org/en/latest/intro/learning/

• Code Academy, Python: http://www.codecademy.com/en/tracks/python

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Notes: Python Integration with Other

Programming Languages

Programming Language Compatibility

One challenge for a business is the incompatibility of different programming

languages. Consider a company that has spent the last five years programming
their systems in the C Programming language. For this example, let’s assume that
the payroll piece is written in C. The payroll department wishes to add a new
module for investment options, so they contact the information systems
department. The information systems department is happy to implement the new
module for them, but the vision is to eventually write everything in the Java
programming language.

Perhaps the C code is running on a Windows server and the Java piece needs to
be on the server’s intranet. The first major hurdle is that these programming
languages do not seamlessly interface with each other: C cannot call Java
functions, and Java cannot call C functions, without modification. Another
potential problem is the hardware component, which can be tricky to solve, as
certain languages are designed to run on specific types of machines. This is
especially true for newer language system requirements, and companies often
ignore this problem by only using newer languages on brand new systems. One
particular system, used by a company, had a module of their purchasing system
written in Paradox for DOS. The system did not interface with any other system
due to this lack of integration. For twenty years this system was used “as is” since
Python I Notes Page 23

the company did not want to rewrite it from scratch. In 2012, the Paradox for DOS
system finally disappeared as the company purchased/installed SAP (Systems,
Applications & Products in Data Processing).

Visual Studio was a major attempt at solving this integration dilemma. The hope
was that programmers could program in whatever language they wish and then
these pieces of code would be able to communicate. Instead of compiling to
machine language, it would be compiled to Microsoft Intermediate Language
(MSIL) but it would require the .NET framework on the target platform in order to
run successfully. This original concept has changed over time and many benefits
and flaws of Microsoft’s product could be listed, but that is beyond the scope of
this class. Visual Studio had many other goals besides the integration with other
programming languages.

Python and Other Languages

Python was designed to have the hooks for allowing an easier integration. Keep in
mind that this is still not a simple task. The following URL contains information on
some of the projects in the work on simplifying integration with other languages:

https://wiki.python.org/moin/IntegratingPythonWithOtherLanguages
Python I Notes Page 24

The languages listed on this page are:

Languages

• C • Perl

• C++ • PHP

• Delphi • R

• Fortran • Objective-C

• Lisp • Tcl

• Prolog • Lua

• Java • OCaml

• C# / .NET • Eiffel

• Haskell

Some of these open source projects are established and supported, while others
are weak. For example, RPy has not seen a release since October 21, 2012, as of
this writing. Compare that to the Jython project, which had a release just three
months ago as of this writing.

Keep in mind that integration is not an easy task and, if you need to integrate
various programming languages with Python, then do the appropriate research
and choose a “mature”, supported, open source project. It will save you many
headaches in the long run.
Python I Notes Page 25

Notes: Basic Elements of Python

Variable

A variable is a programmer-defined name that represents a data value in a

computer program. In some programming languages, the variable has to be
declared before it can be used. In Python, the assignment of a value to a variable
name not only declares it but also assigns it with a value.

Example:

This declares the variable called salary and assigns it a value. The type of data on
the right side of the equals determines the data type (integer, float, etc.).
Compare these three scenarios:

Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3

Result: 1000 Result: 1000.0 Result: lots of money

The type of this The type of this The type of this variable is

variable is an variable is a float (has a string

integer decimals)
Python I Notes Page 26

This can be confusing, but a programmer must put thought into the data type of
the variable and the operations.

Note: The print statement displays whatever is inside the

parenthesis on the screen; in this case the value of the
variable.

Example:

Perhaps the programmer wants to perform integer division. In this case, example
3 divided by 2 would give 1. But the result that is obtained in this program is 1.5.
This will be examined in more detail later in the course, but realize that
assumptions about data and types should be verified with proper testing!
Python I Notes Page 27

Variable Naming

Certain restrictions exist on the naming of variables:

1. No Python keywords. For example, “print” is a keyword so you cannot use

it as a variable name. Some of the keywords are listed on this website:
https://docs.python.org/3/reference/lexical_analysis.html#keywords

Python is case sensitive, so a programmer could have a program similar to

this:

Example:

This would execute properly and give a result of 5. It is very confusing

though, as the only difference between the keyword and the variable is the
letter case of the P. If the code looked like this:

Example:

This gives the following error message “TypeError: 'int' object is not
callable”. Best practices of programming indicate not to use any variable
name close to a keyword. It makes your program very confusing.
Python I Notes Page 28

2. No spaces in the variable name. It might be acceptable in the naming of a

word document, for example, but variables cannot have spaces.
3. The first character must either be a letter of the alphabet (uppercase or
lowercase) or an underscore (_), though underscores are usually reserved
for internal functions – more on those later in the course.
4. Remember that Python is case-sensitive so declaring variables named
“salary” and “Salary” would be separate because of the use of the
lowercase “s” versus uppercase “S”.

Coding Tip: Variable names are critical to creating a program that

self-documents its purpose.
Python I Notes Page 29

Consider these two programs:

Program 1 Program 2

The print statement could include a The poor usage of variable names
bit more about the purpose of the causes the purpose of this program
program, but its goal is still clear. to remain cryptic. Even still, it
accomplishes the same task as the
program on the left.

I actually saw one program running in production at a company that was

programmed similarly to the code on the right. It was actually worse, using the
“goto” structure to control the flow of the program and it was not even a
structured use of “goto” (which was acceptable use at that company). I could not
figure out how to make the correct change that the business unit wished to
implement. I ended up rewriting the program from scratch. It took less time to
rewrite the code as it would have to modify the existing code. This poorly
structured type of code is referred to as “spaghetti code.” The same idea as
spaghetti being intertwined and going to random locations is how spaghetti code
is designed. Structured programming and proper programming practices will be
emphasized in this course.
Python I Notes Page 30

Coding Tip: Proper use of the underscore and

uppercase/lowercase will improve the readability of a
program. For example, compare a variable called
prevyearssales compared to Prev_Years_Sales. Keep in mind
that the variable name should be kept as short as possible to
achieve readability. You might be able to name
Prev_Years_Sales as This_is_the_Previous_Years_Sales but it
would be overkill and complicate the program instead of
making it easier to read!
Python I Notes Page 31

Assignment Operator

The assignment operator is a single equals (=).

Example:
tax = salary * tax_rate

This code retrieves the values of salary and tax_rate, then multiplies them
together, assigning the resulting value to the variable called tax. The right-hand
side of the assignment operator follows the order of operations. The left-hand
side of the assignment operator must be variable!
Coding Tip: If you do not remember the order
Python’s Math Operators of operations (many programmers do
not remember), then use parenthesis to
indicate an operation that should be
done first.

Symbol Operation

+ Addition

- Subtraction

* Multiplication

/ Division

% Remainder
Python I Notes Page 32

** Exponent

Example:
Formula for adding sales tax to the order amount

If you are concerned that the program will first add order_amt + order_amt, and
then multiply it by sales_tax_rate. You can then rewrite the program like so:

Example:
Total = order amount + (order amount * sales tax rate)

The parenthesis will make sure that it multiplies order_amt * sales_tax_rate first!
Python I Notes Page 33

In case you are curious, the original statement was fine. Order of operations
handles multiplication before addition. A business would probably prefer extra
parenthesis to avoid errors. Programming or math errors could potentially cost a
company millions of dollars. As an example, the Mars Climate Orbiter went into
the atmosphere of Mars and was destroyed due to a simple English/metric
conversion error. The estimated cost of this error was 193.1 million dollars.
Python I Notes Page 34

Example:

jan _ sales  feb _ sales

2

would be written in a computer program as

(jan_sales + feb_sales) / 2

Example:
Consider this interest formula:

Coding Tip: If there is more than a single number or

nt
 r variable in the exponent then it is also necessary to
A  P 1   put parenthesis around the exponent.
 n

would be written in a computer program as:

A = P * (1 + r / n)**(n * t)
Python I Notes Page 35

A variable next to a variable does not indicate multiplication in programming. For

example, nt does not mean n times t; instead, the computer program will think
this is a new variable called nt. Also, a number or a variable next to the
parenthesis in a formula must be programmed with a * to indicate multiplication
in the actual computer program.

Coding tip: Do not assume that since the functionality of the current
version of the programming language is designed in a certain
manner it will always function in the same manner in future
versions. For example, consider the following code:

Whenever possible, control the flow of the program using parenthesis or type

Example Python 2.7:

Gives the result of 1

Example Python 3.4:

Gives the result of 1.5

Python I Notes Page 36

conversions, which will be examined in due course. If the Python program that
you are running is for short-term use, these considerations do not typically have
to be examined closely; however, if the program is for long-term use, any changes
that are introduced in the new versions implemented by the computer
department may significantly impact your programs and you should perform
comprehensive testing after the upgrade. This is not the same as upgrading to a
new version of a word processor!

How do I know this? I was surprised Python had changed integer division between
2.x and 3.x. I performed a Google search of “how to do integer division in 3.0?”
and my first result gave me the answer. Do not assume, as a programmer, that
you are expected to know all the aspects of programming. You must be willing to
explore all the resources available. This does not mean that you contact your
instructor every time that you have a question. I once had a computer “expert”

Example Python 3.4

Integer Division

Gives the result of 1

explain what an “expert” represents in any field. It simply means someone who
knows more than you. Certifications in certain computer fields may indicate a
Python I Notes Page 37

level of expertise but do not mean the individual knows everything. A better view
of a true “expert” is that they know where to find the answer!

Comments

Comments are not run by the interpreter but are included in the program to
document important items that will help the programmer (or any programmer) to
understand the purpose of the code at a later time. A single line comment is
indicated by a #, such as this:

Example:

Multi-line comments can be created by using three double quotes to denote the
start of the comment area and three double quotes to denote where it ends.

Example:
Python I Notes Page 38

This is from Anaconda. Note that the single line comment is grayed out, while the
multiple line comment is in green. This particular comment is code that I do not
want the Python interpreter to run. This illustrates the most common use of
multi-line comments. Instead of deleting the code, it can be commented out so
you can refer to the old code or, perhaps, use it if the new code does not work. It
can be an invaluable testing and debugging strategy, which we will look at later in
this course.

Line Continuation Character

Sometimes the line becomes too long and it is beneficial to use the line
continuation character, which is a backslash (\).

For example, the following code:

num1 = 2
num2 = 8
num3 = 10
num4 = 20
print("The first number is ", num1, " and the second number
is ", num2, " and the third number is ", num3, " and the fourth
number is ", num4)
Python I Notes Page 39

Could be written using the line continuation character to improve readability:

num1 = 2
num2 = 8
num3 = 10
num4 = 20
print("The first number is ", num1, \
" and the second number is ", num2, \
" and the third number is ", num3, \
" and the fourth number is ", num4)
Python I Notes Page 40

Notes: Python Syntax

Syntax

Syntax is the form that the various language elements can take. It describes
exactly how to write the commands. Consider this syntax form for the print
statement from the documentation pages of Python (located at
https://docs.python.org/3.4/index.html):

These are sometimes difficult to read. The more that you program in Python and
refer to the syntax, the more these will make sense.
Python I Notes Page 41

The Print Function

Consider this example:

The result will be: happy days

Notice in the syntax of the print function that it has an option for sep. This is what
is known as a keyword argument, and defines the separator between the two
items. By default, this is a space, but anything can be specified as in this
modification:

The result will be: happy:days

While this may not seem to make sense, consider if we wished to put the data in
CSV format (comma separated value), then we would want commas between the
data and would change the code to look like:

The result will be:

Python I Notes Page 42

happy,days
sad,days

This could be Edit-Copied and pasted directly into Excel!

Notice that the “end” option is not specified, but defaults to “\n,” which causes
the new line to occur, equivalent to hitting the Enter button in a text editor.

The Bin Statement

Consider another example of syntax for a function called bin:

This syntax is straightforward and easy to understand. It appears to convert an

integer number to binary. Consider this example code:

Without any testing, the syntax told us that the function will “convert an integer
to a binary string.” Since it said “string,” the %s format specifier was used. The
result was:
Python I Notes Page 43

Decimal to Binary Conversion Program

Input an integer: 153
The binary number is 0b10011001

The result was not entirely expected. With an input of 153, the answer desired
was 10011001 but it placed an 0b on the front, which is Python's way of
specifying that the number is binary (rather than the integer ten million eleven
thousand and one). This 0b, of course, can be removed using string functions if
desired.

The syntax can be invaluable in helping figure out how to write a statement. In
Python 2.x there was no print function, as it was actually a print statement. It
could be that you will be faced with working with a different version of the
interpreter and the syntax will help guide you on the changes.
Python I Notes Page 44

In Anaconda

Consider another example of a syntax for a function called “bin”:

Anaconda has a nice feature. When you type in the Python language element, a
popup with the appropriate syntax will be displayed:
Python I Notes Page 45

However, this is only semi-useful since it disappears from the screen. If you place
your cursor on the Python language element and hit CTRL-I, the syntax will appear
in the development environment as in this example:

Not all Python editors have this feature so it is important to be able to access the
documentation on the Python website.
Python I Notes Page 46

Notes: Branching Programs

Overview

If car is low on gas then

Stop and Get Gas
Drive to Work
or else if the car is not low
on gas then
Drive to Work

This particular code above could be simplified. This simplification can be seen in
this diagram:
Python I Notes Page 47

This if-then-else structure allows the driver to analyze the situation and branch
accordingly. This same concept holds true in a Python program.

General form (IF statement)

if condition:
statement
statement
etc.

The if statement is called a decision structure. It is a special case of a control

structure that allows certain statements to be performed only if a certain
condition is true. The condition is a Boolean expression and is either “true” or
“false”.
Coding Tip: Sometimes it is better to set the initial
value (in this case, a bonus was set equal to
zero) and then let your control structure
modify the value if the condition is met.

Example: Calculation Program

If the total sales achieved by a salesperson exceeds $70,000, this person will
receive a bonus of 10% of their sales, or else this person will not receive a bonus.
Python I Notes Page 48

Boolean Expressions

Normally one of the following relational operators is used in a Boolean

expression:

Relational Meaning
Operator

< Less than

> Greater than

<= Less than or equal to

>= Greater than or equal

to

== Equals

!= Not Equals

Coding Tip: Consider if a company wishes to

give a 20% bonus for a salesperson who
Boolean expression form makes more than $100,000 and a 10%
bonus for a salesperson who makes more
than $70,000. Assume sales are integers.
Item 1 {relational operator} Item 2

Item 1 and Item 2 are typically either variables or numbers. Remember that
the concept of the Boolean expression is that it is either true or false, which
means that at least one of the items has to be a variable. It would not make
Python I Notes Page 49

any sense for both to be a number, as this would result in it being always true
or always false.

Example:
Revised Bonus Calculation Program

Pause for a few minutes and consider what is wrong with this code.

If the tot_sales is greater than $100,000, then it performs the first if statement
BUT also performs the second if statement, which re-calculates the bonus at the
10% level. Now we could re-arrange the if statements such so that the code could
work but there is an easier method.

The first form is the if-else statement:

General form (IF-ELSE statement)

Python I Notes Page 50

if condition:
statement
statement
etc.
else:
statement
statement
etc.

Python checks the first condition and, if true, will execute the indented code
underneath it. If false, it will skip to, and execute, the code contained underneath
else.

This decision structure works well in many circumstances, such as the following
coding example in which a company wishes to pay time and a half for any hours
over 40 hours. Assume that hours and pay rate are integers.

Example:
Python I Notes Page 51

While this structure is useful in many cases, Python provides an extension that
will help in the coding issues presented above:

General form (IF-ELIF-ELSE statement)

if condition_1:
statement Note: This form only has one elif
but Python allows as many
statement as is necessary for your
code! Remember that only
etc. one block of code will be
executed here, that is, if
condition_1 is true, only
elif condition_2: that chunk of code will be
executed and the rest will
statement be skipped. The elif is
equivalent to an “else if” in
statement other programming
languages.
etc.
else:
statement
statement
etc.
Python I Notes Page 52

Now let’s revisit our code above. Consider if a company wishes to give a 20%
bonus for a salesperson who makes more than $100,000 and a 10% bonus for a
salesperson who makes more than $70,000. Assume sales are integers.

Example:
Fixed Revised Bonus Calculation Program
Python I Notes Page 53

The statements contained in an if, if-else, or an if-elif-else statement can contain

decision structures within themselves if necessary. For example, the design might
be:

if condition_1:
if condition_1a: Coding Tip: If possible, keep computer programs simple.
Embedded decision structures can be beneficial but
statement one indentation issue can cause code to run
incorrectly. Remember, the spacing determines
statement which part of the decision structure that the
statement belongs under.
etc.
else
statement
statement
etc.
else:
statement
statement
etc.
Python I Notes Page 54

Logical Operators

Often in programming, the basic idea is to keep it simple, which works out well
since that is also one of Python’s main features! Logical operators allow us to
reduce the need for complicated nested decision structures.

Operator Meaning

and The Boolean expressions on both sides of the

“and” must be true for the entire expression to
be true.

or One or both of the Boolean expressions on

both sides of the “or” must be true for the
entire expression to be true.

not This is a unary operator. It reverses the truth

of the expression that follows it.
Python I Notes Page 55

Consider if a company wishes to give a 20% bonus for a salesperson who makes
more than $50,000 and less than $100,000. Assume that sales are integers.

Example:
Python I Notes Page 56

This code could be accomplished with a nested structure but again the idea is to
keep it simple!

Example:

Note: Short-Circuit evaluation does exist in Python but is not

typically necessary for financial programming.
Although the following code is nonsensical, it does
illustrate the idea:
Python I Notes Page 57

If num is equal to zero then we would not want 9 / num to occur. It would cause
the incomputable division by zero. The “and” structure will check num != 0 first
which, if false, will not even check the second Boolean expression, since BOTH
have to be true for the “and” operator. This is short-circuit programming. Usually,
there are much simpler ways to program the above code (with more lines of
code) and short-circuit evaluation should be avoided.
Python I Notes Page 58

Boolean Variables

The Boolean expression does not necessarily have to contain a relational

operator; it can simply contain a Boolean variable.

Example:

Sometimes using Boolean variables can be confusing to another programmer. It

makes perfect sense when you are writing the code but may not to another
individual. Sometimes it is best to use the following practice:

Example:
Python I Notes Page 59

Notes: Strings and String Functions

Introduction

Strings are simply sequences of characters. This sequence is called different

names in different programming languages. The sequence of characters in the
string "happy" can be seen by this example:

Will give the result:

h
a
p
p
y

The code iterates through each character of the string, storing the character in a
variable called ch. Many programming languages require a more complex manner
of traversing through a string character by character. This for loop would allow
character by character manipulation/calculation. Consider this example that
counts how many a’s are in a string:
Python I Notes Page 60

Will give the result:

The number of a’s was 5

Indexing of a String

As in other programming languages, the character index starts at 0 and goes up to

the length of the string minus one. Consider the string “happy”:

Even though the length of this string is 5, the indexing goes from 0 to 4. To
reference a particular letter in this string, the indexing would follow this form:
variable[index]. For example, to access the a in happy the program would need to
access in the following manner:
Python I Notes Page 61

The result would be: a

Using indexing, the same result can be achieved as the first example with the
following code:

The for loop will be covered in more detail later on, but this loops through x,
equaling the values from 0 to 4 (one less than the number that you see in the
range function). The result would be:

h
a
p
p
y

Indexing can also occur from the end of the string in this manner:
Python I Notes Page 62

The code to access the a from the end of the string would look like:

Len Function

In some cases, the length of the string is not known to begin with, but can be
determined with the len function. Consider this example to count how many a’s
are in the string input by the user:

Notice that, in this problem, len(str1) dynamically determines the length of the
string at runtime. The result is the following:

Please enter the following text: happy days are here again
The number of a’s is 5
Python I Notes Page 63

Concatenation

String variables can be concatenated in the same manner that was presented with
the print function. Consider this code:

The result is as follows: “happy days are here again”

String Slicing

The capability exists to slice part of the string out. This is similar to the mid or
substr function in other programming languages. The general form is:

variable[begin:end]

Where begin is the starting index of the string to be extracted and end is the
ending index. The string that will be extracted starts at the starting index and goes
to one less than the ending index. Consider the following code:
Python I Notes Page 64

The result would be:

Input date (mm/dd/yyyy)12/13/2014

The month was 12
The day was 13
The year was 2014

Note that the datestr[0:2] pulls the substring that goes from index = 0 to index = 1
(one less than the ending index). This code has some serious issues with it.
Consider if the date that is entered would be 1/1/2014, what do you think would
happen? We will talk about ways to handle this issue shortly.

Other variations of the slicing exist and are demonstrated with these examples:

Python Code Result

happy

(Leaving the beginning index

blank defaults the beginning
Python I Notes Page 65

index to 0, so this example

extracts the string from index 0
to index 5.)

are here again

(Leaving the ending index

blank defaults to the length of
the string, so this example
extracts the string from index
11 to the end of str1.)

again

(Inputting a negative index in

for the beginning and leaving
the ending blank causes the
last n characters to be
extracted, so this example
extracts the last 5 characters.)

“In” and “Not In” Operators

The in operator tests whether one string is in another string. For example,
consider the following code:
Python I Notes Page 66

The result of this function is true or false so, oftentimes, it is used in an “if”
statement! The result of this code is:

it contains the string ‘are’

Consider if the string is changed to Are (with an uppercase A):

The result of this code is:

it does not contain the string ‘are’

The not in operator works in a similar manner, but checks to see if the string does
not contain the search string.
Python I Notes Page 67

String Testing Methods

The following functions test various states of a given string:

String Testing Method Result

isalnum() True if contains either letters or

numbers and is at least one character
long.

isalpha() True if contains only letters and is at

least one character long.

isdigit() True if contains only numbers and is at

least one character long.

islower() True if all letters are lowercase and

contain at least one letter.

isupper() True if all letters are uppercase and

contain at least one letter.

isspace() True if string only has whitespace

characters and contains at least one
whitespace character.

These are not functions but methods, so they follow the variable name as in this
example:
Python I Notes Page 68

Where begin is the starting index of the string to be extracted and end is the
ending index. The string that will be extracted starts at the starting index and goes
to one less than the ending index. Consider the following code:

This code gives the following result: it is upper

Python I Notes Page 69

String Modification Methods

String Modification Method Result

lower() Changes all letters to lowercase

upper() Changes all letters to uppercase

lstrip() Strips out all leading whitespace characters

rstrip() Strips out all trailing whitespace characters

strip() Strips out all leading and trailing

whitespace characters

lstrip(char) Strips out all copies of the given character

at the beginning of the string

rstrip(char) Strips out all copies of the given character

at the end of the string

strip(char) Strips out all copies of the given character

at the beginning and end of the string

As before, these are methods and should follow the variable name. Many times in
comparisons and searches through strings the programmer does not wish the
wrong case to cause issues. If the data was going to be stored in a database, the
free-form entry of data can cause database issues. For example, one of my first
database applications asked for the state. I allowed it to be entered in freeform.
For one state like Kansas, there were many forms entered in: KS, Ks, ks, kansas,
Python I Notes Page 70

Kansas, etc. I realized my mistake early and corrected the issue. Uppercase versus
lowercase will cause major headaches in databases! A simple method like upper()
can change all the letters to uppercase.

String Search and Replace Methods

String Search and Replace Methods Results

startswith(substring) True if the string begins with the given

substring

endswith(substring) True if the string ends with the given

substring

find(substring) If the string contains the given

find(substring,start_index) substring, then it returns the beginning

index of the first substring.
find(substring,start_index,end_index)

replace(old_substring,new_substring) replaces all copies of the old_substring

with the new_substring
Python I Notes Page 71

Let’s revisit the date entry program:

The code needs to be changed to prevent errors when a single digit is entered for
the month or day. Here is the modified code:
Python I Notes Page 72

Notes: Basic Input/Output

The Input Function

The input function allows your Python program to receive input from the user of
the program.

General format

variable = input(prompt)

The prompt is a string that is displayed to the user of the program prompting the

Example:

input. The input function returns a string value and attempts to place it into the
variable. This example prompts the user for their first name, then places it into a
variable called name.

The only type that is returned is a string type so an appropriate conversion must
be done if another type is desired.
Python I Notes Page 73

Common Type Conversions Meaning

int(variable) Converts the variable type to

integer if possible

float(variable) Converts the variable type to

floating point if possible

str(variable) Converts the variable to a string

(not necessary for the input
function since it is already a
string)

The following example inputs two integers, multiplies them together, and prints
the answer.

The int( ) surrounding the input function converts it from String to Integer. If an

Example:

invalid value is entered, an error will occur.

Python I Notes Page 74

The Print Function

As seen in earlier sections, the print function allows your Python program to print
various types of information to the screen.

Statement Output

Have a good day

Have a good day

Have a good day

Have a good day

Some items to note:

1. Either the double quotes or single quotes can surround the text message
that is to be printed to the screen.
2. Different text can be separated by a comma within one print statement but
it puts a space automatically between the text. Typically, in programming,
we would expect the last print statement to return the result
“Haveagoodday” but spaces are automatically put between text.
Python I Notes Page 75

The reason why the print function allows either the double quotes or single
quotes is because the programmer might actually want to have either one inside
the text. For example, if the following string is to be printed: I’m home – then this
could be accomplished with the following code:

Python Code Result

I’m home

A single quote was necessary inside the string so we used double quotes to
surround all the text.

Consider if we wanted to print: The author said “Good Job!” – then the following
code would work:

Python Code Result

The author said, “Good

Job!”

The double quotes were necessary inside the string so we used single quotes to
surround all the text. The Python programmer may have to use a combination of
these items if the desire is to have the string contain both the double quotes and
single quotes. Another technique is to use triple double quotes or triple single
quotes, as in this example:
Python I Notes Page 76

Python Code Result

The
author’s
quote was
“Good Job!”

The triple quotes allow the programmer to print items on multiple lines, as in this
example:

Python Code Result

Python I Notes Page 77

Four score and seven years ago our

fathers brought forth on this
continent, a new nation, conceived
in Liberty, and dedicated to the
proposition that all men are
created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil

war, testing whether that nation,
or any nation so conceived and so
dedicated, can long endure. We
are met on a great battle-field of
that war. We have come to
dedicate a portion of that field, as
a final resting place for those who
here gave their lives that that
nation might live. It is altogether
fitting and proper that we should
do this.

Obviously, this is beneficial if the programmer has many lines of text to print to
the screen.

The print function can also print the value of a variable.

Python Code Result

Python I Notes Page 78

3.0

Good job!

These three examples show printing variables containing integers, floats, and
strings

The print function can also print the value of an expression.

Python Code Result

19

0.3333333333333333

With the basic print function, the formatting may not be the desired format
(perhaps you wanted 0.33 as the result of the second statement).

The print function can also print a combination string of literals, variables, and
expressions.
Python I Notes Page 79

Python Code Result

1 divided by 3
is equal to
0.3333333333
333333

Python’s Escape Characters

As seen in earlier sections, the print function allows your Python program to print
various types of information to the screen.

Escape Character Effect

\n Output advances to the next

line

\t Output advances to the next

horizontal tab position

\’ Output has a single quote put

into the current position

\” Output has a double quote put

into the current position
Python I Notes Page 80

\\ Output has a backslash put into

the current position

More escape characters exist and can be found at this URL:

https://docs.python.org/2/reference/lexical_analysis.html#string-literals The
additional escape characters are for specialized purposes and not used in regular
programming. For example, I used many of these escape characters when
programming a Zebra printer to print serial tags containing barcodes for spectrum
analyzers. Combinations of the above escape characters can be used, as shown in
the following examples.

Example:

The \n repeated three times will cause “job!” to be printed three lines down. The
regular print function only goes down one line, as seen below.

Example:

The \t is useful to print information in a semi-formatted state.

Python I Notes Page 81

Example:

This gives the output:

As can be seen, the formatting is poor. Consider the use of \t in the print
functions:

Example:
Python I Notes Page 82

This gives the output:

For a text-based output, the \t and proper use of spaces allow an acceptable
display. Do not use spaces alone to control output. Different fonts will display
differently!
Python I Notes Page 83

String Concatenation in the Print Function

The plus sign (+) can be used in a print function to concatenate two strings. The
purpose of this can be seen in the following examples:

Python Code Result

comp uter

(remember the separator [,]

puts a space between the two
strings)

computer

(the use of the + eliminates that

extra space if it is not desired in
the output)
Python I Notes Page 84

Variables can be included in this concatenation as long as their type is string.

Example:

gives the following syntax error: TypeError: Can't convert 'int' object to str

Example:

implicitly

The data type of num would need to be converted within the print function, as in
this code:
Python I Notes Page 85

The str(num) returns the value of num as a string value that can then be
concatenated with “happy” and “days.” If the type of num is already a string then
there is no need to use the str function:

Example:

gives the following result:

Example:

Coding Tip: Improper use of the types of the variable is a

common mistake for beginning programmers.
Python I Notes Page 86

Obviously, this is not the desired result. The problem in this Python program is
that the numbers were not changed from strings to integers. Consider this
change:

Example:

The int function converts the input from the user from a string type to an integer
type and now gives the desired result:

Keep in mind that the lack of syntax errors does not mean you do not have other
errors in your program!
Python I Notes Page 87
Python I Notes Page 88

String Formatting

Any programming language should have more functionality than what was
presented above. Python is no different. It includes two components: format

Example:

specifier and string format operator. The format specifier is embedded into the
string portion of the print function. The string format operator connects the
number to be formatted (although it does not have to be just a number, as we
will see in the examples).

In this example, the value of the variable num1 will be placed in the location of
the format specifier using the format indicated.
Python I Notes Page 89

Formatting Floating Point Values

The %f is the format specifier for a floating point number. The .2 will round the
number to two decimal places. In order to round the number to three decimal
places, %.3f would be used. The decimal point in the format specifier specifies the
“actual” decimal point.

The above code would give the following result:

Consider the following examples to better understand the formatting for floating
point values.

Python Code Result

The answer is 4.00

(Note: the data type of

num1 is an integer, but
the formatting handled
the conversion
automatically. Even
though there were no
actual decimal places, it
still put zeros for the
two specified decimal
Python I Notes Page 90

places)

The answer is ' 4.00'

(Although the font does

not show it, there are
actually eight
placeholders within the
single quotes, of which
two are decimals and
one is the decimal
point). Extra spaces are
placed before the
number to ensure the
total length is the
number before the
decimal (in this code it
would be eight). This
size allows decimal
points to be lined up in
output from a Python
program.
Python I Notes Page 91

Formatting Integer Values

The %d is the format specifier for an integer number. The d represents the
decimal integer. This does not mean that it has decimals since an integer does
not. The %d does not have as many options as the floating point specifier.

Python Code Result

The answer is 4

The answer is 4

(The 8 in this example

makes sure that the width is
exactly eight, so it pads
seven spaces in front of the
4).
Python I Notes Page 92

Formatting String Values

The %s is the format specifier for strings. The s represents string. Consider these
examples:

Python Code Result

The name was new York

The name was new York

(The 10 before the s serves

the same purpose as in the
%d example; it makes sure
that it is 10 characters in
length.)

Combination of Format Specifiers

A print function can have more than one specifier.

Example:

which gives the result: 41.34 divided by 8.59 equals 4.8122

Python I Notes Page 93

Notice in this example that there are three format specifiers and, in the
parenthesis, there are three values (num1,num2,num1/num2).

Notice the num1/num2 is an expression. The values following the string format
operator can be variable(s), number(s), or expression(s). If there is more than one
value, then it must have parenthesis around it, as in the above example.
Python I Notes Page 94

Notes: Looping

Looping Structure

Many applications in programming would not be possible or even feasible without

some form of looping structure. Without looping capability, every computer
program would just have a single pass capability. Some mathematical formulas
would be extremely difficult to program.

Consider the following example:

Imagine if we wanted our program to be capable of calculating up to 1,000

factorial, we would then need to add 1,986 more lines of code, including
Python I Notes Page 95

multiplication of each and every number beforehand. It would work but what if
the user wanted to calculate 1,001 factorial? Clearly, this would be a tedious task.

Consider another example of a program that prints a shipping label for a single
customer. It might work perfectly and give the result. But then imagine if your
company is as large as Amazon which, according to Business Insider, sold 27
million items on Cyber Monday! Your shipping program would need to be run 27
million times to handle just that one day.

Looping allows multiple iterations of a specified chunk of code. They can be

designed to run a set number of times, or make use of variables, which may alter
the number of iterations. For example, imagine a program that takes your name
as an input (e.g. Jane), and then prints out each letter. The loop could run four
times and always produce J-a-n-e. To have it work for names more or less than
four characters, you'd probably want a variable to store the length of the input
name, and have it loop for the value of that variable.

Background

In the past, much of the looping done was with what are known as goto
statements. Going back to factorials, an example program to calculate 5 factorial
might look like:
Python I Notes Page 96

While this initial “looping” helped solve the problem of “single pass” processing, it
led to many unstructured programs. Allowing programs to jump anywhere in the
code, while useful in some regards, leads to very messy programs as they get
larger. Bugs become hard to identify because there is no clear way of telling
where the execution will end up next. My first programming job on a Unisys
mainframe used this type of looping. The programming language was COBOL and,
while it had rudimentary looping constructs, the standards of the company
required the programmers to use labels and gotos. As you can imagine, it was not
enjoyable.

As programming languages evolved, the concept of “structured programming”

became very important. Many textbooks adopted the term “structured
programming” in their title. These sorts of programs have a precise structure and
make it much easier to see what code is going to be executed next.
Python I Notes Page 97

The Primary Loop Statements

Two main constructs exist in looping: a for loop, and a while loop. Their English-
language counterparts give hints as to how they operate. Usually, the statement’s
construct tells:

1. the starting value

2. the increment value, and
3. how long should the looping continue.

A for loop allows looping but in a very confined manner. Consider the following
code to calculate 5 factorial:

The program iterates through the range of one and six, then multiplies the
number by the previous result (stored in the fact variable). The for loop iterates
through a set collection of values (in this case, the range of numbers beginning at
one and less than 6).

The second construct is a while loop. It iterates a chunk of code while a condition
is true. As soon as the condition becomes false, the indented code is not
executed, and the program continues execution with the remaining code.
Consider the same code to calculate 5 factorial:
Python I Notes Page 98

Many programmers prefer the while construct since it allows complete control;
that is, the three pieces of information listed above are clearly defined. There are
some downsides to the while construct. It is easier to program an infinite loop
where the program continues running forever or until the program halts with an
error. Consider the above code if the increment was left off for num:

This program runs for an infinite amount of time, as the value of num will always
be less than six!

This example illustrates how complete control can be a bit trickier, which can be a
benefit or a hindrance in certain cases, in that there are more variables or
conditions to manage.
Python I Notes Page 99

There are many variations of these two types of constructs in different

programming languages, including do…while, and repeat…until.
Python I Notes Page 100

Notes: Brute Force Processing

Overview

In the early days of computing, RAM and hard-drive memory were scarce. As late
as 1995, I remember struggling to fit network and system drivers into 640
kilobytes of memory. I would have to rearrange the order of the drivers to get
them to work. These were the DOS days when programming had to be done
much more carefully. Variables were re-used to save space and unused variables
were unheard of.

As time has passed, programmers have seen computers dramatically increase in

both RAM and hard-drive space. A typical personal computer now has at least
4GB of RAM (a 6,250-fold increase since my DOS days!). One mainframe process
that I evaluated took five hours to process all the database records involved. It
had millions of records that it had to sequentially process. As disk space became
more inexpensive, I was able to add an additional index that took the processing
down to two minutes.

Brute force processing is the sequential iteration through a collection. Consider a

sequential search through a database. Looking up an address by an input name in
a personnel directory, for example, would start at the first entry and compare the
input with the stored value, then continue entry-by-entry, until it finds a match. In
the past, brute force processing was costly. Sometimes it had to be done, but its
execution was very noticeable. The mainframe would slow down during the time
Python I Notes Page 101

they ran that five-hour process. It often had to be run at night so that users of the
system would not notice the impact.

However, as a result of the increase of processing power, the programming

involved in brute force processing is now an accepted practice. In many cases, it is
preferred. Consider a case in which an algorithm is programmed inefficiently and
this results in a two-second increase in the delay. Would anybody really notice, or
care, about an extra two seconds of execution? Obviously, this depends on the
context of the program but, in many cases, it would not matter. Especially if the
more efficient version requires hours and hours of extra coding effort.

When programming for a business, coding efficiency is often less of a priority than
how quickly results can be produced. Programmers tend to want a certain level of
“purity” in their programs. I have found myself wanting to redo logic after I got it
working, just because I knew there was redundancy in the program. Sometimes, it
takes the business to stop the programmer.

Many formulas exist to analyze efficiency. Two seconds does not sound like much
if it is applied to the total processing time, but consider if it was 2 seconds per
customer record. If we had a business that had 10,000,000 customer records,
then we are talking about 20,000,000 seconds or approximately 231 days. All of a
sudden, that “two seconds” is very significant!
Python I Notes Page 102

Python Example

Consider the problem of simplifying a fraction by hand in an introductory algebra

course:

20
24
225

2223
5

23
5

6

The correct way is to do the prime factorization of each number and then cancel
what the numerator and denominator have in common.
Python I Notes Page 103

With Python, we can use brute force processing to start at 20 (the numerator)
and work our way backward to ascertain if both the numerator and denominator
are both divisible by the same number:

Are 20 and 24 divisible by 20?

Are 20 and 24 divisible by 19?
Are 20 and 24 divisible by 18?
Are 20 and 24 divisible by 17?
…and so on.

This program actually goes down to division by two, which is unnecessary, as four
is the least common factor and the program could stop there. But accounting for
that would require the programming to be more complex, and the time it saves
would not even be noticeable.
Python I Notes Page 104

Notes: While Loops

Overview – The While Loop

The while loop is a condition-controlled loop. It will continue as long as a certain

condition is met.

General Form:

while condition:
statement
statement
etc.

The condition is checked prior to performing the statements. Once the condition
is no longer true, the program execution continues past the last statement in the
while loop. The condition is a Boolean expression. Consider this example that
adds the numbers from 1 to 10:

Often, while loops have a preceding line to initialize the variable that is being
checked. In this case, num is set equal to 1. Next, the while statement will check
Python I Notes Page 105

the Boolean condition. Somewhere within the while loop, the variable will have
some kind of math operation performed on it.

These three elements are crucial to the successful implementation of the while
loop. All three of these components will take various forms but must be in the
program. Consider the example of finding n-factorial:
Python I Notes Page 106

The three elements are presented here:

Both of these above examples added one, but any math calculation could be
done. Perhaps you’re evaluating a large collection of inputs, three values at a
time. In that case, you would likely want to increment num by 3, rather than 1.

Consider if the variable is not initialized in the above example:

The Anaconda system helps points out issues and recognizes that the initialization
was not done.
Python I Notes Page 107

Consider if the math operation is not performed on the variable:

Notice that there are no errors pointed out by the system. Once the program is
run, however, the following occurs:

The program never comes back since num is never incremented. The loop
continues indefinitely. Remember, when programming a while loop, to have all
three elements and that the condition will eventually be false!
Python I Notes Page 108

Notes: For Loops

For Loops

The for loop is a count-controlled structure. This means that it will be run for a set
number of iterations. This total number of iterations might be hard-coded or
determined at runtime. Consider this example, if we want to program the
binomial probability formula:

n!
P( x)   p x (1  p) n x
(n  x)! x!

The n! would need a for loop since it is count controlled. For example 5! would
need to be iterated five times, as in:

5x4x3x2x1
Python I Notes Page 109

General Form

for variable in [value1, value2, value3, etc.]:

statement
statement
etc.

This general example is written in pseudocode, which is an informal way of

describing the procedure and/or structure of a program. It is useful for describing
a program or algorithm without a specific language.
Python I Notes Page 110

Note: Sometimes it is better to introduce some inefficiency in your

code to improve readability. Any individual that has taken
an introductory statistics course knows that a factorial is
found by multiplying the numbers from 1 to the given
Example Finding 5!
number. The line ‘for num in [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]’ could have been
fact = 1
written ‘for num in [2, 3, 4, 5]’ and would have achieved the
for num in [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]:
same result. Try both and see the result. Reflect why this is
fact = fact * num
the case. The code was written in the form above to match
print('5! = ', fact)
the definition of factorial.

Here’s an example written in Python, which can be run directly from an

interpreter:
Python I Notes Page 111

The values in the general form do not have to be strictly numbered; perhaps
you’d like several different strings to be printed in succession:

Example:
Printing colors with a for loop

for color in ['red', 'white', 'blue']:

print (color)

It would be tedious to add all the numbers from 0 to 20 by applying the general
form. Our for loop code would look like:

fornum in [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18,
19, 20]:

But what if you had to iterate over 100 numbers? Or 100,000? Python provides
the range function to simplify coding.

General form using the range function with an end number variable:

for variable in range(end number):

statement
statement
etc.

This will iterate the variable from 0 to end number – 1.

Python I Notes Page 112

Note: The usage of 21 in the range function to have the values go from
0 to 20
Example:

Adding all the numbers from 0 to 20

sum = 0
for num in range(21):
sum = sum + num
print('sum = ', sum)

General Form using the range function from start number to end number:

for variable in range(start number, end number):

statement
statement
etc.
Python I Notes Page 113

This will iterate the variable from start number to end number – 1.

Example:
Adding all the numbers from 10 to 12
sum = 0
for num in range(10, 13):
sum = sum + num
print('sum = ', sum)
Python I Notes Page 114

Example Code:
Adding all the numbers in a range input by the user

sum = 0
print('This program sums all the numbers in the range
specified')
start_string = input('Input starting number:')
start_num = int(start_string)
end_string = input('Input ending number:')
end_num = int(end_string)
for num in range(start_num,end_num + 1):
sum = sum + num
print('sum = ', sum)
Python I Notes Page 115
Note: The above example was simple. In coding,
sometimes it is easier to code a simple version first.
For example, if the desired result was the sum of the
numbers from 5 to 10,000, it would be very difficult
to know the answer prior to writing the program. It
may be a better idea to write the program to add the
numbers from 10 to 12, which is much simpler to
check. Once it is known that the test case works,
then the code can be changed to ‘fornum in range
(5,10001)’ and the result can be trusted. This is not
always the case since the sum may exceed the limits
of the data type.

General Form using range from start number to end number, with a step
number:

for variable in range(start number, end number, step number):

statement
statement
etc.
Python I Notes Page 116

Note: The start number in the general form does not have to be
the smaller number, so can be the larger number. Some
ExampleCode:
algorithms require the for loop to decrement the variable in
Adding
eachalliteration.
the even numbers from 4 to 10

sum = 0
for num in range(4, 11, 2):
print (num)
sum = sum + num
print('sum = ', sum)

This will iterate the variable from start number to end number – 1, changing the
value of the variable by the step number for each iteration.
Python I Notes Page 117

Oftentimes, the exact same manner a process is done by hand is the correct way
to implement in a Python program. If the problem was to simplify the fraction
12/20, the appropriate step would be to think of the largest number that divides
evenly into both the numerator and denominator.

Example:
Simplifying a Fraction

numerator = 12
denominator = 20

fornum in range(denominator,2,-1):
if denominator % num == 0 and numerator % num == 0:
denominator = denominator / num
numerator = numerator / num
print(int(numerator),'/',int(denominator))
Python I Notes Page 118

This code starts with the largest number and goes down to 2, checking to see if
the numerator and denominator are divisible by the value of num; if so, then it
divides both the numerator and denominator by that number. The answer that
this code gives is 3/4. On the other hand, if the for loop is written as “for num in
range (2, denominator):” then the result is 6/10. This program would be very
difficult, if not impossible if the start number is less than the end number in the
general form.

The List datatype has not been covered yet, but when combined with for loops
provide powerful mechanisms. Many programming languages refer to lists as
arrays. Consider a list of numbers: 10, 12, 17, and 15. These can be put on a
Python list using this assignment: pylist = [10, 12, 17, 15]. Recall that arrays are
indexed starting at zero and this is true with lists in Python also.

Example Code:
Adding Numbers to a List

tsv = [10, 12, 17, 15]

sum = 0
for num in range(0,4):
sum = sum + tsv[num]
print('sum = ', sum)
Python I Notes Page 119

Index Value

0 10

1 12
Note: The indexing of the
numbers in the list
goes from 0 to 3:
2 17

3 15

In future topics, the for loop will be invaluable in simplifying the code.
Python I Notes Page 120

Notes: Using Functions

Overview

As you already know from loops, sometimes code needs to be run more than
once. But what if the loops themselves need to be executed more than once? For
example, consider the case in which our program should calculate two factorials,
as in the permutation formula from statistics.

Using only loops, the program to accomplish this formula would be:

As can be seen, the same factorial logic is being done twice, but with different
parameters. The code above is fairly short but consider if this same code has to be
Python I Notes Page 121

repeated 20 times in a program. All of a sudden it is tedious to keep programming

the same code over and over. Consider this same program done with a function:

In the above example, the factorial code is contained within a function, fact().
Rather than having to write several loops, the fact() function can
be called instead. Let’s examine the various components:
Python I Notes Page 122

The name of the function can be whatever name you choose, but follow the same
naming conventions as variables. In this example, there is only one parameter
passed into the function, but you can have any number of parameters, or even
none.

The return statement returns a value to the location where the function is called,
assuming it is a function that returns a value. Consider this example, which
calculates the two answers for the quadratic formula:

Since this function has no return statement, the line that calls the function has no
variable assignment. Notice that the variables in the main part of the program are
a, b, and c but the parameters were called pa, pb, and pc. The parameters can be
called by any name. It is the values of the variables in the main body of the code
(a, b, c) that gets passed to the parameter variables defined in the function
(pa,pb,pc). The concept behind this is referred to as variable scope, which will be
covered more in depth later.
Python I Notes Page 123

Consider this example:

This code uses the same variable names as the main body of the code. This is
often done but can lead to confusion. It is best to use different variable names in
the function, even though it is possible to use the same variable names.

Python does not limit the programmer to returning one value, it can return many
values. Here is the quadratic formula program redesigned to return the answers
to the main program and then print them:
Python I Notes Page 124

Python has its own set of built-in functions that can be called. The program up
above actually called one of these functions, math.sqrt(). There is even a factorial
function that would have simplified our code in the while loop. It is important to
become familiar with the functions built into the libraries of Python. There is no
need to re-invent the wheel if somebody else has already written that function!

Anaconda has a nice feature for libraries that are imported. Consider this
example:
Python I Notes Page 125

Once the import is placed into the program code, you gain access to all of that
library’s functions. Calling the library name, followed by a dot, will display all of
the available functions.

Consider the pandas library:

While this list of functions is useful, the programmer will probably have to do
some additional research on the usage and meaning of each function.
Python I Notes Page 126

Notes: Scope of Variables

Overview

Typically, variables can be accessed in the piece of code where they are used. The
question becomes whether variables defined in the main program could be used
in a function and vice versa.

Local Variables

A variable declared in a function is called a local variable. This means it can only
be accessed by that function. Consider this example:

Notice that the variable num is defined in the function, but the program is trying
to print it in the main code body. We have our indicator on the left saying there is
a problem. Let’s examine what happens if we ignore this and try to run the
program anyway:
Python I Notes Page 127

The first print function returns the number (3) that we would expect. The print
function in the main program returns a bizarre result. Do not ignore the error
indicators or you might get bad results!

This is the reason that the return statement was implemented within functions. It
allows communication between the function and the main program. Consider this
rewrite of the program:

Notice how the variable declared in the function test was renamed. It could have
been left named num but this is not considered good programming practice; it is
too easy to confuse the two variables. Now, when this program is run, the
following is the result:
Python I Notes Page 128

Keep in mind that, once a function is completed, then the variable is no longer
accessible even by the same function. Consider this example:

You might expect that it will print 5 the first time the test function is called, and 6
the second time it is called, but here are the results:
Python I Notes Page 129

The first number prints correct, but then we get an error on the second pass:
“UnboundLocalError: local variable ‘testnum’ referenced before assignment”.
Remember that a local variable is only accessible within while that function is
running. After it finishes the first run of the function, then the variable testnum is
no longer available! In the above code, it is only created when p == 1 is true.
Remember, proper communication between the function and main program can
be done with returned values. Consider this rewrite of the above code:
Python I Notes Page 130

Now that particular test function can be called as many times in the program and
it will work (nonsensical as the program appears to be). Our result with this
correct code is as follows:
Python I Notes Page 131

Global Variables

Variables declared in the main program (global variables) can be accessed directly
within a function, but many consider it bad programming practice. Consider this
example of the quadratic formula:

This program works but notice that the function is using the variables (a, b, and c)
directly from the main program. This is a topic that will probably be debated
forever but many programmers consider it bad practice to use global variables
directly in this manner. An alternative way to program this is listed here:
Python I Notes Page 132

Even when using the same variable names for the global variables and for the
parameters, there is no doubt where the variables are coming from. Using the
global variables like in the first example:

A programmer coming in would look at this code and question where a, b, and c
are coming from, but if they are passed in a parameter to the function, there is no
doubt it has simplified coding.

The key point is to pass everything into the function that you will need for that
function!
Python I Notes Page 133

Notes: Comparison of Global Functions, Local

Functions, Lambda Functions and Methods

Overview

This lecture will define the different function types and give an example of each
type. Subsequent lecture notes will further define these.

Definitions

Global functions – Global functions can be called anywhere from

within the Python program. These can return any number of
values or none at all. The two main purposes of global functions
are for code reuse and modularity. The code reuse comes from a
Python program needing to call a piece of code over and over. The
modularity comes from breaking a longer program into logical,
shorter chunks of code.
Local functions – These can only be called within the function they
are declared in. These are supporting functions for that function.
They are not meant to be called from outside of that particular
function.
Lambda functions – These are small functions that calculate a
single expression and return the value. While it can replace a one-
line global function, their main purpose is for a call handler such as
that used in graphical programming.
Python I Notes Page 134

Methods – Methods are functions specifically for objects. They are

very specific to the functionality of that particular object and
cannot be called without the object reference.

Global Function Example

This is an example of using a global function for the quadratic formula.

Python I Notes Page 135

Local Function Example

Here is an example of using local functions to calculate interest compounded

either n-times per year or continuously:

Remember, if interest_continuous() is called in the main program, there will be an

error.
Python I Notes Page 136

Lambda Function Example

This is an example of using Lambda functions to calculate interest, either

compounded n-times per year or continuously.
Python I Notes Page 137

Methods Example

In Python, which is an object-oriented programming language, much of the data is

stored as what are known as objects. By now you should be quite familiar with
one type of object; the String. Here’s an example using one of the built-in string
methods:

Later in the course, you will learn how to design your own objects for
manipulation and data storage.
Python I Notes Page 138

Notes: Global Functions

Overview

Global functions are functions that are defined so that they can be called from
anywhere in the Python program. Consider this example:

Both the interest function and the test function are global functions. Notice that
the interest function is called from the main program as well as from within the
test function.
Python I Notes Page 139

It is easy to identify a local function since it is called from within a global function,
as in this example:

Notice that simple spacing turned the test function into a local function, which
cannot be called from the main problem (note the error indicator). When writing
your Python programs be careful of the spacing, since it will make a huge
difference in some cases!
Python I Notes Page 140

Notes: Local Functions

Overview

Local functions can be contained within a global function. These are functions
that you would not normally want the main program to be able to call. Consider
this example:
Python I Notes Page 141

In this simplistic example, the functions add and subtract would not need to be
called from the main function:

These are simply supporting functions for the function called test to complete its
task. Consider this following example that has a function to figure the coefficient
of variation based on a sample:
Python I Notes Page 142

The local functions “mean” and “std” are merely supporting functions for the
global function CV to use to calculate the coefficient of variation. We do not
necessarily want these called from the main program. Consider the following
change that tries to call these local functions:
Python I Notes Page 143

Notice that the Anaconda system warns us that there is a problem with calling
mean and std directly! Once the program is run, the following message appears:
Python I Notes Page 144

Now, in a program, it might make sense to WANT to call the mean and std
function. If so, we would want to convert these to global functions, as in this
change:

Notice that all the functions (mean, std, and CV) are now global functions and can
be called from anywhere in the program, even within another function.

Two major reasons to use local functions is that:

1. They are supporting functions that should NOT be called from the main
program.
2. The programmers wish to free up the memory once the function is done
(remember the variables will no longer be accessible).
Python I Notes Page 145

Notes: Lambda Functions

Overview

Normal functions provide much power, but there might be certain circumstances
in which a lambda function might be used. First, let’s compare a regular function
to a lambda function:

Regular Function

This code calculates the coefficient of variation from statistics. The scipy library
allows access to the functions std (population standard deviation) and mean
(population mean).

Lambda Function
Python I Notes Page 146

Lambda functions allow a single expression to be evaluated and automatically

returned. Lambda functions are a tool to build function objects. Objects will be
discussed later. While we could do everything with regular functions, Lambda
functions allow for a more concise and cleaner approach.

While we will not see it in this course, certain graphical constructs require an
argument that is a function. Instead of creating a function that is only used one
time (which is contrary to the concept of functions), a lambda function can be
used as the argument.

The same naming rules that apply to regular functions apply to Lambda functions.
As with regular functions, multiple parameters can be passed in; however, only
one value can be returned. One tutorial described the main purpose of Lambda
functions as for building callback handlers.
Python I Notes Page 147

Notes: Methods

Overview

The concept of a method is that it is an action performed by a specific object.

Consider a student attending a college; our example object. There are various
actions that a student can perform: study, attend class, graduate, etc. All of these
actions affect the students themselves, though in programming this doesn’t have
to be the case. If these were written in a Python-flavored form, they could be
listed as:

student.study
student.attend_class
student.graduate

These are the generic definitions for any student. Consider some parameters that
might be passed into these methods:

student.study(hours)
student.attend(class, date, time)
student.graduate(date, degree)

If a student is going to attend class, it might be important to know which class,

the date, and time. Usually, a specific instance is assumed for the student, such as
Python I Notes Page 148

a student named Bill. Consider these examples with a specific instance and
detailed parameters:

Bill.study(3)
Bill.attend(“Python Programming”,9/15/2014,08:00)
Bill.graduate(5/15/2015, "Computer Science")

This is an important concept in object-oriented programming, which will be

discussed later in the course. For now, we will use existing methods for Python
elements. For example, consider a list of numbers as in the following example:

This simply prints our numbers. Now consider in the Anaconda system if we start
typing a and then a decimal:
Python I Notes Page 149

The various pre-defined methods for a list object appear. Many of them are
pretty obvious. For example, the append method would add a new number to our
list:

Notice that a help popup will appear once we start typing the first parenthesis. It
tells us the arguments (or parameters, as we refer to them) that are possible
inputs. Not all of these are required. When the cursor hovers over append and
CTRL-I is pressed, the following will appear:

The Python documentation might present a list of the methods and their
explanation that is easier to browse:
Python I Notes Page 150

If our program is modified to append a new number to the list, the Python
program would look like:

Consider defining an integer variable d and typing d then a decimal:

Python I Notes Page 151

Elements that do not seem like they have any methods associated with them may
have some defined. However, consider this example:

If the cursor hovers over the method name and CTRL-I is performed, the following
message appears:

Do not assume that every method will have documentation in the Anaconda
system. The Python documentation, as well as other resources, might provide
that important missing piece.

Various items will appear once the decimal is entered. Consider this example:
Python I Notes Page 152

Not everything that appears is a method.

Consider what __doc__ will bring back with this example:

Once this is run it returns the following text:

Until object-oriented programming is covered, remember that methods are

simply functions for objects.
Python I Notes Page 153

Notes: Names and DocStrings

Overview

Names and DocStrings are elements used mainly for help and documentation
purposes. Consider the following example:

The comment enclosed in triple quotes is called the docstring. It is more than just
simple documentation. Notice what happens when the programmer types the
function name and the first parenthesis:

It displays the names of the parameters (arguments) required for this function.
Now put your cursor over the function name:
Python I Notes Page 154

Now press CTRL-I and we get the following documentation page:

Notice that this text matches our docstring! We can also access the
documentation by using syntax in the example from the previous section, similar
to:

print(interest_continuous.__doc__)

This is just a brief overview of this concept of docstrings. This topic will be
explored in greater detail once objects are covered.
Python I Notes Page 155

Notes: Recursion

Overview

Recursion is a tricky concept. The idea of recursion is that the function calls itself
over and over to accomplish some task.

Consider our factorial example of calculating 5!:

Now let’s see this example redone with recursion:

Python I Notes Page 156

First Pass

Pass 1: On the first call to the fact function, n = 5 and the else is performed
(plugging 5 in for n):

return 5 * fact (5 – 1)

In the return statement, the fact (5 – 1) becomes fact (4) and calls the function
again before returning anything.

Second Pass

Pass 2: On the second call to the fact function, n = 4 and the else is performed
(plugging 4 in for n):

return 4 * fact (4 – 1)

The fact (4 – 1) becomes fact(3) and calls the function again…

…and so on…

Once the last pass is called and n = 1, the values are plugged in and the following
value is returned to the main program:

5*4*3*2*1
Python I Notes Page 157

Recursive functions should have the following components:

1. An if-else statement must lead to different cases.

2. A base case to stop the recursion. In our factorial example above, the “if n
== 1:” is the piece that stops the recursion. Without that part of the if
statement stopping the process, it would be an infinite loop.

Let’s consider an example that adds the number of “A”s in a string:

If a print function is placed into the program, we will see this program strip off the
last characters as it calls itself over and over:
Python I Notes Page 158

It then gives the following display:

The basic idea in programming is to keep it simple. If you can program the
algorithm in a simple manner, using for and while loop constructs, this is
preferable to recursion. Recursion is not simple and, as a result, may introduce
unintended errors. Avoid recursion if possible!
Python I Notes Page 159

Notes: Modules
Overview

Code reuse is an important concept in programming. In previous lecture notes,

you have seen example after example dealing with compound interest. This
formula does not change and it is redundant to keep programming it over and
over. Modules can be thought of as “super-functions” in that they do not ever
have to be programmed again.

Creating a Module

In a separate Python file, we will write the definitions for the two functions
dealing with compound interest. We will save this file as compound_interest.py:
Python I Notes Page 160

Notice that it contains docstrings for documentation. The following import

statement will allow access to these functions:

General Form:

from<python module name> import <function name>

Consider this example:

Notice that the .py file extension is not necessary for the Python module name.
Also notice again that the Anaconda environment brings up the parameters
(arguments) once the initial parenthesis is typed:

Even though longer variable names make the module not as concise, it helps
show the programmer what each variable is responsible for. Putting your cursor
over interest_continuous() in the line ans1 = interest_continuous() and press
CTRL-I, you will see the following:
Python I Notes Page 161

This is the same as the docstring that was input into the module. In real life, this
documentation should be very detailed, even including examples of usage. The
above example just brought in one of our functions, but both can be brought into
the program:

This kind of importing requires knowledge of the function names. There is

another kind of import that makes every function available:
Python I Notes Page 162

Now it might appear at first glance that it is still necessary to remember the
function names, but remember what happens once you type in the decimal:

The Anaconda system brings up all the global functions defined in that module.

Both types of imports can be used with other libraries. Consider this square root
example:

Instead of referencing the library name before the function, the function can be
referred to directly:

It is ultimately a personal preference to each programmer, but the first method

(math.sqrt) identifies exactly where that function is coming from, which should
make the program more readable.
Python I Notes Page 163

Notes: File Handling

File Handling Overview

Python can save data in two different types of format: text and binary. The data
stored in a textual format can be opened and viewed with an editor. Data stored
in binary cannot be viewed in this manner since it is stored in binary format. This
course will focus on textual. The current trend is for non-database files to be
stored in a text-based format. Even Microsoft Office has adopted this strategy.
Consider the following Word document:
Python I Notes Page 164

If it is open in Notepad:

It appears binary, but if we rename the file to Lab_Modules.zip:

Python I Notes Page 165

And then double-click the file, the following appears:

We could explore this further and see that the Word document is actually a
zipped folder of XML files, which can be viewed in an editor as in this file:

This textual-based format allows for easier transferring of data, as well as less
corruption occurring. A programmer could change one byte (corrupt) in a binary
file and the binary file would potentially be unusable. A textual format would
Python I Notes Page 166

need much more corruption for this to occur (in theory, it all depends on how the
original programmer programmed it).

In addition, this course will focus on sequential files. In a previous programming

course, the topic of random access files may have been covered. Typically, this
method should be avoided. As simple and widespread as databases have become,
if some direct access is needed to data, then it should be done in a database.

Opening a File: General Format

The file_variable will allow the programmer to access the file object. The same
naming conventions used in variables can be used for the filename, which is a
string. Extensions are a good idea to identify the type of file! A mode is a string to
indicate how the file is to be used: ‘r’ for read only, ‘w’ for writing (file is either
created or for an existing file, then all data is removed), and ‘a’ for appending
(new data is written at the end).

Syntax:
file_variable = open(filename, mode)

Examples:
F1 = open(‘sales.txt’, ’r’)
F2 = open(‘purch.txt’, ‘w’)
Python I Notes Page 167

Note: If the file is opened in append mode, then the

original data is left in the file, but all new writes will
occur at the end of the file. Along the same lines, if
we are reading various datatypes into the program,
we would need to convert them to an integer (int)
or a floating point (float).

Closing a File: General Format

Example:
file_variable.close()
Python I Notes Page 168

Writing to a File: General Format

file_variable is the variable that was referenced in the opening of the file. String
can be a literal string or a string variable. The \n will go to the next line in the file.
Remember that str will convert another data type to string:

Example:
num = 3
sales = 13.53
name=’ABC Company’
F1.write(str(num) + ‘,’ + str(sales) + ‘,’ + name + ‘\n’)
Python I Notes Page 169

Reading from a File – Entire Content: General Format

This particular method is probably not going to be useful in most programming.

The programmer usually needs to read the file line-by-line, using the next
method.

Syntax:
string_variable = file_variable.read()

Reading from a File – Line by Line: General Format

Syntax:
string_variable = file_variable.readline()

This method does read the file line-by-line, but would require the programmer to
know how many lines are in the file. For example, if there are five lines in the file,
the following code would extract that information:
Python I Notes Page 170

Example:
infile = open(‘video.txt’, ‘r’)
s1 = infile.readline()
s2 = infile.readline()
s3 = infile.readline()
s4 = infile.readline()
s5 = infile.readline()
infile.close()
Python I Notes Page 171

Unfortunately, most of the time the programmer does not know how many lines
there are in the file. This problem will be discussed later in this lesson.

Also the ‘\n’ that is at the end may occasionally cause problems. This can be easily
stripped out with the following code:

Example:
s1 = infile.readline()
s1 = s1.rstrip(‘\n’)

Detecting End of File Using While

Once the readline hits the end of the file, it will be set equal to ‘’ indicating the

Example:
infile = open(‘sales.txt’, ‘r’)
str1 = infile.readline()
while str1 != ‘’:
print(str1)
str1 = infile.readline()
infile.close()

end of the file. The while loop is probably the simplest way to detect the end of
the file.
Python I Notes Page 172

Detecting End of File Using For Loop

The for loop provides a simpler interface.

Example:
infile = open(‘sales.txt’, ‘r’)
for str1 in infile:
print(str1)
infile.close()

Record Structure

Records are often stored in a single line in a file. This can be a predefined
structure.

Example:
ABCCompany 35 123.45
111111111122222222223
123456789012345678901234567890

The programmer might decide that columns 1 through to 12 are for the company
name, columns 13 through to 18 are for the customer number, and columns 19
through to 30 are for the sales amt. Remember that strings are indexed starting at
zero so, for a programmer, this structure would need to be viewed in this manner:
Python I Notes Page 173

Example:
ABCCompany 35 123.45
11111111112222222222
012345678901234567890123456789

The positions would change! Using string methods the information can be
extracted, extra spaces removed, and a data conversion to the appropriate data
type can be done.

Sometimes the data may be stored in CSV format and may look like this:

Example:
“ABC Company”,35,123.45

While not as simple as a fixed column format, the information can be extracted
using string methods. Even simpler, there is a library that would allow easier
extraction of this data, as will be shown in a demonstration video.
Python I Notes Page 174

Modifying an Existing File

It can be tricky to modify an existing file. The following scenarios present the
methodology to accomplish the given tasks.

Case 1 – Add new records at the end of the file

In this case, simply open the file up with append mode and it is handled
automatically.

Case 2 – Insert a new record in the file

1. Open a temporary file for writing.

2. Open the file for reading.
3. Loop through the file until you reach the insertion point. As you are
looping, write the records straight from the file to your temporary file.
4. Write your new record to the temporary file.
5. Continue looping through the file, writing the remaining records to the
temporary file.
6. Delete the file.
7. Rename the temporary file as the name of the file.

Case 3 – Delete a record in the file

1. Open the file for reading and the temporary one for writing.
2. Loop through the file until you reach the record to be deleted. As you are
looping, write the records straight from the file to the temporary file.
3. Ignore the record to be deleted (do not write it to the temporary file).
Python I Notes Page 175

4. Continue looping through the file, writing the remaining records to the
temporary file.
5. Delete the file.
6. Rename the temporary file as the name of the file.

Case 4 – Changing a record in the file

1. Open the file for reading and the temporary one for writing/reading.
2. Loop through the temporary file until you reach the record to be changed.
As you are looping, write the records straight from the temporary file to
the file.
3. Extract/change the information from the line as read from the temporary
file.
4. Write this new record to the file.
5. Continue looping through the temporary file, writing the remaining
records to the file.
Python I Notes Page 176

Notes: Python Sequences

Overview

The most basic data structure in Python is the sequence. Python has several built-
in types of sequences; the most common ones are strings, lists, and tuples.

• Lists are the most versatile sequence type. The elements of a list can be
any object, and lists are mutable. Mutable objects can change their value
but keep their id(). Elements in a list can be reassigned or removed, and
new elements can be inserted.

• Tuples are like lists, but they are immutable. An immutable object has a
fixed value. If a new value is needed, a new object has to be created.

• Strings are a special type of sequence that can only store characters, and
they have a special notation. However, all of the sequence operations
described below can also be used on strings.

Sequence Operators

There are standard sequence operations that are used in Python, which include:

• Slicing

• Length

• Concatenation of Sequences

• Checking for membership

• Repetitions
Python I Notes Page 177

• Indexing

Indexing

Indexes are numbered from 0 to n-1, where n is the number of items (or
characters) that is defined in the string, list or tuple.

Example:

str = ‘Hello world’

To reference values in the string, its index looks like this:

-11 -10 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1
Helloworld
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

To access the values to the following:

str[3]
returns: ‘l’

sStr[-1]
returns: ‘d’
Python I Notes Page 178

Slicing

Python makes it very easy to slice apart a string, list or tuple by using its slice
operator. A Slice is used to extract a subset of a sequence.

• A slice has a starting point, an ending point, and an increment.

• Each parameter is optional.

• If not provided:

• start defaults to 0
• end defaults to the length of the list
• increment defaults to 1

• The first colon is always necessary (to indicate Python should make a slice
rather than access a single element), but if the increment isn’t specified
the second colon can be omitted.
Python I Notes Page 179

Syntax:
mySlice[start:end:increment]

Examples:

s='abcd'
s[::2]
returns: 'ac'

s[::-1]
returns: 'dcba'

Note: Print every second character of this string.

Python I Notes Page 180

Length

The length of a sequence can be determined with the function len().

• For strings, it counts the number of characters.

• For lists and tuples, the number of elements is counted.

• A sub-list counts as 1 element.

Example:

txt = "I love Python"

len(txt)
returns:13

random = ["this", 88, 3.14, "red"]

len(random)
returns: 4
Python I Notes Page 181

Concatenation

Combines two or more sequences of the same type into a new sequence object.
Uses the + operator.

Example:
firstname = "Homer"
surname = "Simpson"
name = firstname + " " + surname
print name
returns: Homer Simpson

Checking for Membership

It’s easy to check if an item is contained in or is a member of a sequence. This can

be done using the “in” or the “not in” operator.
Python I Notes Page 182

Example:
abc = ["a","b","c","d","e"]
"a" in abc
result: True

"a" not in abc

result: False

"e" not in abc

result: False

"f" not in abc

result: True

str = "Python is easy!"

"y" in str
Result: True

"x" in str
Result: False
Python I Notes Page 183

Repetitions

To repeat a sequence, use the * operator to repeat the sequence n number of

times, as shown in the following examples.

The augmented assignment for "*" can be used as well:

s *= n is the same as s = s * n.

Example:
To repeat a string 4 times, you can do:

(1) str + str + str + str or

(2) str * 4

(3) 3 * "xyz-"
result: 'xyz-xyz-xyz-'
(4) 3 * ["a","b","c"]
Result: ['a', 'b', 'c', 'a', 'b', 'c', 'a', 'b', 'c']
Python I Notes Page 184

Notes: Lists

Lists Overview

A list can store multiple data items. For example, it can store 100 numbers. In
your previous programming courses, “lists” were called “arrays.” Many of the
same topics from arrays apply to Python lists.

Lists are objects which are covered later in this course, but some of the
terminologies are mentioned in this lesson.
Python I Notes Page 185

Creating Lists
• Lists are “constructed” using the “list” keyword.

• Elements in the list are enclosed in brackets and separated by commas.

Simple List Examples:

L1 = list();
L2 = list([1,2,3,4]);
L3 = list(range(1, 5));

L1 = [];
L2 = [1,2,3,4];

List creation can be simplified in the above manner.

Python I Notes Page 186

The examples above were limited to just integers but any data type can be used in
a list, as shown below.

Example:
L1 = [“Bill”, “Sally”, “Henry”];
L2 = list(“henry”);

Example 2:
L2 = list("henry");
print(L2);

L1 is fairly obvious but L2 requires a little bit more explanation. The string “henry”
is passed into the list and each letter is split up as an element.

This returns the following:

['h', 'e', 'n', 'r', 'y']

The “list” in front of (“henry”) is what provides the conversion from the string to a
list. Strings will not be covered in much depth in these lecture notes since it was
covered previously. Remember that we treated strings as an array of characters
and could do various functions with this idea, such as slicing.
Python I Notes Page 187

List Indexing

Just as with arrays and strings, lists are indexed starting at 0. The string “happy”
would have the following indexing.

h = position 0
a = position 1
p = position 2
p = position 3
y = position 4

This is the same concept that was demonstrated with strings and in your previous
studies of arrays. The indexing always goes from 0 to the 1, less than the length of
the string or list.

Index Operator

Example:
L1 = [3,5,7,9];

To access individual items in the list, the index operator can be used.

If the 5 needs to be accessed, the following form would be used: L1[1]

(Remember the 3 is the 0 position while the 5 is the 1st position!).
Python I Notes Page 188

Even though brackets indicate a list, to access the individual entries in the list also
requires brackets. Consider this example, as seen in previous programming
courses of a simplistic sort:

Example:
L1 = [5,2,1,8];
for p1 in range(0,3):
for p2 in range(0,3):
if L1[p2] > L1[p2 + 1]:
temp = L1[p2];
L1[p2] = L1[p2 + 1];
L1[p2 + 1] = temp;
print(L1);

Note: The use of the brackets is used to refer to the entries inside
the list.

Here is another example showing adding all the numbers in a list:

Python I Notes Page 189

L1 = [];
resp = "Y";
whileresp != "N":
resp = input("Input next number, N to indicate no more
numbers: ");
ifresp != "N":
L1.append(int(resp));

Note: The
total use of the append method.
= 0;
for x in range(len(L1)):
total = total + L1[x];

Remember that lists are objects which are different to the concept of “arrays”. If
print("The sum was", total);
you find yourself wondering how to do something with lists, then try entering the
list name followed by a decimal:
Python I Notes Page 190

The benefits of a robust IDE is that the need for memorization of different
programming topics is minimized.

Functions for Lists

Consider a list: L1 = [3, 5, 7, 9];

len(L1) would return 4

max(L1) would return 9
min(L1) would return 3
sum(L1) would return 24

These are actually functions not methods.

Methods act on an object such as a list.

Unlike methods, functions do not easily appear in an IDE by pressing a

decimal.

Out of Bounds

Consider a list: L1 = [3, 5, 7, 9]:

One very common error is to try to access outside of the “bounds” for the list.

Remember, indexing starts at zero, so trying to access L1[4] will return an

error.
Python I Notes Page 191

Sometimes these types of errors will occur by attempting array programming

that is carried out in other languages.

For example: L1 = [3, 5, 7, 9] dynamically determines the length of the list by

the entries. A similar programming error:

L1 = [];
L1[0] = 5;

Note:
L1 - Creates an empty list
L2 – Creates an out of bounds error

The first line creates an empty list.

A logical assumption is that the second line would add a new element to the
list and dynamically increase the size. It does not. It gives an out of bounds
error. The proper code would be:

Example:
L1 = [];
L1.append(5);

When working with lists, a programmer will have less difficulty if they remember
that lists are objects!
Python I Notes Page 192

For Loop

As seen in the earlier example, a for loop must go from 0 to one less than the
length of the list! This can be simplified in Python using the following code:

Example:
for index in range(len(L1)):
print(L1[index]);

Remember what the range function does and it handles this situation perfectly for
lists!
Python I Notes Page 193

Alternative for Loop

For each pass through the loop, u will contain the value of the next element in the

Example
L1 = [3, 5, 7, 9];
for u in L1:
print(u);

list, starting at the 0 position.

Many of the same programming topics that were covered in strings also apply to
lists, which makes sense if you think of a string as a list of characters.

List Slicing

Form: list[start : end]

This will return a list starting at the index = start and ending at the index = end –
1:
Python I Notes Page 194

Example:
L1 = [1, 5, 13, 15, 21];
L1[2 : 4] would return [13, 15]

Note: This returns a list that could then be assigned to another list
variable.

Leaving off the start or end will extra all list entries from the beginning of the list
or the end of the list.

+ Operator

Form: list1 + list 2

This will concatenate two lists.

Python I Notes Page 195

Example:
L1 = [1, 2, 3];
L2 = [4, 5, 6];
L3 = L1 + L2;
L3 would not contain [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

* Operator

Form: scalar * list

Example:
L1 = [1, 2, 3];
L2 = 2 * L1;
L2 would not contain [1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3]

This will replicate the list as many times as the scalar.

Keep in mind that this does multiply everything in a list by a number but also
replicates the list!
Python I Notes Page 196

in/not in Operator

This will check to see if an item is on or not on the list.

Example:
L1 = [1, 2, 3];
if 2 in L1:
print(“2 was on the list!”);

The in operator provides a much easier interface than writing a search routine to
search through the list.

List Methods

As has been mentioned, a list is an object that has various methods associated
with it. Here is a table of the methods:
Python I Notes Page 197

Sometimes the programmer may find it of benefit to split a string up into a list, to
take advantage of the methods of the list object.

Example:
colors = “red blue yellow”.split();

The split method for a string will break a string into a list based upon the
delimiter.

The split method with no delimiter assumes spaces.

Example with a Delimiter:

colors = “red|blue|yellow”.split(“|”);

Consider the last line of code that uses the pipe symbol as a delimiter:

Example:
colors = "red|blue|yellow".split("|");
print(colors);

would return:['red', 'blue', 'yellow']

As can be seen, this is a very powerful feature. Consider the following code:
Python I Notes Page 198

Example:
L1 = "3|'david'|5".split("|");
print(L1);
sum = L1[0] + L1[2];
print (sum);

Since 3 and 5 are numbers, then we expect that our sum would equal 8 but the
result gives:

['3', "'david'", '5']

35

Python is a powerful programming language, but it is important to keep the data

types in mind when designing and testing the program.

Receiving input from the user is simplified using this concept.

Example:
s = input ("input 5 numbers with spaces between them");
L1 = s.split();
L1Numbers = [eval(x) for x in L1];
print(L1Numbers);
Python I Notes Page 199

Note: Five numbers were input using just ONE input!

When this program is run, it gives the following results:

input 5 numbers with spaces between them: 3 5 7 15 21

[3, 5, 7, 15, 21]
Python I Notes Page 200

Copying a List

The easiest way is to copy the list item by item.

Example:
L1 = L2;

This may appear to copy one list to another but instead creates references that
will complicate the Python program.

Functions and Lists

The procedure for passing in a list/returning a list versus a variable is the same,
but lists by default come in as mutable (which means the function can change the
value of the list directly). Sometimes creating a function that does not know the
type (in the design mode of the Anaconda system) causes the methods to be
unavailable. Consider this code once I press the decimal:

No methods appear as the function does not know the data type. This does not
mean that you cannot use the methods of the function, just that you will not get
that extra help from the IDE.
Python I Notes Page 201

def sort(L):
L.sort();

L = [5, 2, 1, 3];
sort(L);
print(L);

As can be seen, it works fine but I had to remember the sort method of the list.
Notice how confusing this code example would be. I have a function called sort
and a method called sort.

Now we have a function, method, and parameter called sort. Very confusing. A
better way to write this code example would be:

deflistsort(L1):
L1.sort();

L = [5, 2, 1, 3];
listsort(L);
print(L);

Naming can make a world of difference in programming!

Python I Notes Page 202

Multidimensional Lists

Lists can be embedded into another list for multidimensional lists (arrays):

Example:
numbers = [
[1, 3, 5, 7],
[9, 11, 13, 15]
];

This creates a list that is 2 rows by 4 columns.

List items have to be referenced by row and column designation.

Example:
numbers = [
[1, 3, 5, 7],
[9, 11, 13, 15]
];

To access the 9, the following code would be used: numbers[1][0].

Python I Notes Page 203

Notes: Tuples

Overview

A tuple is a Python sequence object that is similar to a list. The main differences
between a list and a tuple are:

• A tuple is an immutable object

• When it is defined, the whole set of elements is enclosed in parentheses

instead of square brackets

• Any set of multiple objects, comma-separated, written without identifying

symbols, i.e. brackets for lists, parentheses for tuples, etc., default to
tuples

Why Use a Tuple?

• Tuples are used to store collections of heterogeneous data

• Tuples implement all of the common sequence operations (slice

concatenate, etc.)

• Tuples have no append or extend method

• Tuples have no index method

• Tuples have no remove or pop method

Python I Notes Page 204

Creating Tuples

To create a tuple, insert comma-separated data next to the tuple name. It is

optional to put parenthesis around the values. The following are all valid ways to
construct a tuple:

• Using a pair of parentheses to denote the empty tuple: ( )

• Using a trailing comma for a singleton tuple: a, or (a,)

• Separating items with commas: a, b, c or (a, b, c)

Python I Notes Page 205

Syntax:
tuple = ([data]);

Examples:
tuple (‘abc’)
returns (‘a’,’b’,’c’)

tuple ([1,2,3])
returns (1,2,3)

tuple ();
returns nothing

tuple (1,);

Note: To write a tuple containing a single value you have to

include a comma, even though there is only one value.
Python I Notes Page 206

Tuple Operations

We learned about the Sequence Operations in the previous lecture. The following
is the list of Tuple operations and how they apply to Tuples.

Operation Meaning

t := [t1,t2] Concatenate tuples

i := |t| Get number of elements of tuple t

v := t[i] Select element i of tuple t; 0 <= i < |t|

t := t[i1:i2] Select from element i1 to element i2 of tuple t

t := subset(t,i) Select elements specified in i from t

t := select_mask(t1,t2) Select all elements from t1 where the corresponding

mask value in t2 is greater than 0

t := remove(t,i) Remove elements specified in i from t

i := find(t1,t2) Get indices of all occurrences of t2 within t1 (or -1 if no

match)

t := uniq(t) Discard all but one of successive identical elements

from t

t := [i1:i2:i3] Generate a sequence of values from i1 to i3 with an

increment value of i2
Python I Notes Page 207

Operation Meaning

t := [i1:i2] Generate a sequence of values from i1 to i2 with an

increment value of one
Python I Notes Page 208

Operation Examples:

Length
Tuplen((1, 2, 3))
result 3

Concatenation
Tupconc(1, 2, 3) + (4, 5, 6)
result (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

Repetition
Tup Rep ('Hi!',) * 4
result ('Hi!', 'Hi!', 'Hi!', 'Hi!')

Membership
TupMemb3 in (1, 2, 3)
Result True

Iteration
Tup Iterationfor x in (1, 2, 3): print x,
result 1 2 3
Python I Notes Page 209

Tuple Indexing and Slicing

Because tuples are sequences, indexing and slicing work the same way for tuples
as they do for strings and lists.

• Tuples indices are zero-based, just like a list, so the first element of a non-
empty tuple is always t[0].

• Negative indices count from the end of the tuple, just as with a list:

Examples:
Assuming following input: Data = (‘test”, ‘Test’, ‘TEST’)

Data[2]
result = TEST
Data[-2]
result = ‘Test’
Data[1:]
result = [‘Test’, ‘TEST’]

Note: Offsets start at zero

Negative: count from the right
Slicing fetches sections
Python I Notes Page 210

Example 2:
Months = (‘Jan’,‘Feb’,‘Mar’,‘Apr’,‘May’,‘June’, \
‘Jul’,’Aug’,’Sep’,’Oct’,’Nov’,’Dec’)

Note: The \ symbol allows the first line to carry over to the next
line. It allows for readability.

The code is then organized in a numbered list starting with zero, in the order the
values were entered. The list Months would look like this:

Index Value

0 Jan

1 Feb

2 Mar

3 Apr

4 May
Python I Notes Page 211

5 Jun

6 Jul

7 Aug

8 Sep

9 Oct

10 Nov

11 Dec

No Enclosing Delimiters

Any set of multiple objects, separated by a comma without identifying symbols:

Examples

print'abc',-4.24e93,18+6.6j,'xyz'; x, y =1,2;
result: abc-4.24e+93(18+6.6j) xyz

print"Value of x , y : ",x,y;
result: Value of x , y :12
i.e. brackets for lists, parentheses for tuples, etc., default to tuples, as indicated in
these short examples.
Python I Notes Page 212

Updating Tuples

Tuples are immutable, which means you cannot update or change the values of
tuple elements. You are able to take portions of existing tuples to create new
tuples, as the following example demonstrates:

tup1 =(12,34.56);
tup2 =('abc','xyz');

tup1[0] = 100;

tup3 = tup1 + tup2;

print tup3;
result: (12, 34.56, ‘abc’, ‘xyz’)

Note: tup1[0]is not valid for tuples; a new tuple needs to be

created called tup3.

Delete Tuple Elements

Removing individual tuple elements is not possible. There is, of course, nothing
wrong with putting together another tuple with the undesired elements
discarded. To explicitly remove an entire tuple, just use the del statement:
Python I Notes Page 213

Example:

tup=(python,'physics',2015,2016);
printtup;
deltup;
print"Deleting tuple : "
printtup;
result: ('python', 'chemistry', 2015, 2016)

Deleting tuple:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "test.python", line 9, in <module>
printtup;
NameError: name 'tup' is not defined

Note: An exception is raised and this is because, after deltup, tuple

does not exist anymore.
Python I Notes Page 214

Notes: Higher Order Functions

Higher Order Functions Overview

Higher order functions imply that function names can be passed into functions.
This feature is powerful in certain mathematical and engineering applications. The
average programmer would not see the benefit of using this feature.

Consider the composition of functions from college algebra. Given the following
functions: f ( x)  8x  2 and g ( x)  9 x  3 , the composition of f and g is given by the
following notation: f  g . In order to solve this problem, one function needs to be
passed into another function, as in these steps:

f g
 f (g)
 89 x  3  2
 72 x  24  2
 72 x  26

Consider another example of solving equations that are quadratic in form. Such as
the following example:

2 1

x 3  5x 3  6  0

The u substitution results in the following equation:

Python I Notes Page 215

u 2  5u  6  0

The substitution of x for u at the end of the problem is another example of

3

passing one “function” into another “function” (in programming terms).

Python has a powerful library called SimPy. The goal of this library is to have a full-
featured computer algebra system (CAS). Higher-order functions allow for a
simpler development of certain mathematical topics.

Let’s consider an example based on the composition of functions from above:

Example:
def f(x): Note: The calling
within the
print
return 8 * x + 2 function:
composition(
def g(x): f,g,4).

return 9 * x + 3
def composition(f1,f2,val):
return f1(f2(val))

print(composition(f,g,4)) # f(g(4))

The f and g are actual function names. Within the composition function, the
return statement has:

f1(f2(val))
Python I Notes Page 216

This applies the same concept as in algebra.

Note: This passes various

SymPy functions as
parameters to the
function printresults.
Example 2:
importsympy;

defprintresults(n1,n2,f):
print("answer is ", f(n1,n2));

printresults(8,12,sympy.gcd);
printresults(8,12,sympy.lcm);
printresults(8,12,sympy.primefactors);

Typically, the idea in programming is to keep it simple, so the feature exists if the
algorithm is tricky and can only be done with higher order functions or
mathematical programming, then you can apply the concept. Otherwise, it is best
to avoid higher order functions and use a few more lines of code to make the
program easier to read.
Python I Notes Page 217

Notes: Mapping Types – Dictionaries

Overview

Dictionaries are objects that provide a key/value lookup capability. Typically these
are values that are often accessed in a Python program and usually never change.
For example, a state lookup might use dictionaries.

KS would be the key for the value Kansas

MO would be the key for the value Missouri

These are static values that typically never change or are loaded in at runtime; it is
assumed that no change will occur during the time that the program is up and
running.

• State sales tax might be an example of this situation.

• While sales tax may change, it would never change in the middle of the
day.

• Assuming that the program is run in the morning, then it would load in the
sales tax at startup and always have the current rate.

• On the other hand, if it is a system that is up and running 24 hours a day,

then using dictionaries for the sales tax might not be a wise decision.

Obviously, a value that changes often, such as store sales, would be a poor choice
for a dictionary lookup. Assuming your system has some kind of database
capability, then database lookups are usually the preferred choice. A huge
dictionary in a Python program would consume memory and be inefficient.
Python I Notes Page 218

Dictionary: Creation

A dictionary can have as many key:value combinations as necessary but realize

that practical considerations have to come into the design, such as how much
memory would one million key:value combinations occupy? Assuming Python
allowed that many, it is reasonable to assume that nobody has tried to load that
many into a dictionary, as a database is the most practical solution to large
volumes of data.

Synatax:
dictionaryname = {key:value, key:value, etc.}

Examples:
states = {“KS”:”Kansas”, “MO”:”Missouri”};
rate = {};

Note: The line of code: rate = {} creates an empty dictionary which

then can have data loaded.
Python I Notes Page 219

Dictionary: Adding and Modifying Entries

Syntax:
Dictionaryname[key] = value

Examples:
states[“OK”] = “Oklahoma”;
states[“MO”] = “Missouri”;

These examples will look for the appropriate key (“OK”, “MO”, etc.).

• If it finds that key then it will change the current value to the specified
value.

• For example: states[“OK”] = “Oklahoma”; looks for the key “OK” and if it
finds it then it replaces the value with “Oklahoma”.

• If it does not find the key, then it adds the key/value combination of
“OK”/”Oklahoma” (without the quotations, of course).

These do not have to be hardcoded but could be loaded in from a file, database,
or user input. Imagine a website that had a parts inquiry screen. The viewer of
that webpage could input a part and it would return the quantity on hand or
perhaps the price. Dictionaries would allow this lookup. Though obviously a large
retailer with a million items on their webpage would not use dictionaries but a full
database system.
Python I Notes Page 220

Dictionary: Deleting Entries

Syntax:
delDictionaryname[key]

Example:
del states[“OK”];

Deleting entries is fairly self-explanatory. Keep in mind that, while these examples
are hardcoding the state, the Python program could be driven off from user input!

Dictionary: Retrieving Values

Syntax:
Dictionaryname[key]

Example:
print(states[“OK”]);
str = states[“KS”];

Dictionary values can be retrieved and used in other functions, or in various parts
of a Python program.

• The print state looks up the key value “OK” and returns the value to the
print function.
Python I Notes Page 221

• The second line assigns the value to another variable.

Consider the following code:

Example:
states = {"OK":"Okahoma","KS":"Kansas"};
print(states["OK"]);
str = states["KS"];
print(states["MO"]);

“MO” is not in the dictionary and returns the following error message:

File "//exchsrv2003/Docs$/HaysD357147/My
Documents/Python Scripts/untitled3.py", line 11, in
<module>

print(states["MO"]);

KeyError: 'MO'
Python I Notes Page 222

Dictionary: Looping Through all Entries Example

Example:
for key in states:
print(states[key]);

Note: There is no hardcoding of the keys, but the for loop simply
goes through all the “keys” and prints the values.

Dictionary: Determining the Size of the Dictionary

Syntax
len(dictionaryname)

In some cases, the size of the dictionary should be monitored to make sure that it
is not becoming too large.

• Programmers are not limited to the standard try/except/finally construct.

• If some issue is arising, then the computer program could email the
support team to let them know what is occurring.

• One program that I wrote automatically emailed me (based on a flag in the

database) if the users were using my program.
Python I Notes Page 223

• Sounds kind of silly, but parts of the production floor were very resistant to
change and many of our programs that were installed were not being
used.

Dictionary: Checking to see if the Dictionary Contains a Certain Entry

Example
states = {“KS”:”Kansas”,”MO”:”Missouri”};
if “KS” in states:
print(“Found Kansas!”);

It is not a bad idea to check to see if the key exists in the database prior to using it
in the program. This avoids key errors or having to implement exception handling
for this issue.
Python I Notes Page 224

Dictionary: Methods

Most of these entries are self-explanatory. The entry on the right side of the colon
is the data type returned. For example, the clear() method returns nothing.
Python I Notes Page 225

Notes: Exception Handling – Types

Overview

Simply put, exception handling refers to something going wrong in a Python

program and how the program is going to handle the situation.

General ledger entries are read into a Python program and loaded into the
database. The record structure should look like these examples:

1234ABC Company 33.41

2019XYZ Company 44.39

One record comes in truncated:

1234ABC Company 33.41

2019XYZ Compa

• The Python program fails to execute properly!

• How do you handle the situation?

• Open the input file, delete or correct that line, and run the program again?

• Fix the problem temporarily and then code exception handling into the
program.

At one company where I worked, the programmer would temporarily fix the
problem and get the program running again. No effort was put into solving the
reason that it happened. This was not laziness because of the priority of other
projects. The company made a determination that the correction of this “error”
Python I Notes Page 226

was a priority. As a consequence, the number of programs that “crashed”

significantly went down! Many companies do not understand this importance. In
the long run, this approach reduces downtime for systems and programmers due
to these errors, which in turn gives more time for “priority projects.”

Types of Exception Handling

Programmer-defined

Programmer-defined exception handling is done with programming constructs.

For example, the programmer might check to see if the user has input an invalid
state code, or if the number that is input does not fall within a pre-defined range.

System-defined

System-defined exception handling (try/except) handle the cases that

programmer defined exception handling cannot check.

Assertions

Assertions are simple one-line exception handling meant to check the status of a
Boolean condition, print the result, and then terminate the program.

For example, a RuntimeError is a StandardError which is a BaseException. All the

properties associated with the higher level are inherited down.
Python I Notes Page 227

Notes: Exception Handling – Usage

Exception Handling – Usage

Recall that exception handling is how to handle an unexpected error in your

program. The unexpected error refers to a system error, not necessarily a
programming error. Although the programming error could cause the Python
program to terminate with a system error. This usually refers to an error that
causes a program to terminate unexpectedly. An example is a conversion to an
inappropriate data type, as in the following example.

Example:
num = “two”
n = int(num)

• The first line creates a string variable called num and assigns the value
“two” to the variable.

• The next line attempts to convert it to an integer.

• Normally it is fine to convert a string variable to an integer variable, but

the value contained in the string variable should be an integer.

• The value “two” is not an integer, so the program would terminate with a
system error.

• Exception handling allows the programmer to handle this system error in

an appropriate manner.
Python I Notes Page 228

• The Python program might give a user-friendly message about the data
type and then terminate, or perhaps ask the user to re-enter the number.

Common Errors

Some common locations for exception handling in a program are during data
conversions, file functions, and database access.

The reason for this specific focus is that these are where the majority of the errors
occur. Access to outside components can bring in unexpected results. The main
reason is that these components are outside the control of the Python program.

Outside Components

The following are situations of outside components that can cause errors:

• A file that a particular Python program reads in might be written out by

another program.

• An external program might not have run or was programmed incorrectly.

• Perhaps the file was removed by accident by the user.

• The drive was full.

• Many conditions like the above mentioned could occur.

Python I Notes Page 229

Real Life Example:

Three of your friends are meeting at your house to paint the

house.
You have control of your own self:
• You know that you will be there.
• You will know how to handle an emergency that might
come up.
Your friends are another issue:
• Will they show up?
• Will they work as you might expect?
These are outside components that can bring in unexpected
results.
The same idea holds true in our Python programs.

In some data conversions, a strategy is to run the program and cause it to

terminate by entering unexpected data. This allows the programmer to see the
error code. Some programmers may look up the documentation, but causing the
program to terminate allows the programmer to copy the error message exactly
and paste it into the appropriate position.

In many cases, this method does not work. For example, how can you simulate a
database reaching the limits of the size? In many cases, the programmer must use
standard exception handling code and individually handle those cases when they
occur. This is perhaps the exception handling code that is recommended by the
vendor of the software product. In some cases, it is simple enough that it does
Python I Notes Page 230

not need to be tested. Unfortunately, this idea causes many headaches. Code
simple enough for no testing often fails but sometimes faith is necessary, as in the
database example above.

Example:

A Progress database became too large and the entire weekend

was spent correcting the issue. It had not happened in the
previous ten years and never occurred again. In many cases,
exception handling is not meant to handle the error that happens
once in the lifetime of the system, but the more common issues.
The criticalness of the system will determine the level of exception
handling. Obviously, programs controlling ATMs or medical
equipment would require more exception handling.

General Form:
try
<code>
exceptExceptionType as ex:
<handler>
else:
<code>
finally:
<code>
Python I Notes Page 231

The indented code following the try is performed. If a system error occurs, then
the program immediately goes down to the lines containing “except.” The general
form above only has one except, but the Python program may have numerous
except – one for each system error. The “ex” is a variable name that allows access
to further detailed information. The form could just have “except” with no
exceptiontype. The else clause handles all the exception handling that is not
covered by the exceptiontypes. The finally clause is code that occurs after the
particular clause is performed.

Example:
try:
num = int(input(“Enter a Number:”))
print(num)
exceptNameError as e1:
print(“Exception occurred: “, e1)

This particular example checks for a “NameError” and handles the error. Keep in
mind that the appropriate error must be checked. If the programmer wanted to
check to see if the data type was correct, then the error that should be checked is
“ValueError.”
Python I Notes Page 232

Try:
num = int(input("Enter a Number:"))
print(num)
exceptValueError as e1:
print("Exception occurred: ", e1)

If the programmer just wishes to generically handle all errors, then the error code
can be left off, as in this example:

Try:
num = int(input("Enter a Number:"))
print(num)

except:
print("Exception occurred ")

If the exception handling can be done without try/except, it should be done by

the programmer. It is bad programming practice to let the program raise an
exception when simple coding can prevent the situation.

Example

If your program is expecting a file to be read in, then check for the
existence of the file prior to opening it.
Python I Notes Page 233

Poor programming would be to let the Python program raise an

exception on the missing file and use exception handling to correct
the issue.

In the early days of Internet access, a program was written to send out emails for
customer leads. If the Internet connection was down, the program would store
the emails in a database and keep checking the status of the Internet connection.
This exception handling was necessary at that time due to the uptime of the
Internet connection.

The larger question concerns how to handle these emails in the

database. There are many questions that arise. Why did the emails not
go out? Was it just the Internet connection or could there have been
other reasons? Did the exception handling take care of all the cases?

An exception handling solution placed in the program was to:

• Find and write all emails that were improperly formed into a file on the
computer (not even into a database table!).

• The file eventually became too large and crashed the program.

• What are some considerations on this program?

• The exception handling was done right but the handling of the bad data
was not considered.
Python I Notes Page 234

Exception Handling – Control Flow Mechanism

This concept is introduced to emphasize the proper use of exception handling.

Although this could be debated, the main idea in programming is to keep it simple
and exception handling to control flow can violate this idea. Over-using exception
handling to control the flow of the program is considered poor programming
practice. Many programmers consider this usage as equivalent to “gotos” in a

Try:
F1 = open(filename, 'r')
for str1 in F1:
print(str1)
F1.close()
exceptFileNotFoundError as E1:
print("File is missing " + filename + "Err: " + E1.strerror)
choice = input("Do you wish to create the file? (Y or N): ")
if choice == "Y":
F1 = open(filename,'w')
F1.close()

program. One example in the demonstration illustrates the proper usage of

exception handling as a control flow mechanism:

This example will be discussed in the demonstration, but the idea is that we are
treating the exception handling like a simple if statement:
Python I Notes Page 235

if “the file is present”:

code
else if “the file is missing”:
code

This code does not seem to reflect a goto situation but more of an if-else
condition. The usage of exception handling should not cause “astonishment.”

The code above does not cause any astonishment.

It might be tempting to use exception handling for clever coding, but remember
that another programmer may have to look at your code in the future. Perhaps
even yourself!

The Principle of Least Astonishment states: “The result of

performing some operation should be obvious, consistent,
and predictable, based upon the name of the operation and
other clues.”
Python I Notes Page 236

Notes: Exception Handling – Control Flow

Mechanism

The Overuse of Exception Handling to Control the Flow of a Program

“Keep it Simple”

When a Python script comes across a situation it is not “coded” to handle, it raises
an exception. First, we need to understand what an exception is. An exception is
an event that occurs during the execution of a program, which interrupts the
otherwise normal flow of the program’s instructions. When the script raises an
exception, it has to be handled immediately or the script will terminate. It is,
therefore, considered as “bad programming” to use exception handling to control
the flow of your program.

Python will raise an exception if your program attempts to do something

inaccurate or pointless. To handle errors, you can set up exception handling
blocks using the keywords try and except. When an error comes along, within a
try block, Python will look for an except block. If it finds one it will jump there to
look for a means to handle the error.

Exceptions should be reserved for exceptional situations, not for everyday normal
flow control. Most programmers agree that you should use exception handling for
handling unanticipated/exceptional situations, not as normal program flow.
Python I Notes Page 237

The overuse of exception handling is an anti-pattern:

• Exceptions are basically sophisticated goto statements

• Overuse of exceptions makes the code difficult to read and understand

• Python, as well as other languages, has control structure built in and is

better designed to solve the problems

Pros to the use of Exception Handling Control the Flow

Usually, exceptions are useful for allowing the programmer to concisely state two
control flows, which are independent of each other, in the same piece of code:
one if the error happens and one if the error doesn’t occur.

There are a few occasions when it is “more” acceptable to use exceptions than
others. For instance, during a busy day, you encounter a situation you don’t have
time to deal with right now. You don’t have enough information to deal with the
issue correctly the first time. In this case, if writing in a try/except works to bring
everything back online and working, all well and good. However, you should write
quality documentation on what you did and why, to allow for you or someone
else to further investigate and correct the problem later.
Python I Notes Page 238

It is also reasonable to use exception handling as a quick way to advert a control

flow problem that has the potential to cause serious data corruption or some
other lasting damage. Keep in mind, if you aren’t using exception handling as a
quick fix to avoid disaster or bridge to hold up the program until you have more
time, there is probably a better way to achieve your objectives.
Python I Notes Page 239

Notes: Assertions

Overview

Assertions are very short pieces of code used to check the internal status of your
Python program.

• They might check the status of a dictionary entry or the type of a variable.

• These are one-line pieces of code to check a Boolean condition and, if

false, then print a message and terminate.

Syntax:
assert <Boolean condition>, “programmer written error
message”

If the Boolean condition is false, the programmer written error message is

displayed on the screen and the program terminates.
Python I Notes Page 240

Example:
class MyDB:
def __init__(self):
self._id2name_map = {}
self._name2id_map = {}

def add(self, id, name):

self._name2id_map[name] = id
self._id2name_map[id] = name

def by_name(self, name):

return self._name2id_map[name]

def by_name(self, name):

id = self._name2id_map[name]
assert self._id2name_map[id] == name
return id
Python I Notes Page 241

The last function can be changed to incorporate an assertion:

Note: The assert statement: assert self._id2name_map[id] ==

name is checking the integrity of the data.

• Do not worry too much about the details of this code.

• The assert statement: assert self._id2name_map[id] == name is checking

the integrity of the data.

• No message is displayed in this example, but the programmer wants to do

the quick check and just terminate the program if the integrity is
inconsistent.

• This causes the program to terminate.

• This is the idea of asserts: they check a simple condition and terminate if
the condition is “false.”

Example:
def add(self, id, name):
assert type(id) is IntType, "id is not an integer: %r" % id
assert type(name) is StringType, "name is not a string: %r" %
name

• These asserts check the type and handle it appropriately.

• Notice that these asserts have a message displayed.

Python I Notes Page 242

• Proper programming usually requires some display of debugging

information, such as the value of variables that might have caused the
assertion error.

According to the Python documentation:

• Checking parameter types, classes, or values.

• Checking data structure invariants.

• Checking “can’t happen” situations (duplicates in a list, contradictory state

variables).

• After calling a function, to make sure that its return is reasonable.

Python I Notes Page 243

Notes: Efficiency Considerations

Overview

Efficiency is sometimes important and sometimes unimportant. For example, one

mainframe process done inefficiently had to be run at night due to the hours
required for it to be run. It was changed to use keys in the database and it ran in
just a few minute’s time. The process was going through millions of records
sequentially and efficiency became very important!

At a particular company, I spent time improving the efficiency of programs

running on the mainframe. We leased the mainframe and paid a set amount per
month. This leased price was then charged out to the internal customers per CPU
cycle. I ended up saving the company approximately $250,000. I received a memo
praising my efforts.

A Real-Life Example:

I took a report that cost an internal customer $500 per run and
reduced it to $2 per run. I felt good about my work, but when I
went to another customer, who was more knowledgeable on
business concepts, and told him what I had done and wanted to
examine their programs for efficiency improvements, he asked me
if the mainframe was leased. I replied that it was. He then asked if
the leased price had gone down. It had not. He pointed out that I
merely caused the cost of the CPU cycle to increase and that I did
Python I Notes Page 244

not save the company $250,000 since we were still paying the
same price to the vendor. He was correct! He said that sometimes
a company getting their result faster might result in profit but,
otherwise, my efforts were not beneficial. He was not being mean
but helping me to understand. He said that he had other projects
that he would rather I work on, which would be profitable for the
company. It taught me a valuable lesson that efficiency has to be
viewed in terms of the larger picture of the company.

Efficiency has to be viewed in terms of the larger picture

of the company.

Consider another process that takes 5 seconds to run. Perhaps it is programmed

inefficiently. After maybe five hours of changes in the program, then the process
now takes 1 second to run. Was it worth the effort? Does a company want to pay
you for this improvement?

• 5 seconds versus 1 second; is this significant?

• 5 seconds to bold an item in Microsoft Word would seem like an eternity!

• 5 seconds to wait for a process that is run only on Monday mornings would
be acceptable!

• 5 seconds for a prompt on an ATM machine would seem like an eternity!

• 5 seconds for a printer process to start printing is acceptable!

Sometimes programmers are short-sighted! The process perhaps takes 1 minute

to run when there are 100 records in the database. This seems acceptable. How
Python I Notes Page 245

about in 5 years’ time, when there are 10,000,000 records in the database?
Proper consideration of efficiency might prevent major headaches in the future!

Theoretical Approach to Efficiency

It is difficult to anticipate what the effects will be in the future since they have
never occurred before! A theoretical approach allows for a measure of the
efficiency. The big O notation is a function that measures the complexity of the
algorithm based on input size.

Linear Search
• Each number is compared to the search value.

• If it does not match, then it goes to the next one.

• If the number of entries is n, then:

• If the search value is not on the list, then n searches have to be

performed.
• If the search value is not on the list, then n/2 searches on average have
to be performed.

• 𝑂(𝑛) refers to the time.

𝑛 1
• In analyzing the algorithm: 𝑂(𝑛) = 𝑂 2 = 𝑂 2𝑛, constants are ignored.

• An algorithmic analysis is based on growth rate.

Python I Notes Page 246

T(n) refers to the time complexity. In general: 𝑇(𝑛) = 𝑐 × 𝑛 = 𝑂(𝑛)

Example:
for i in range(10):
sum = sum + i;
for i in range(n):
for i in range(30):
sum = sum + i;
Python I Notes Page 247

𝑇(𝑛) = 𝟏𝟎 × 𝒄 + 𝟑𝟎 + 𝒄 × 𝒏 = 0(𝑛)

𝟏𝟎 × 𝒄 refers to the first for loop which loops from 0 to 9

• This is a total of 10 iterations.

• If the for loop was “for i in range(20),” that piece would be 20 × 𝑐

𝟑𝟎 + 𝒄 × 𝒏 refers to the second main for loop which loops from 0 to n-1

• N is the number of iterations within the loop

• It goes from 0 to 29 or 30 iterations for each value of the outer for loop.

• This explains 30 + 𝑐 × 𝑛

Consider the following for loop:

for i in range(n+1):
for j in range(n):
for k in range(n+5):

This would consist of (𝑛 + 1) × 𝑛 × (𝑛 + 5) × 𝑐 for the efficiency.

Python I Notes Page 248

What is C?

The question becomes: what is c and how to figure it? This is a hard concept.

• How long will one iteration of a for loop take?

• It is a simple programming task to find this on a particular computer, but

then how long will this take on an older or newer model?

• Industry or company specific charts may help in this determination.

• Will the multi-tasking capability of the computer affect c?

• What are the typical applications that will be running when the Python
program is run?

These are just some of the considerations that must be addressed. Some analysis
just assumes a perfect world with nothing else running, as there are too many
variables to consider. Many users of computers have purchased new computers
and noticed the startup time decreasing significantly when logging into their
computers in the same operating system. Some of this can be explained by
programs running at startup on the old computer but not on the new computer.
Much of the improvement is due to increased hardware speed.
Python I Notes Page 249

Notes: Black Box Testing

Overview

Black Box Testing is a testing method where no knowledge of the inner workings
or code is known. The easiest way to think of this concept is for a user to use the
computer program. This testing might be done by a user of the system or by the
actual programmer. Either way, the tester assumes no knowledge of the program,
just the interface.

The black box refers to the tester not being able to see inside the
box.

The tester is working form specifications and requirements. These might be

written in a document or done on the fly.

For example, if the program is meant to calculate the factorial, the

user input would be a number, as in this prompt:
Input a number:______

The tester will then see if the program works according to the specifications and
how it reacts in various scenarios.
Python I Notes Page 250

Examples:
What happens when I put in a negative number?
What happens when I put a letter in the program?
What happens when I put in too large of a number?
What happens when I put in a decimal number?

It is important that the tester document the exact inputs and the result that
occurred so that the programmer can recreate the problem.

Test Design Techniques

• Decision table testing

• All-pairs testing

• State transition analysis

• Equivalence partitioning

• Boundary value analysis

• Cause-effect graph

• Error guessing
Python I Notes Page 251

Not all the techniques will be used in every Black Box Testing scenario. The
criticalness of the application will help determine the depth of the testing.

For example, if there is one user who knows what a factorial

means, the testing may be minimal. However, if there is going to
be 300,000 users who have no clue what a factorial is, then
improper Black Box Testing may generate 30,000 support calls!
Python I Notes Page 252

Notes: Glass Box Testing

Overview

Glass Box Testing is a method of testing the application by assuming knowledge of

the programming language and internal design.

The glass box name implies that the tester can see “inside the box”
and know all the details of the programs, as well as the
supporting components such as files, databases, etc.

The tester is again working on specifications and requirements. These might be

more general or, in some cases, more specific. An example of a general
requirement is that all test cases are included that encompass all the lines of a
computer program.

For example, a Python program might have an intricate “if” structure with many
decision paths. Proper testing would make sure that each decision path functions
as required.
Python I Notes Page 253

Example:
if grade >= 90:
print(“You received an A”);
elif grade >= 80:
print(“You received a B”);
elif grade >= 70:
print(“You received a C”);
And so on

It would be important for the tester to have test cases to check all the different
branches of the if structure. For example, the tester might input 92, 83, 75, 62,
53, etc., to check all the different paths possible in the if structure.

Perhaps the application is based on a database. The tester might want to check all
the conditions that would happen if something is wrong with the database. This is
easier said than done. How do you simulate corrupting a database? Sometimes
the error conditions that happen cannot be explained and, as a consequence,
cannot be recreated.

Although many individuals will indicate that testing should be thorough and
complete, this is not actually the case. The criticalness of the application, delivery
date, support issues and many other factors help to dictate the depth of the
testing.
Python I Notes Page 254

Consider how much testing is required for an ATM program compared to a simple
Excel VBA macro for one user.

Improper testing on the ATM program could cost a bank a huge loss, while
improper testing on the VBA macro may be a minor loss. Keep in mind that a VBA
macro error could be very costly, depending upon the criticalness of the
spreadsheet!
Python I Notes Page 255

Test Design Techniques

• Control flow testing

• Data flow testing

• Branch testing

• Statement coverage

• Decision coverage

• Modified condition/decision coverage

• Prime path testing

• Path testing

Most programmers do most of the above techniques but do not actually write
them down.

This method keeps programmers accountable. Many programmers assume that, if

it works for one value, it will work for any value. Often, this is not due to laziness
but the time demands of the occupation. Although robust testing can be tedious
and some programmers have to be forced to do proper testing!
Python I Notes Page 256

Notes: Debugging Techniques

Overview

The Python program is not working correctly; what can the programmer do?

1. Simple inspection: The programmer should start off with a simple

inspection of their program. Look for any indications from the Anaconda
system that there are issues. See if the spacing is correct for the various
programming constructs.

2. Is it running Your code? Use simple print statements to see if it is even

running your code. If it never reaches the code that you are debugging or

Example:
if sales > 30000;
commission = sales * 0.10;

runs it inconsistently, then the flow of the program is incorrect.

3. Modify your code (temporarily)

Example 3.1: If your program is running a loop 500,000

times and it is difficult to debug, then change the loop to run
twice and check the results.

Example 3.2: Comment out code that is working and focus

on the code that is not working.
Python I Notes Page 257

4. Copy your code then modify: Sometimes it is beneficial to copy your

code, comment out the original code and then start changing the copied
code. Perhaps the code change is temporary or the programmer is just
experimenting.

5. Keep it simple: If you are trying to be clever or concise with your code
then change the code. Clever code should be left for the times when you
truly need to be clever in programming. The majority of programming is
repeating the same code over and over for different circumstances. For
example, for five years I always did the same generic code for database
access.

Example:
Tempquery.close;
Tempquery.clear;
Tempquery.sql.add(“SELECT * FROM SALES;”);
Tempquery.open;

• Although there are more clever ways to implement database lookups, I

always programmed it in the simplest manner.
• If you are developing your own algorithms, then the keep-it-simple
idea may not hold but try to follow this principle as much as possible.

6. IDE features: Breakpoints, variable watches, and many other features are
available in IDEs. Explore these options if you plan to get serious about a
particular development platform. These features could save hours and
hours of debugging.
Python I Notes Page 258

7. Another pair of eyes: I have spent hours looking for an error and then
breaking down, having another programmer look at the code and
immediately seeing the problem.

• Another pair of eyes also means that you set aside the program and
take a break from the examination.
• Work on some other project or get a good night’s sleep! Sometimes
then the problem is obvious.

8. Incremental development: One popular approach is to develop small

segments of code and to test each segment as you write the code. It is
often easier to debug a few lines of code than a hundred lines of code.

9. Do not reinvent the wheel: In programming (not necessarily in

classwork!) it is perfectly acceptable to copy another person’s code. Many
companies would rather a programmer spend five minutes copying code
off the Internet versus five days writing their own code. If the code you
are trying to debug is a common piece of code, then spend a few minutes
searching the Internet. Open source code has become popular and the
concept of sharing has also become popular in coding! I was debugging
an email program written in Perl that used sockets. It was a program that
was written by another programmer. The programmer did not keep it
simple. Finally, I asked the user if it has to be in Perl using sockets. They
had no clue what Perl and sockets were but stated that they just wanted
it to work. I found an ASP email example on the Internet and copied it.
Then I did some minor testing and the process was working in a very
short period of time.
Python I Notes Page 259

The above are just a few ideas. This is not the complete list but just ones that I
used in my years of programming.
Python I Notes Page 260

Notes: Classes

Overview

Object-oriented programming has simplified certain programming. For example,

game development would be extremely difficult without objects.

• Many features of a development environment/programming language

have improved with the use of objects.

• Some languages have implemented various programming constructs as

objects.

• The programming language Smalltalk intended for everything in the

language to be an object.

• This object-based philosophy of Smalltalk helped to influence future

programming languages in their implementation of object-oriented
programming.

Objects should not be used in every circumstance though (despite what Smalltalk
indicates)!
Python I Notes Page 261

Defining Classes – General Form

Syntax:
classClassName:
initializer
methods

Example:
classRect:
def __init__(self,length=1,width=1):
self.length = length;
self.width = width;
self refers to the object invoking the particular method.
Python I Notes Page 262

The initializer creates an instance of the object. It is specified by two underscores

before and after the “init” part.

Length and width are the parameters. Since these are set equal to one then, if the
programmer does not pass in any parameters, the value of length and width will
be equal to one.

Every function in a class definition must have the word “self” as the first
parameter. This is not actually passed in when you call it but must be there.
Python I Notes Page 263

By using variables with

“self.” in front of
them these are
automatically
instance variables.

Note: Assuming the library Rectangle.py contains the definition of

the Rectangle object.

Creating an Instance – General Form

Synax:
objectRefVar = ClassName (arguments)

Example:
import Rectangle as r
r1 = r.Rect(3,5);
r2 = r.Rect();
Python I Notes Page 264

The first instance r1 is created passed in 3 and 5 as parameters, which means its
instance variables are self.length = 3 and self.width = 5. The second instance r2 is
created passing with no parameters, which means that its instance variables
default to the value one 1: self.length = 1 and self.width = 1.

Accessing Instance Variables

Although many consider it poor programming form, instance variables can be

accessed directly.

Example:
r1 = r.Rect(3,5);
print(r1.length);
r1.length = 8;
print(r1.length);
Example:
classRect:
def __init__(self,length=1,width=1):
self.length = length;
self.width = width;
defgetLength(self):
returnself.length;
defsetLength(self,param_l):
self.length = param_l;
Python I Notes Page 265

Many programmers adhere to the standards of using get and set methods to
change the value of the instance variables.

Notice the naming convention of the methods “getLength” and “setLength”.

Typically, these methods start with get and set. The languages do not require it
but it is accepted programming practice. The method names could actually be any
valid name, as shown below.

The standard allows anybody who has worked with objects to easily understand
the purpose of these two methods. The “get” method usually just returns the
value of the instance variable, while the “set” method usually just sets the value
of the instance variable. The code to then access the instance variables would
follow the example below.

Example:
classRect:
def __init__(self,length=1,width=1):
self.length = length;
self.width = width;
defgL(self):
returnself.length;
defsL(self,param_l):
self.length = param_l;
Python I Notes Page 266

Think of the interface of a television. The user could open up the back of the
computer and manipulate the circuit boards to change the channel, but the
designers did not wish the user to access it in this manner. A remote control
and/or buttons were implemented to provide a “safe” interface. The “get” and
“set” methods perform the same function.

Methods

“Get” and “set” methods are not the only pieces of code that can be implemented
for a class. Various methods can be defined to accomplish various tasks.

Example:
classRect:
def __init__(self,length=1,width=1):
self.length = length;
self.width = width;
defgetLength(self):
returnself.length;
defsetLength(self,param_l):
self.length = param_l;
defcalcPerimeter(self):
return 2 * self.length + 2 * self.width;
defcalcArea(self):
returnself.length * self.width;
Python I Notes Page 267

Notice that the last two methods have been implemented to calculate perimeter
and area. Notice that self.length and self.width are not passed in as parameters.
The instance of the object already knows its own instance variables. This is a
similar idea of an instance of a human being already knowing their name, age, etc.

These methods can be called as in the following:

Example:
print(r1.calcArea());
print(r1.calcPerimeter());

Should area and perimeter be methods to call or should these be instance

variables? These are questions that the programmer must decide upon when
designing the method. Benefits exist with both methods. The general idea is that
instance variables are “natural” occurring properties that describe the object. For
example, a human being might have the properties: first name, last name,
birthdate, and age. Age is not something that should be calculated each time it is
asked for. Imagine the look on an individual’s face if they asked your age and you
had to do the calculation in front of them. How about if you were asked how
many blocks you live from a local school? This is a calculated item and would
make a good method. Consider if area and perimeter were instance variables:
Python I Notes Page 268

def __init__(self,length=1,width=1):
self.length = length;
self.width = width;
self.area = length * width;
self.perimeter = 2 * length + 2 * width;

Then each time the length or width have changed the area and perimeter would
have to be recalculated:

defsetLength(self,param_l):
self.length = param_l;
self.area = self.length * self.width;
self.perimeter = 2 * self.length + 2 * self.width;

Some true purists of object-oriented programming might argue that a “set”

method should only apply to the variable specified. For example, “setLength”
should only code affecting the length. In practice, this is not practical.
Python I Notes Page 269

Notes: Class Inheritance

Overview

Inheritance is seen in public education with the taxonomy of living creatures. In a

simplistic view, a primate is a mammal which is an animal. Since a mammal is an
animal, it “inherits” all the characteristics of an animal. Since a primate is a
mammal, it “inherits” all the characteristics of a mammal.

In programming, this allows the programmer to concisely define the instance

variables/methods at any level. In certain programming fields, this is an important
concept.
Python I Notes Page 270

The breakdown can be a logical breakdown that has been seen in past courses or
any definition.

Examples:
Company
- Department
- Employees
- Buildings
- Office Equipment
Example:
- Desks
House
- Chairs
- Rooms
- Dining Room
- Living Room
- Bedroom
- Bathroom
- Residents

A company consists of departments and buildings. Within the department, there

are employees and, within the building, there is office equipment, which is further
broken down into desks and chairs.

This breakdown does not indicate that there will only be one bedroom or
bathroom, it is merely defining the “types” of rooms.

• Another programmer defining this same breakdown might have a different

interpretation.
Python I Notes Page 271

• The key is whether the object definition can be applied to every instance
of the object.

• This does not apply to every instance across the entire universe.

• Perhaps there are houses that do not have the same structure.

• Perhaps a better breakdown for the house might be:

House
- Rooms “with instance variables of type (dining, living, sleeping,
bath, etc.)”
- Residents
Python I Notes Page 272

Types

By having the type defined as an instance variable, the object definition is more
flexible.

In programming, this allows the programmer to concisely define the instance

variables/methods at any level. In certain programming fields, this is an important
concept. For example, in certain games, there may be 100 different characters.
The basic movement is the same for the characters but perhaps their appearance
is different. The hierarchy would look like:

character
hero
villain
Python I Notes Page 273

Polynomial

Polynomials provide a good example of inheritance. From algebra, we know the

breakdown is as follows:

Polynomial
- Monomial
- Binomial
- Trinomial

This could also be defined using a quadratic.

Example:
class Polynomial:
def __init__(self,degree=1):
self.__degree = degree;
defgetDegree(self):
returnself.__degree;

Stored in a file called Polynomial.py

Python I Notes Page 274

Note: The setDegree method is missing. Perhaps the programmer

does not wish for the degree to be changed after the
creation of the instance. The setDegree would not be
necessary.

Trinomial

The trinomial class would be defined as:

import math
from Polynomial import Polynomial
Python I Notes Page 275

class Trinomial(Polynomial):
def __init__(self,a=1,b=1,c=1):
super().__init__(2);
self.__a = a;
self.__b = b;
self.__c = c;
defgetZeros(self):
ans1 = (-1 * self.__b + math.sqrt(self.__b**2 - 4 * self.__a *
self.__c))/(2 * self.__a)
ans2 = (-1 * self.__b - math.sqrt(self.__b**2 - 4 * self.__a *
self.__c)) / (2 * self.__a)
return ans1, ans2
Stored in a file called Trinomial.py
Python I Notes Page 276

The two main pieces that cause the inheritance are:

class Trinomial(Polynomial):

Note: Inside the parenthesis is the name “Polynomial.” This is the

class it inherits from and is brought into the code from the
“import” line.

The piece is:

super().__init__(2);

The super refers to the class it is inherited from and the __init__ calls the
initializer method (construct the instance).

The calling of this inheritance scheme is as follows:

Example:
import Trinomial as t
t1 = t.Trinomial(1,-5,6);
print("zeros are %.2f and %.2f" % t1.getZeros());
print("The degree was %d" % t1.getDegree());
Python I Notes Page 277

The trinomial class specifically refers to a quadratic. The definition could have
gone as follows:

Polynomial
- Monomial
- Binomial
- Trinomial
- Quadratics

But the question becomes whether every quadratic is a trinomial? Can a quadratic
be a binomial or even a monomial? Proper design of inheritance takes much time
and effort. An improper design could set up an infrastructure that creates many
headaches down the road!
Python I Notes Page 278

Notes: Abstraction and Encapsulation

Overview

Consider a television set. The inner workings of the television set are hidden from
the user. Buttons allow the user to turn the television on/off or to change
channels. Imagine if the user had to understand all the inner workings of the
circuitry prior to use!

Abstraction

Class abstraction is the separation of the class implementation from the use of
the class. The creator defines the methods that can be used and how to use them.

Examples:
TV.PowerOn()
TV.PowerOff()
TV.ChangeChannel(channelNumber)
TV.ChangeVolume(volumeNumber)

Our television example would have the methods above.

• To call the method “ChangeChannel,” the user would need to pass in the
channelNumber.
Python I Notes Page 279

• This could also be programmed by increasing or decreasing the channel by

one.

• This defines the class implementation (if all the code was placed with the
methods).

• The actual usage would be separate.

For example, Nielson states that there are 115.6 televisions in the
United States in 2014.
There are 115.6 instances of a television object in the United
States.

This is the usage, while the example above would just describe the interface.

The public methods, expected behavior, and usage are referred to

as the class’s contract with the client.
Python I Notes Page 280

Encapsulation

The details of the implementation are encapsulated (the packing of instance

variables and functions into a single component) and hidden from the user. This is
referred to as the class encapsulation.

Data Types and Objects

These concepts can also be applied to data types and objects.

• An abstract data type refers to an object that has a very controlled

environment, allowing only public methods and hiding the details.

• This separation of the class implementation from the use of the class is
referred to as class abstraction. This class abstraction can be seen in the
following diagram from the book:
Python I Notes Page 281

Data Attributes

Data attributes may be referenced by methods, as well as by ordinary users

(“clients”) of an object.

• Classes are not usable to implement pure abstract data types.

• Nothing in Python makes it possible to enforce data hiding — it is all based

on convention. (On the other hand, the Python implementation, written in
C, can completely hide implementation details and control access to an
object if necessary; this can be used by extensions to Python written in C.)
Python I Notes Page 282

Notes: Information Hiding

Overview

Part of this abstraction/encapsulation is separating the implementation from the

definition. Another part is “hiding” everything but the details of the how to access
the object. The television is again the perfect example. The details of how the
television works are hidden from the user. Most users would just have to say that
“magic” is what makes it work. They might give some kind of weak explanation of
electricity and channels coming in through a cable, but that is just what they
notice going into the back of the television. This simplicity is what allows the
television to be popular. Imagine if the user had to understand the details of how
a television works in order to use it. The television would probably cease to exist.
Our goal in designing an object is to hide as much as possible from the
programmer to simplify the usage of the object!
Python I Notes Page 283

In object-oriented programming, sometimes it is necessary to hide certain aspects

of objects, like instance variables.

Example.
classRect:
def __init__(self,length=1,width=1): Note: The instance

self.length = length; variable

self.width = width; (self.length) is

self.area = length * width; accessed

self.perimeter = 2 * length + 2 * width; directly.

defgetLength(self):
returnself.length;

defsetLength(self,param_l):
self.length = param_l;
self.area = self.length * self.width;
self.perimeter = 2 * self.length + 2 * self.width;
defgetArea(self):
returnself.area;
defgetPerimeter(self):
returnself.perimeter;
Python I Notes Page 284

Class definition Example:

import Rectangle as r

r1 = r.Rect(3,5);
print("area =",r1.getArea());

r1.length = 10;
print("area =",r1.getArea());
print("length =",r1.length);

In reality, we would only like instance variables to be accessible via “get” and
“set” methods. Otherwise, it is possible to directly change the length, but area
and perimeter do not get updated! The designer of the object would like to make
sure that the object does not have the integrity violated. This can be
accomplished with “information hiding.”

Obviously, it is not desired that the programmer access the instance variables
directly, but should use get and set methods to change the values. In this manner,
the designer of the object can make sure that the object functions as desired. Two
underscores before the name of the instance variables and/or methods will make
them private, so they can only be accessed within the object and not by programs
that have created an instance of the object!
Python I Notes Page 285

This is misleading. You can still see them from the Python program that
implements the object, but they cannot be changed and that is the important
component.

There are different ways to actually hide the instance variables.

One is shown in the demonstration – usually, it is not worth the effort.

Python programmers know that “hidden” instance variables should not be

accessed directly but only through the “get” and “set” methods.
Python I Notes Page 286

Notes: Mean and Median

Overview

The main objective of this lesson is to analyze a formula and think in terms of
algorithms.

Sample Mean

Uppercase sigma means to sum up the values. Summing brings up more questions
before this can be programmed.

Questions about Summing:

Is it a finite set of numbers that will not change?

No: Use lists and looping

Yes: Is the count of numbers (n) greater than five?

Yes: Use lists and looping
No: Use different variable names (num1, num2, etc.)

In our case, since the code is intended for a library, lists should hold the numbers!
The uppercase sigma implies looping. For and while loops will accomplish the
same task in many cases (but not all). While loops are best when the programmer
Python I Notes Page 287

does not know the exact count of numbers (n). For loops introduce fewer errors
in a program compared to while loops, which give the programmer complete
control. For the library that is going to be created, the “for” loop will be used due
to the simplicity and reduction of errors.

Consider a simple example. The programmer does not have to do the complete
example but just enough to understand the logic of the algorithm.

Example

Find the mean of 3, 8, 16.

x  3  8  16  27

(This will be accomplished by having a sum variable that is accumulated while the
list is traversed with a for loop.)

After that piece of code, the mean is a simple calculation that is returned to the
user.
Python I Notes Page 288

Programming Considerations

No matter what programming language is used, the programmer should ask basic
questions (that vary depending on the formula/algorithm/procedure):

1. Numbers need to be added; is there a sum function or method in the

language?
2. Is there a library that has a sum function that I can use?
3. Do I put this in a library or an object?

These are items that should be considered no matter what programming

languages are used.

Median

If n is odd, the median is the number exactly in the middle.

If n is even, the median is the average of the middle two numbers.

Note: list of numbers must be sorted!

Again our library will deal with a series of numbers. so these will be kept in a list
so that our library can be used in many situations. For the library, the sort method
of lists will be used to perform the sorting. It would be overkill for our example to
use some sorting technique such as bubble sort, quick sort, etc.
Python I Notes Page 289

Example 1

data: 1, 5, 7, 9, 21
there is an odd number of data values which can be determined by
the following code:
n % 2 == 0 means even count of data values
n % 2 == 1 means odd count of data values

In order to determine the middle number in this setup, we would use the
following calculation:

n / 2 with the decimal truncated. For our example 5 / 2 = 2.5 or 2

(remember the indexing starts at 0 so this would give us 7). If the
programming language rounds once an integer is converted to a
float, a different formula might be necessary.
Python I Notes Page 290

Example 2

data: 1, 5, 7, 9

Much of the code above still works but with n / 2 would give 4 / 2 = 2, which
would be the 7 (remember indexing starts at 0). So we would need that position
and the one before it. Once we have the 5 and 7 (the middle two numbers), we
can add them and divide by two.

Programming Considerations

1. Numbers need to be sorted; is there a sort function? If not, do I use a

simple bubble sort or does efficiency need to be considered?
2. In some cases, the average needs to be calculated. Can I use the mean
function that I already created?
3. Do I put this in a library or an object?

Sample standard deviation

Our same considerations hold true to a dataset coming into the program and lists
will again be used. The sample mean will call the function that was already
created above. A for loop will again be used to accumulate. The square root
function will need to be used for this algorithm.
Python I Notes Page 291

Programming Considerations

1. Numbers need to be added; is there a sum function or method in the

language?
2. Is there a library that has a sum function that I can use?
3. The sample mean is needed; did I design my code for the mean as such
that I can easily use it?
4. Is there a function for square root?
5. Does the natural rounding of data types matter?
6. Do I put this in a library or an object?

While a simple example can be done, it is obvious that we will go through the x
values in the dataset, calculate the mean and then go back through the x values
calculating ( x  x ) 2 and summing the result.
Python I Notes Page 292

Standard Variance

This formula is fairly simple to implement if the sample standard deviation

function is working. The data values are stored in a list and then passed into the
sample standard deviation function, then the result is squared and returned to
the user.

Programming Considerations

1. Numbers need to be added; is there a sum function or method in the

language?
2. Is there a library that has a sum function that I can use?
3. The sample mean is needed, did I design my code for the mean as such
that I can easily use it?
4. Is there a function for square root?
5. Does the natural rounding of data types matter?
6. Do I put this in a library or an object?
Python I Notes Page 293

Notes: Standard Deviation and Variance

Standard Deviation

Standard Deviation is a measurement of how spread out numbers are. Variance

combines all the numbers in a dataset to produce a measure of spread. Standard
deviation is often used in statistics programming to draw inferences about a
population from a sample.

The Standard Deviation formula is the square root of the Variance. Variance is the
average of the squared difference from the Mean. The variance is computed as
the average squared deviation of each number from its mean. All of this means
that, if you don’t have the “Mean” right, nothing else is going to add up either.

Remember that mean, median, and mode are measures of central tendency.
These measures will give you information on the data values of the center of the
dataset.
Variance (S2) = average squared deviation of values from mean
Standard deviation (S) = square root of the variance

Think it through!

Points to remember when using standard deviation or variance in your program:

• Standard deviation is never negative

• Standard deviation is always a positive number because it is always

measured in the same units as the original data
Python I Notes Page 294

• If all of the data in a set is the same value, the standard deviation is zero
because each value equals the mean

• Standard deviation is only used to measure dispersion around the mean of

a dataset

• Variance is never negative because the variance sum is squared, thus,

either positive or zero

• Variance has squared units

These functions calculate a measure of how much the population or sample

tends to deviate from the typical or average values.

Functions Measures of Spread

Population standard deviation of

pstdev()
data.

pvariance() Population variance of data.

stdev() Sample standard deviation of data.

variance() Sample variance of data.

Don’t recreate the wheel!

Python I Notes Page 295

When you need to add numbers, check to see if there is a sum function or
method already within the language to handle it. Review the list of Python’s built-
in functions.

Built-in Functions

abs() divmod() input() open() staticmethod()

all() enumerate() int() ord() str()

any() eval() isinstance() pow() sum()

basestring() execfile() issubclass() print() super()

bin() file() iter() property() tuple()

bool() filter() len() range() type()

bytearray() float() list() raw_input() unichr()

callable() format() locals() reduce() unicode()

chr() frozenset() long() reload() vars()

classmethod() getattr() map() repr() xrange()

cmp() globals() max() reversed() zip()

compile() hasattr() memoryview() round() __import__()

complex() hash() min() set() apply()

Python I Notes Page 296

delattr() help() next() setattr() buffer()

dict() hex() object() slice() coerce()

dir() id() oct() sorted() intern()

Python I Notes Page 297

Notes: Frequency and Probability Distributions

Overview

The frequency distribution merely consists of adding how many numbers are in
each class so that there is no formula to program.

Factors to consider

1. One key question is whether the various classes are input by the user or
generated by the program. Considerations are code reuse and ease of use
by the user of the system.
2. For purposes of this example, the user will input the starting lower class
limit, class width, number of classes, and then the actual numbers.

There are different methods that can be used to program a frequency

distribution. The data values will be stored in a list for the same reasons above.
The lower-class limits (LCL) and upper-class limits (UCL) will be built within a for
loop, using the following formulas:

first LCL = LCL input by user

first UCL = LCL + Class Width – 1 (assuming a gap of 1)

After the first one, the next LCL and UCL limits will be calculated using:

LCL = previous LCL + Class Width

UCL = previous UCL + Class Width
Python I Notes Page 298

After each class is built, then the list of data values will be looped through seeing
how many are >= LCL and <= UCL.

Programming considerations

1. Although a fairly simple program, does a library already exist that

performs the function?
2. Are the numbers going to be input or read in from a file?
3. Do I put this in a library or an object?

Binomial Probability Distribution (for x = 0, 1, 2, …, n)

Two functions will be created for this distribution:

1. The first one will calculate the probability of exactly x successes.

2. The second one will use a for loop to accumulate all the probabilities from
x=0,1,…,n.
Python I Notes Page 299

Programming Considerations

1. Numbers need to be added; is there a sum function or method in the

language?
2. Is there a library that has a sum function that I can use?
3. Is there a factorial function or does this need to be programmed?
4. Does the natural rounding of data types matter?
5. Do I put this in a library or an object?

Realize that the questions that arise based upon different algorithms are not all
valid! For example, a sum function would not benefit the program at all in the
binomial probability distribution. But these are questions that should mentally be
answered prior to programming.
Python I Notes Page 300

Notes: Probability Simulations

Probability Simulations

This will not be implemented in a library since every probability simulation is

different. A very basic example, given in a statistics course, is the birth of three
children and determining the probability of getting x number of boys out of the
three children.

Normally a simple example is a very straightforward method to figure out the

Python program. This is one example that does not allow for a simple example. A
better method will be just to program it and display the tables of values with a
general overview. The important part of this program is to figure out how to get
random numbers. The program should return either 1 or 0 randomly. The 1 will
indicate that the gender of the child is a boy, while a 0 indicates that the gender
of the child is a girl. A for loop will simulate the number of trials necessary. Three
children will be in each trial and the sum of the random numbers will indicate
how many boys there were in those three children.

For example, consider that a trial returns:

011

This would indicate that the first child was a girl (0), the second child was a boy
(1), and the third child was a boy (1). Now adding these numbers: 0 + 1 + 1 = 2,
which would mean 2 of the three children were boys!
Python I Notes Page 301

Programming Considerations

1. Every programming language has a random feature; how does it work in

Python? Do you need to provide a seed? Is it contained in a library?
2. There is implied summing, which works best with either a for or while
loop.
3. Each simulation is different, so a library or objects probably does not
make sense unless more analysis needs to be done on the simulated data.

Sample linear correlation coefficient

𝑥1− 𝑥̅ 𝑦1 − 𝑦̅
∑(
𝑠𝑥 ) ( 𝑠𝑦 )
𝑟=
𝑛−1

From previous functions, the sample mean and sample standard deviation have
already been placed into a function in our library. This formula will require two
sets of data that will be placed into lists. The sample mean and sample standard
deviation of both lists will be obtained and then a for loop will be used to
calculate the numerator of the above formula.

Programming Considerations

1. Numbers need to be added; is there a sum function or method in the

language?
2. Is there a library that has a sum function that I can use?
3. The sample mean and sample standard deviation is needed. Did I design
my code for the mean and standard deviation so that I can easily use it?
4. Does the natural rounding of data types matter?
Python I Notes Page 302

5. Do I put this in a library or an object?

Least-squares regression line (or equation)

𝑦̂ = 𝑏1 𝑥 + 𝑏0

𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒

𝑠𝑦
𝑏1 = 𝑟 ∙
𝑠𝑥

𝑏0 = 𝑦̅ − 𝑏1 𝑥̅

(slope)

(y – intercept)

This will be fairly simple to implement since the correlation coefficient (r), the
sample mean, and the sample standard deviation functions have already been
written in the library. This will just do basic formulas and return the results.
Python I Notes Page 303

Programming Considerations

1. The sample mean, a sample standard deviation and a linear correlation

coefficient is needed; did I design my previous code so that I can easily
use it?
2. Does the natural rounding of data types matter?
3. Do I put this in a library or an object?

Confidence Interval for a Population Proportion

𝑝̂ (1 − 𝑝̂ )
𝑝̂ − 𝑧𝛼⁄2 ∙ √
𝑛

Lower bound:

Upper bound: 𝑝̂ (1 − 𝑝̂ )
𝑝̂ − 𝑧𝛼⁄2 ∙ √
𝑛
Python I Notes Page 304

x
This formula is straightforward with pˆ  . The only tricky part is the critical
n

value. This will be looked up in the following table:

Critical Values

Critical
Confidence
Value
Level
(Z-score)

0.90 1.645

0.91 1.70

0.93 1.81

0.94 1.88

0.95 1.96

0.96 2.05

0.97 2.17

0.98 2.33

0.99 2.575

There are many options for programming this lookup. This library will use the
dictionary component of Python to provide a simple and easy lookup scheme.
Python I Notes Page 305

Programming Considerations

1. Do the critical values need to be hardcoded into a table or derived by

formula or calculus?
2. Does the natural rounding of data types matter?
3. Do I put this in a library or an object?

Hypothesis Testing (Claims)

Our library will calculate only one component of one type of claim. Consider the
following steps in testing claims about population proportions:
Python I Notes Page 306

Classical Approach (By Hand)

1. Write down a shortened version of claim.

2. Come up with a null and alternate hypothesis (Ho always has the equals
part).
3. See if claim matches H0or H1.
4. Draw the picture and split 𝛼 into tails:

H1:p ≠ value Two Tail

H1:p < value Left Tail
H1:p > value Right Tail

5. Find critical values: Use Standard Normal Distribution table.

𝑝̂−𝑝0 𝑥
6. Find test statistic: 𝑍0 = where𝑝̂ = and p0 is the number from
𝑝0 (1−𝑝0 ) 𝑛
√
𝑛

the claim (in decimal form).

7. If test statistic falls in the tail, Reject H0. If test statistic falls in the main
body, Accept H0. If test statistic falls in the main body, Accept H0.
Determine the claim based on step 3.

𝑥
The test statistic will be programmed. This is a fairly simple program with 𝑝̂ = 𝑛.

The rest of the information is to be brought in as a parameter.

Python I Notes Page 307

Programming Considerations

1. Usually, an entire claim is not done in a library, but the library provides
various components such as the critical value, test statistic, or p-value,
depending upon the approach
2. Do I put this in a library or an object?
Python I Notes Page 308

Notes: Correlation Coefficient, Linear

Regression Equation, and Sum of the Squared
Residuals

Linear Correlation Coefficient

Correlation coefficients measure the strength of the association between two

variables. In a data sample of the two variables, their covariance is divided by the
product of their individual standard deviations. It is a standardized measurement
of how the two are linearly associated. Pearson’s product-moment correlation
coefficient is the most common correlation coefficient and it measures the
strength of the linear association between variables.

A Sample refers to a set of observations drawn from a population in statistics.

Samples are used during research because it is not practical to study the entire
population. For example, if you wanted to know the weight of every three-year-
old in America, it just wouldn’t be possible to find and weigh all of them.
Python I Notes Page 309

Correlation Coefficient

Overview: The sign and the absolute value describe the direction and the
magnitude of the relationship between two variables.

The value ranges between -1 and 1

The greater the absolute value the stronger the linear relationship

The strongest linear

relationship is indicated by -1 or 1

The weakest linear relationship

is indicated by equal to 0

if one variable gets bigger, the other

A positive correlation variable tends to get bigger

if one variable gets bigger, the other

A negative correlation variable tends to get smaller
Python I Notes Page 310

Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient only measures linear

relationships.

Correlation Formulas Use

Pearson For computing a

product- product-moment
r = Σ (xy) / sqrt [ ( Σ x2 ) * ( Σ y2 ) ]
moment correlation
correlation coefficient (r)

Sample means and

sample standard
Linear deviations to
r = [ 1 / (n - 1) ] * Σ { [ (xi - x) / sx ] * [ (yi -
correlation compute a
y) / sy ] }
(sample data) correlation
coefficient (r) from
sample data

Uses population
means and
Linear
population
correlation ρ = [ 1 / N ] * Σ { [ (Xi - μX) / σx ] * [ (Yi -
standard
(population μY) / σy ] }
deviations to
data)
compute a
population
 Python I Notes Page 311

correlation
coefficient (ρ) from
population data

Linear Regression Equation

• Linear regression is most often used for any level of data exploration but, if
you are looking at the relationship between two variables, chances are you
will want to conjure a regression.

Simple Linear
Formulas Meanings
Regression

b0 is the intercept
Simple linear
ŷ = b0 + b1x constant in a sample
regression line
regression line

b1 refers to the
Regression regression coefficient
= b1 = Σ [ (xi - x) (yi - y) ] / Σ [ (xi - x)2]
coefficient in a sample regression
line (i.e. the slope)

Regression slope
= b0 = y - b1 * x
intercept
 Python I Notes Page 312

Simple Linear
Formulas Meanings
Regression

Regression
= b1 = r * (sy / sx)
coefficient

sb1 refers to the

= sb1 = sqrt [ Σ(yi - ŷi)2 / (n - 2) ] / sqrt [
Standard error of standard error of the
Σ(xi - x)2 ]
regression slope slope of a regression
line
Python I Notes Page 313

Sum of the Squared Residuals

• The sum of squared residuals (SSR) is also known as residual sum of

squares (RSS), as well as the sum of squared errors (SSE) of prediction. A
lot of different names to mean the same thing; the amount of the
difference between data and an estimation model.

• X,Y – set of values

• α , β – constant values

• n – set value counts

Python I Notes Page 314

Notes: Confidence Intervals

Confidence Intervals

Statisticians interpreting various results from a set of data need to know how sure
they are while dealing with the data. Within statistics, confidence level is used to
describe the amount of uncertainty associated with a simple estimate of a
population parameter. Simply put, confidence interval is a range within which
most plausible values would occur.

and

Where
n = Number of terms
x = Sample Mean
σ = Standard Deviation

= Value corresponding to in z table

= Value corresponding to in t table

Python I Notes Page 315

In order to express a confidence interval, you need three separate data pieces:

• Confidence level

• Statistic

• Margin of error

Given these three pieces of information, you can calculate the range of the
confidence interval by the sample statistic + margin of error. The confidence
interval is specified by the uncertainty associated with the confidence level. In
most cases, the margin of error is not given but must be calculated separately.
Estimation

• Confidence interval: Sample statistic + Critical value * Standard error of

statistic

• Margin of error = (Critical value) * (Standard deviation of statistic)

• Margin of error = (Critical value) * (Standard error of statistic)

When dealing with confidence intervals, the margin of error is the range of values
above and below the sample statistic. The critical value is a factor used to
calculate the margin error.
Python I Notes Page 316

NumPy and SciPy

NumPy is the fundamental package for scientific computing in Python. NumPy is

an extension module that provides efficient operation on arrays of homogeneous
data. NumPy has built-in functions for creating arrays from scratch.

SciPy is a set of open source (BSD licensed) scientific and numerical tools, used by
scientists, analysts, and engineers in Python. SciPy has several different modules
used for optimization, integration, linear algebra, interpolation, FFT, signal and
image processing, ODE solvers, special functions, and others.

NumPy and SciPy are open-source add-on modules to Python. Between them they
provide common numerical and mathematical routines in pre-compiled, fast
functions. Given the fact they are open-source, they are continually maturing.

The NumPy (Numeric Python) package offers basic routines for manipulating large
arrays and matrices of numeric data. The SciPy (Scientific Python) package
extends the functionality of NumPy by adding a collection of useful algorithms,
like minimization, Fourier transformation, regression, and other applied
mathematical techniques.

Visit www.scipy.org/ and www.numpy.org/ for full descriptions of what is

available.
Python I Notes Page 317

Mean Confidence Interval in Python

Using NumPy and SciPy example:

Python I Notes Page 318

Notes: Hypothesis Testing

Overview of Hypothesis Testing

Hypothesis testing is one of the most often used and abused practices in
statistics. Formally, the hypotheses are specified, aα-level is chosen, a test
statistic is calculated, and it is reported as to whether H0 or H1 is accepted.

A statistical hypothesis is an assumption about a population parameter. The

assumption may be true or false. Hypothesis testing is a type of formal procedure
used to accept or reject the statistical hypothesis.

Hypothesis testing is also called significance testing. It tests the claim about a
parameter using evidence data in a sample.

1. Null and alternative hypotheses

• Null hypothesis – Statement regarding the value(s) of unknown

parameter(s)(will always contain an equality), Represented by H 0
• Alternative hypothesis – Statement contradictory to the null
hypothesis (will always contain an inequality), Represented by H1

2. Test statistic
• Quantity based on sample data and null hypothesis used to test
between null and alternative hypotheses

3. P-value and interpretation

4. Significance level (optional)
Python I Notes Page 319

Rejection region – Values of the test statistic for which we reject the null in favor
of the alternative hypothesis.

Hypothesis Testing Formulas

= (Statistic – Parameter) / (Standard

Standardized test statistic
deviation of statistic)

One-sample z-test for

z-score = z = (p - P0) / sqrt( p * q / n )
proportions

Two-sample z-test for

z-score = z = z = [ (p1 - p2) - d ] / SE
proportions

One-sample t-test for means t-score = t = (x - μ) / SE

Two-sample t-tests for means t-score = t = [ (x1 - x2) - d ] / SE

Matched-sample t-test for

= t = [ (x1 - x2) - D ] / SE = (d - D) / SE
means: t-score

= Χ2 = Σ[ (Observed - Expected)2 /
Chi-square test statistic
Expected ]
Python I Notes Page 320

Hypothesis testing is one of the two common forms of statistical inference.

Terms

Population all possible values

Sample a portion of the population

Statistical generalizing from a sample to a population with a

inference calculated degree of certainty

Two forms of
Hypothesis testing
statistical
Estimation
inference

a characteristic of a population, e.g. population

Parameter
mean µ

calculated from data in the sample, e.g. sample

Statistic
mean ( )
Python I Notes Page 321

• α is the probability of Type I error

• β is the probability of Type II error

You can change the α-level for a hypothesis test. This is called the level of
significance and changing it can affect the results of the test, whether or not you
reject or fail to reject H0.

Standard Normal Distribution

A normal distribution is a probability distribution that associates the normal

random variable X with a cumulative probability. The standard normal distribution
is a special case of the normal distribution. This distribution occurs when a normal
random variable has a mean of zero and the standard deviation is one.