Python

Python Introduction
What is Python?
Python is a popular programming language. It was created by Guido van Rossum, and
released in 1991.
It is used for:
 web development (server-side),

 software development,
 mathematics,
 system scripting.
What can Python do?

 Python can be used on a server to create web applications.
 Python can be used alongside software to create workflows.
 Python can connect to database systems. It can also read and modify files.
 Python can be used to handle big data and perform complex mathematics.
 Python can be used for rapid prototyping, or for production-ready software
development.
Why Python?
 Python works on different platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux, Raspberry Pi, etc).
 Python has a simple syntax similar to the English language.
 Python has syntax that allows developers to write programs with fewer lines than
some other programming languages.
 Python runs on an interpreter system, meaning that code can be executed as soon
as it is written. This means that prototyping can be very quick.
 Python can be treated in a procedural way, an object-oriented way or a functional
way.
Good to know
 The most recent major version of Python is Python 3, which we shall be using in this
tutorial. However, Python 2, although not being updated with anything other than
security updates, is still quite popular.
 In this tutorial Python will be written in a text editor. It is possible to write Python in
an Integrated Development Environment, such as Thonny, Pycharm, Netbeans or
Eclipse which are particularly useful when managing larger collections of Python files.
Python Syntax compared to other programming languages
 Python was designed for readability, and has some similarities to the English
language with influence from mathematics.
 Python uses new lines to complete a command, as opposed to other programming
languages which often use semicolons or parentheses.
 Python relies on indentation, using whitespace, to define scope; such as the scope of
loops, functions and classes. Other programming languages often use curly-brackets
for this purpose.
Example
print("Hello, World!")
Try it Yourself »
Python Getting Started

❮ PreviousNext ❯
Python Install
Many PCs and Macs will have python already installed.
To check if you have python installed on a Windows PC, search in the start bar for Python or
run the following on the Command Line (cmd.exe):
C:\Users\Your Name>python --version
To check if you have python installed on a Linux or Mac, then on linux open the command
line or on Mac open the Terminal and type:
python --version
If you find that you do not have python installed on your computer, then you can download
it for free from the following website: https://www.python.org/
Python Quickstart
Python is an interpreted programming language, this means that as a developer you write
Python (.py) files in a text editor and then put those files into the python interpreter to be
executed.
The way to run a python file is like this on the command line:
C:\Users\Your Name>python helloworld.py
Where "helloworld.py" is the name of your python file.
Let's write our first Python file, called helloworld.py, which can be done in any text editor.
helloworld.py
Try it Yourself »
Simple as that. Save your file. Open your command line, navigate to the directory where
you saved your file, and run:
C:\Users\Your Name>python helloworld.py
The output should read:
Hello, World!
Congratulations, you have written and executed your first Python program.
The Python Command Line

To test a short amount of code in python sometimes it is quickest and easiest not to write
the code in a file. This is made possible because Python can be run as a command line itself.
Type the following on the Windows, Mac or Linux command line:
C:\Users\Your Name>python
Or, if the "python" command did not work, you can try "py":
C:\Users\Your Name>py
From there you can write any python, including our hello world example from earlier in the
tutorial:
Python 3.6.4 (v3.6.4:d48eceb, Dec 19 2017, 06:04:45) [MSC v.1900 32 bit (Intel)] on
win32
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> print("Hello, World!")
Which will write "Hello, World!" in the command line:
Python 3.6.4 (v3.6.4:d48eceb, Dec 19 2017, 06:04:45) [MSC v.1900 32 bit (Intel)] on
win32
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
Hello, World!
Whenever you are done in the python command line, you can simply type the following to
quit the python command line interface:
exit()
Python Syntax
Execute Python Syntax

As we learned in the previous page, Python syntax can be executed by writing directly in
the Command Line:

Hello, World!
On this page
Execute Python SyntaxPython IndentationPython VariablesPython CommentsExercises
Or by creating a python file on the server, using the .py file extension, and running it in the
Command Line:
C:\Users\Your Name>python myfile.py
Python Indentation
Indentation refers to the spaces at the beginning of a code line.
Where in other programming languages the indentation in code is for readability only, the
indentation in Python is very important.
Python uses indentation to indicate a block of code.
Example
if 5 > 2:
print("Five is greater than two!")
Try it Yourself »
Python will give you an error if you skip the indentation:
Example
Syntax Error:
if 5 > 2:
Try it Yourself »
The number of spaces is up to you as a programmer, but it has to be at least one.

Example
if 5 > 2:
if 5 > 2:
Try it Yourself »
You have to use the same number of spaces in the same block of code, otherwise Python
will give you an error:
Example
Syntax Error:
if 5 > 2:
Try it Yourself »
Python Variables
In Python, variables are created when you assign a value to it:
Example
Variables in Python:
x = 5
y = "Hello, World!"
Try it Yourself »
Python has no command for declaring a variable.
You will learn more about variables in the Python Variables chapter.
Comments
Python has commenting capability for the purpose of in-code documentation.
Comments start with a #, and Python will render the rest of the line as a comment:
Example
Comments in Python:
#This is a comment.
Try it Yourself »
Test Yourself With Exercises

Exercise:
Insert the missing part of the code below to output "Hello World".
("Hello World")
Submit Answer »
Start the Exercise
Python Comments
Comments can be used to explain Python code.
Comments can be used to make the code more readable.

Comments can be used to prevent execution when testing code.
Creating a Comment
Comments starts with a #, and Python will ignore them:
Example
#This is a comment
Try it Yourself »
Comments can be placed at the end of a line, and Python will ignore the rest of the line:
Example
print("Hello, World!") #This is a comment
Try it Yourself »
A comment does not have to be text that explains the code, it can also be used to prevent
Python from executing code:
Example
#print("Hello, World!")
print("Cheers, Mate!")
Try it Yourself »
Multi Line Comments

Python does not really have a syntax for multi line comments.
To add a multiline comment you could insert a # for each line:

Example
#This is a comment
#written in
#more than just one line
Try it Yourself »
Or, not quite as intended, you can use a multiline string.
Since Python will ignore string literals that are not assigned to a variable, you can add a
multiline string (triple quotes) in your code, and place your comment inside it:
Example
"""
This is a comment
written in
more than just one line
"""
Try it Yourself »
As long as the string is not assigned to a variable, Python will read the code, but then
ignore it, and you have made a multiline comment.

Exercise:
Comments in Python are written with a special character, which one?
This is a comment
Submit Answer »
Start the Exercise

Python Variables
Variables
Variables are containers for storing data values.
Creating Variables
Python has no command for declaring a variable.
A variable is created the moment you first assign a value to it.
Example
x = 5
y = "John"
print(x)
print(y)
Try it Yourself »
Variables do not need to be declared with any particular type, and can even change type
after they have been set.
Example
x = 4 # x is of type int
x = "Sally" # x is now of type str
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Casting
If you want to specify the data type of a variable, this can be done with casting.
Example
x = str(3) # x will be '3'
y = int(3) # y will be 3
z = float(3) # z will be 3.0
Try it Yourself »
Get the Type

You can get the data type of a variable with the type() function.
Example
x = 5
y = "John"
print(type(x))
print(type(y))
Try it Yourself »
You will learn more about data types and casting later in this tutorial.
Single or Double Quotes?

String variables can be declared either by using single or double quotes:
Example
x = "John"
# is the same as
x = 'John'
Try it Yourself »
Case-Sensitive
Variable names are case-sensitive.
Example
This will create two variables:
a = 4
A = "Sally"
#A will not overwrite a
Try it Yourself »
Variable Names
Variable Names
A variable can have a short name (like x and y) or a more descriptive name (age, carname,
total_volume). Rules for Python variables:
 A variable name must start with a letter or the underscore character

 A variable name cannot start with a number
 A variable name can only contain alpha-numeric characters and underscores (A-z, 0-
9, and _ )
 Variable names are case-sensitive (age, Age and AGE are three different variables)
Example
Legal variable names:
myvar = "John"
my_var = "John"
_my_var = "John"
myVar = "John"
MYVAR = "John"
myvar2 = "John"
Try it Yourself »
Example
Illegal variable names:
2myvar = "John"
my-var = "John"
my var = "John"
Try it Yourself »
Remember that variable names are case-sensitive
Multi Words Variable Names

Variable names with more than one word can be difficult to read.
There are several techniques you can use to make them more readable:
Camel Case
Each word, except the first, starts with a capital letter:
myVariableName = "John"
Pascal Case
Each word starts with a capital letter:
MyVariableName = "John"
Snake Case
Each word is separated by an underscore character:
my_variable_name = "John"
Assign Multiple Values

Many Values to Multiple Variables
Python allows you to assign values to multiple variables in one line:
Example
x, y, z = "Orange", "Banana", "Cherry"
print(x)
print(y)
print(z)
Try it Yourself »
Note: Make sure the number of variables matches the number of values, or else you will
get an error.
One Value to Multiple Variables

And you can assign the same value to multiple variables in one line:
Example
x = y = z = "Orange"
print(x)
print(y)
print(z)
Try it Yourself »
Unpack a Collection
If you have a collection of values in a list, tuple etc. Python allows you extract the values
into variables. This is called unpacking.
Example
Unpack a list:
fruits = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

x, y, z = fruits
print(x)
print(y)
print(z)
Try it Yourself »
Learn more about unpacking in our Unpack Tuples Chapter.
Output Variables
Output Variables
The Python print statement is often used to output variables.
To combine both text and a variable, Python uses the + character:
Example
x = "awesome"
print("Python is " + x)
Try it Yourself »
You can also use the + character to add a variable to another variable:
Example
x = "Python is "
y = "awesome"
z = x + y
print(z)
Try it Yourself »
For numbers, the + character works as a mathematical operator:
Example
x = 5
y = 10
print(x + y)
Try it Yourself »
If you try to combine a string and a number, Python will give you an error:
Example
x = 5
y = "John"
print(x + y)
Try it Yourself »
Global Variable
Global Variables
Variables that are created outside of a function (as in all of the examples above) are known
as global variables.
Global variables can be used by everyone, both inside of functions and outside.
Example
Create a variable outside of a function, and use it inside the function
x = "awesome"
def myfunc():
myfunc()
Try it Yourself »
If you create a variable with the same name inside a function, this variable will be local, and
can only be used inside the function. The global variable with the same name will remain as
it was, global and with the original value.
Example
Create a variable inside a function, with the same name as the global variable
x = "awesome"
def myfunc():
x = "fantastic"
myfunc()
Try it Yourself »
The global Keyword

Normally, when you create a variable inside a function, that variable is local, and can only
be used inside that function.
To create a global variable inside a function, you can use the global keyword.
Example
If you use the global keyword, the variable belongs to the global scope:
def myfunc():
global x
x = "fantastic"
myfunc()
Try it Yourself »
Also, use the global keyword if you want to change a global variable inside a function.
Example
To change the value of a global variable inside a function, refer to the variable by using
the global keyword:
x = "awesome"
def myfunc():
global x
x = "fantastic"
myfunc()
Try it Yourself »
Variable Exercises
Now you have learned a lot about variables, and how to use them in Python.
Are you ready for a test?
Try to insert the missing part to make the code work as expected:
Exercise:
Create a variable named carname and assign the value Volvo to it.
= " "
Submit Answer »
Go to the Exercise section and test all of our Python Variable Exercises:
Python Variable Exercises
Python Data Types

Built-in Data Types
In programming, data type is an important concept.
Variables can store data of different types, and different types can do different things.
Python has the following data types built-in by default, in these categories:
Text Type: Str
Numeric Types: int, float, complex
Sequence Types: list, tuple, range
Mapping Type: Dict
Set Types: set, frozenset
Boolean Type: Bool
Binary Types: bytes, bytearray, memoryview

Getting the Data Type
You can get the data type of any object by using the type() function:
Example
Print the data type of the variable x:
x = 5
print(type(x))
Try it Yourself »
Setting the Data Type

In Python, the data type is set when you assign a value to a variable:
Example Data Type Try it
x = "Hello World" str Try it »
x = 20 int Try it »
x = 20.5 float Try it »
x = 1j complex Try it »
x = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"] list Try it »
x = ("apple", "banana", "cherry") tuple Try it »
x = range(6) range Try it »
x = {"name" : "John", "age" : 36} dict Try it »
x = {"apple", "banana", "cherry"} set Try it »
x = frozenset({"apple", "banana", "cherry"}) frozenset Try it »
x = True bool Try it »
x = b"Hello" bytes Try it »
x = bytearray(5) bytearray Try it »
x = memoryview(bytes(5)) memoryview Try it »
ADVERTISEMENT
Setting the Specific Data Type
If you want to specify the data type, you can use the following constructor functions:
Example Data Type Try it
x = str("Hello World") str Try it »
x = int(20) int Try it »
x = float(20.5) float Try it »
x = complex(1j) complex Try it »
x = list(("apple", "banana", "cherry")) list Try it »
x = tuple(("apple", "banana", "cherry")) tuple Try it »
x = range(6) range Try it »
x = dict(name="John", age=36) dict Try it »
x = set(("apple", "banana", "cherry")) set Try it »

x = frozenset(("apple", "banana", "cherry")) frozenset Try it »
x = bool(5) bool Try it »
x = bytes(5) bytes Try it »
x = bytearray(5) bytearray Try it »
x = memoryview(bytes(5)) memoryview Try it »

Exercise:
The following code example would print the data type of x, what data type would that be?
x = 5
print(type(x))
Submit Answer »
Start the Exercise

Python Numbers
Python Numbers
There are three numeric types in Python:
 int
 float
 complex
Variables of numeric types are created when you assign a value to them:
Example
x = 1 # int
y = 2.8 # float
z = 1j # complex
To verify the type of any object in Python, use the type() function:
Example
print(type(x))
print(type(y))
print(type(z))
Try it Yourself »
Int
Int, or integer, is a whole number, positive or negative, without decimals, of unlimited
length.
Example
Integers:
x = 1
y = 35656222554887711
z = -3255522
print(type(x))
print(type(y))
print(type(z))
Try it Yourself »
Float
Float, or "floating point number" is a number, positive or negative, containing one or more
decimals.
Example
Floats:
x = 1.10
y = 1.0
z = -35.59
print(type(x))
print(type(y))
print(type(z))
Try it Yourself »
Float can also be scientific numbers with an "e" to indicate the power of 10.
Example
Floats:
x = 35e3
y = 12E4
z = -87.7e100
print(type(x))
print(type(y))
print(type(z))
Try it Yourself »
Complex
Complex numbers are written with a "j" as the imaginary part:
Example
Complex:
x = 3+5j
y = 5j
z = -5j
print(type(x))
print(type(y))
print(type(z))
Try it Yourself »
Type Conversion
You can convert from one type to another with the int(), float(),
and complex() methods:
Example
Convert from one type to another:
x = 1 # int
y = 2.8 # float
z = 1j # complex
#convert from int to float:

a = float(x)
#convert from float to int:

b = int(y)
#convert from int to complex:

c = complex(x)
print(a)
print(b)
print(c)
print(type(a))
print(type(b))
print(type(c))
Try it Yourself »
Note: You cannot convert complex numbers into another number type.
Random Number
Python does not have a random() function to make a random number, but Python has a
built-in module called random that can be used to make random numbers:
Example
Import the random module, and display a random number between 1 and 9:
import random
print(random.randrange(1, 10))
Try it Yourself »
In our Random Module Reference you will learn more about the Random module.

Exercise:
Insert the correct syntax to convert x into a floating point number.
x = 5
x = (x)
Submit Answer »
Start the Exercise
Python Casting
Specify a Variable Type
There may be times when you want to specify a type on to a variable. This can be done with
casting. Python is an object-orientated language, and as such it uses classes to define data
types, including its primitive types.
Casting in python is therefore done using constructor functions:
 int() - constructs an integer number from an integer literal, a float literal (by
removing all decimals), or a string literal (providing the string represents a whole
number)
 float() - constructs a float number from an integer literal, a float literal or a string
literal (providing the string represents a float or an integer)
 str() - constructs a string from a wide variety of data types, including strings,
integer literals and float literals
Example
Integers:
x = int(1) # x will be 1
y = int(2.8) # y will be 2
z = int("3") # z will be 3
Try it Yourself »
Example
Floats:
x = float(1) # x will be 1.0
y = float(2.8) # y will be 2.8
z = float("3") # z will be 3.0
w = float("4.2") # w will be 4.2
Try it Yourself »
Example
Strings:
x = str("s1") # x will be 's1'

y = str(2) # y will be '2'
z = str(3.0) # z will be '3.0'
Try it Yourself »
Python Strings
Strings
Strings in python are surrounded by either single quotation marks, or double quotation
marks.
'hello' is the same as "hello".
You can display a string literal with the print() function:
Example
print("Hello")
print('Hello')
Try it Yourself »
Assign String to a Variable
Assigning a string to a variable is done with the variable name followed by an equal sign
and the string:
Example
a = "Hello"
print(a)
Try it Yourself »
Multiline Strings
You can assign a multiline string to a variable by using three quotes:
Example
You can use three double quotes:
a = """Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet,

consectetur adipiscing elit,
sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt
ut labore et dolore magna aliqua."""
print(a)
Try it Yourself »
Or three single quotes:
Example
a = '''Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet,
consectetur adipiscing elit,
sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt
ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.'''
print(a)
Try it Yourself »
Note: in the result, the line breaks are inserted at the same position as in the code.
Strings are Arrays
Like many other popular programming languages, strings in Python are arrays of bytes
representing unicode characters.
However, Python does not have a character data type, a single character is simply a string
with a length of 1.
Square brackets can be used to access elements of the string.
Example
Get the character at position 1 (remember that the first character has the position 0):
a = "Hello, World!"
print(a[1])
Try it Yourself »
Looping Through a String

Since strings are arrays, we can loop through the characters in a string, with a for loop.
Example
Loop through the letters in the word "banana":
for x in "banana":
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Learn more about For Loops in our Python For Loops chapter.
String Length
To get the length of a string, use the len() function.
Example
The len() function returns the length of a string:
a = "Hello, World!"
print(len(a))
Try it Yourself »
Check String
To check if a certain phrase or character is present in a string, we can use the keyword in.
Example
Check if "free" is present in the following text:
txt = "The best things in life are free!"

print("free" in txt)
Try it Yourself »
Use it in an if statement:
Example
Print only if "free" is present:

if "free" in txt:
print("Yes, 'free' is present.")
Try it Yourself »
Learn more about If statements in our Python If...Else chapter.

Check if NOT
To check if a certain phrase or character is NOT present in a string, we can use the
keyword not in.
Example
Check if "expensive" is NOT present in the following text:

print("expensive" not in txt)
Try it Yourself »
Use it in an if statement:
Example
print only if "expensive" is NOT present:

if "expensive" not in txt:
print("No, 'expensive' is NOT present.")
Try it Yourself »
Python - Slicing Strings

Slicing
You can return a range of characters by using the slice syntax.
Specify the start index and the end index, separated by a colon, to return a part of the
string.
Example
Get the characters from position 2 to position 5 (not included):
b = "Hello, World!"
print(b[2:5])
Try it Yourself »
Note: The first character has index 0.
Slice From the Start

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

By leaving out the end index, the range will go to the end:
Example
Get the characters from position 2, and all the way to the end:
b = "Hello, World!"
print(b[2:])
Try it Yourself »
Negative Indexing
Use negative indexes to start the slice from the end of the string:
Example
Get the characters:
From: "o" in "World!" (position -5)
To, but not included: "d" in "World!" (position -2):
b = "Hello, World!"
print(b[-5:-2])
Try it Yourself »
Python - Modify Strings

Python has a set of built-in methods that you can use on strings.
Upper Case
Example
The upper() method returns the string in upper case:
a = "Hello, World!"
print(a.upper())
Try it Yourself »
Lower Case
Example
The lower() method returns the string in lower case:
a = "Hello, World!"
print(a.lower())
Try it Yourself »
Remove Whitespace
Whitespace is the space before and/or after the actual text, and very often you want to
remove this space.
Example
The strip() method removes any whitespace from the beginning or the end:
a = " Hello, World! "

print(a.strip()) # returns "Hello, World!"
Try it Yourself »
Replace String
Example
The replace() method replaces a string with another string:
a = "Hello, World!"
print(a.replace("H", "J"))
Try it Yourself »
Split String
The split() method returns a list where the text between the specified separator becomes
the list items.
Example
The split() method splits the string into substrings if it finds instances of the separator:
a = "Hello, World!"
print(a.split(",")) # returns ['Hello', ' World!']
Try it Yourself »
Learn more about Lists in our Python Lists chapter.
String Methods
Learn more about String Methods with our String Methods Reference
Python - String Concatenation

String Concatenation
To concatenate, or combine, two strings you can use the + operator.
Example
Merge variable a with variable b into variable c:
a = "Hello"
b = "World"
c = a + b
print(c)
Try it Yourself »
Example
To add a space between them, add a " ":
a = "Hello"
b = "World"
c = a + " " + b
print(c)
Try it Yourself »
Python - Format - Strings

String Format
As we learned in the Python Variables chapter, we cannot combine strings and numbers like
this:
Example
age = 36
txt = "My name is John, I am " + age
print(txt)
Try it Yourself »
But we can combine strings and numbers by using the format() method!
The format() method takes the passed arguments, formats them, and places them in the
string where the placeholders {} are:
Example
Use the format() method to insert numbers into strings:
age = 36
txt = "My name is John, and I am {}"
print(txt.format(age))
Try it Yourself »
The format() method takes unlimited number of arguments, and are placed into the
respective placeholders:
Example
quantity = 3
itemno = 567
price = 49.95
myorder = "I want {} pieces of item {} for {} dollars."
print(myorder.format(quantity, itemno, price))
Try it Yourself »
You can use index numbers {0} to be sure the arguments are placed in the correct
placeholders:
Example
quantity = 3
itemno = 567
price = 49.95
myorder = "I want to pay {2} dollars for {0} pieces of item {1}."
Try it Yourself »
Learn more about String Formatting in our String Formatting chapter.
Python - Escape Characters

Escape Character
To insert characters that are illegal in a string, use an escape character.
An escape character is a backslash \ followed by the character you want to insert.
An example of an illegal character is a double quote inside a string that is surrounded by

double quotes:
Example
You will get an error if you use double quotes inside a string that is surrounded by double
quotes:
txt = "We are the so-called "Vikings" from the north."
Try it Yourself »
To fix this problem, use the escape character \":
Example
The escape character allows you to use double quotes when you normally would not be
allowed:
txt = "We are the so-called \"Vikings\" from the north."
Try it Yourself »
Escape Characters
Other escape characters used in Python:
Code Result Try it
\' Single Quote Try it »
\\ Backslash Try it »
\n New Line Try it »
\r Carriage Return Try it »

\t Tab Try it »
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Python - String Methods

String Methods
Note: All string methods returns new values. They do not change the original string.
Method Description
capitalize() Converts the first character to upper case
casefold() Converts string into lower case

center() Returns a centered string
count() Returns the number of times a specified value occurs in a string
encode() Returns an encoded version of the string
endswith() Returns true if the string ends with the specified value
expandtabs() Sets the tab size of the string
find() Searches the string for a specified value and returns the position of where it was
found
format() Formats specified values in a string
format_map() Formats specified values in a string
index() Searches the string for a specified value and returns the position of where it was
found
isalnum() Returns True if all characters in the string are alphanumeric
isalpha() Returns True if all characters in the string are in the alphabet
isdecimal() Returns True if all characters in the string are decimals
isdigit() Returns True if all characters in the string are digits
isidentifier() Returns True if the string is an identifier
islower() Returns True if all characters in the string are lower case
isnumeric() Returns True if all characters in the string are numeric
isprintable() Returns True if all characters in the string are printable
isspace() Returns True if all characters in the string are whitespaces
istitle() Returns True if the string follows the rules of a title
isupper() Returns True if all characters in the string are upper case
join() Joins the elements of an iterable to the end of the string
ljust() Returns a left justified version of the string
lower() Converts a string into lower case

lstrip() Returns a left trim version of the string
maketrans() Returns a translation table to be used in translations
partition() Returns a tuple where the string is parted into three parts
replace() Returns a string where a specified value is replaced with a specified value
rfind() Searches the string for a specified value and returns the last position of where it
was found
rindex() Searches the string for a specified value and returns the last position of where it
was found
rjust() Returns a right justified version of the string
rpartition() Returns a tuple where the string is parted into three parts
rsplit() Splits the string at the specified separator, and returns a list
rstrip() Returns a right trim version of the string
split() Splits the string at the specified separator, and returns a list
splitlines() Splits the string at line breaks and returns a list
startswith() Returns true if the string starts with the specified value
strip() Returns a trimmed version of the string
swapcase() Swaps cases, lower case becomes upper case and vice versa
title() Converts the first character of each word to upper case
translate() Returns a translated string
upper() Converts a string into upper case
zfill() Fills the string with a specified number of 0 values at the beginning
Python - String Exercises

Now you have learned a lot about Strings, and how to use them in Python.
Exercise:
Use the len method to print the length of the string.
x = "Hello World"
print( )
Submit Answer »
Go to the Exercise section and test all of our Python Strings Exercises:
Python String Exercises
Python Booleans
Booleans represent one of two values: True or False.
Boolean Values
In programming you often need to know if an expression is True or False.
You can evaluate any expression in Python, and get one of two answers, True or False.
When you compare two values, the expression is evaluated and Python returns the Boolean
answer:
Example
print(10 > 9)
print(10 == 9)
print(10 < 9)
Try it Yourself »
When you run a condition in an if statement, Python returns True or False:
Example
Print a message based on whether the condition is True or False:
a = 200
b = 33
if b > a:
print("b is greater than a")
else:
print("b is not greater than a")
Try it Yourself »
Evaluate Values and Variables

The bool() function allows you to evaluate any value, and give you True or False in return,
Example
Evaluate a string and a number:
print(bool("Hello"))
print(bool(15))
Try it Yourself »
Example
Evaluate two variables:
x = "Hello"
y = 15
print(bool(x))
print(bool(y))
Try it Yourself »
Most Values are True
Almost any value is evaluated to True if it has some sort of content.
Any string is True, except empty strings.
Any number is True, except 0.
Any list, tuple, set, and dictionary are True, except empty ones.
Example
The following will return True:
bool("abc")
bool(123)
bool(["apple", "cherry", "banana"])
Try it Yourself »
Some Values are False

In fact, there are not many values that evaluate to False, except empty values, such
as (), [], {}, "", the number 0, and the value None. And of course the
value False evaluates to False.
Example
The following will return False:
bool(False)
bool(None)
bool(0)
bool("")
bool(())
bool([])
bool({})
Try it Yourself »
One more value, or object in this case, evaluates to False, and that is if you have an object
that is made from a class with a __len__ function that returns 0 or False:
Example
class myclass():
def __len__(self):
return 0
myobj = myclass()
print(bool(myobj))
Try it Yourself »
Functions can Return a Boolean

You can create functions that returns a Boolean Value:
Example
Print the answer of a function:
def myFunction() :
return True
print(myFunction())
Try it Yourself »
You can execute code based on the Boolean answer of a function:
Example
Print "YES!" if the function returns True, otherwise print "NO!":
def myFunction() :
return True
if myFunction():
print("YES!")
else:
print("NO!")
Try it Yourself »
Python also has many built-in functions that return a boolean value, like
the isinstance() function, which can be used to determine if an object is of a certain data
type:
Example
Check if an object is an integer or not:
x = 200
print(isinstance(x, int))
Try it Yourself »

Exercise:
The statement below would print a Boolean value, which one?
print(10 > 9)
Submit Answer »
Start the Exercise

Python Operators
Python Operators
Operators are used to perform operations on variables and values.
In the example below, we use the + operator to add together two values:
Example
print(10 + 5)
Run example »
Python divides the operators in the following groups:
 Arithmetic operators
 Assignment operators
 Comparison operators
 Logical operators
 Identity operators
 Membership operators
 Bitwise operators
Python Arithmetic Operators

Arithmetic operators are used with numeric values to perform common mathematical
operations:
Operator Name Example Try it
+ Addition x+y Try it »
- Subtraction x-y Try it »

* Multiplication x*y Try it »
/ Division x/y Try it »
% Modulus x%y Try it »
** Exponentiation x ** y Try it »
// Floor division x // y Try it »
Python Assignment Operators

Assignment operators are used to assign values to variables:
Operator Example Same As Try it
= x=5 x=5 Try it »
+= x += 3 x=x+3 Try it »
-= x -= 3 x=x-3 Try it »
*= x *= 3 x=x*3 Try it »
/= x /= 3 x=x/3 Try it »
%= x %= 3 x=x%3 Try it »
//= x //= 3 x = x // 3 Try it »
**= x **= 3 x = x ** 3 Try it »
&= x &= 3 x=x&3 Try it »
|= x |= 3 x=x|3 Try it »
^= x ^= 3 x=x^3 Try it »
>>= x >>= 3 x = x >> 3 Try it »
<<= x <<= 3 x = x << 3 Try it »
Python Comparison Operators

Comparison operators are used to compare two values:
Operator Name Example Try it
== Equal x == y Try it »
!= Not equal x != y Try it »
> Greater than x>y Try it »
< Less than x<y Try it »
>= Greater than or equal to x >= y Try it »
<= Less than or equal to x <= y Try it »
Python Logical Operators

Logical operators are used to combine conditional statements:
Operator Description Example Try it
and Returns True if both statements are true x < 5 and x < 10 Try it »
or Returns True if one of the statements is x < 5 or x < 4 Try it »

true
not Reverse the result, returns False if the not(x < 5 and x < 10) Try it »
result is true
Python Identity Operators

Identity operators are used to compare the objects, not if they are equal, but if they are
actually the same object, with the same memory location:
is Returns True if both variables are the same x is y Try it »

object
is not Returns True if both variables are not the x is not y Try it »
same object
Python Membership Operators

Membership operators are used to test if a sequence is presented in an object:
in Returns True if a sequence with the specified x in y Try it »

value is present in the object
not in Returns True if a sequence with the specified x not in y Try it »

value is not present in the object
Python Bitwise Operators

Bitwise operators are used to compare (binary) numbers:
Operator Name Description
& AND Sets each bit to 1 if both bits are 1
| OR Sets each bit to 1 if one of two bits is 1
^ XOR Sets each bit to 1 if only one of two bits is 1
~ NOT Inverts all the bits
<< Zero fill left Shift left by pushing zeros in from the right and let the leftmost bits fall
shift off
>> Signed right Shift right by pushing copies of the leftmost bit in from the left, and let
shift the rightmost bits fall off
Exercise:
Multiply 10 with 5, and print the result.
print(10 5)
Submit Answer »
Start the Exercise
Python Lists
mylist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
List
Lists are used to store multiple items in a single variable.
Lists are one of 4 built-in data types in Python used to store collections of data, the other 3
are Tuple, Set, and Dictionary, all with different qualities and usage.
Lists are created using square brackets:
Example
Create a List:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

print(thislist)
Try it Yourself »
List Items
List items are ordered, changeable, and allow duplicate values.
List items are indexed, the first item has index [0], the second item has index [1] etc.
Ordered
When we say that lists are ordered, it means that the items have a defined order, and that
order will not change.
If you add new items to a list, the new items will be placed at the end of the list.
Note: There are some list methods that will change the order, but in general: the order of
the items will not change.
Changeable
The list is changeable, meaning that we can change, add, and remove items in a list after it
has been created.
Allow Duplicates
Since lists are indexed, lists can have items with the same value:
Example
Lists allow duplicate values:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "apple", "cherry"]

print(thislist)
Try it Yourself »
List Length
To determine how many items a list has, use the len() function:
Example
Print the number of items in the list:

print(len(thislist))
Try it Yourself »
List Items - Data Types

List items can be of any data type:
Example
String, int and boolean data types:
list1 = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

list2 = [1, 5, 7, 9, 3]
list3 = [True, False, False]
Try it Yourself »
A list can contain different data types:
Example
A list with strings, integers and boolean values:
list1 = ["abc", 34, True, 40, "male"]
Try it Yourself »
type()
From Python's perspective, lists are defined as objects with the data type 'list':
<class 'list'>
Example
What is the data type of a list?
mylist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

print(type(mylist))
Try it Yourself »
The list() Constructor

It is also possible to use the list() constructor when creating a new list.
Example
Using the list() constructor to make a List:
thislist = list(("apple", "banana", "cherry")) # note the double round-brackets

print(thislist)
Try it Yourself »
Python Collections (Arrays)

There are four collection data types in the Python programming language:
 List is a collection which is ordered and changeable. Allows duplicate members.

 Tuple is a collection which is ordered and unchangeable. Allows duplicate members.
 Set is a collection which is unordered, unchangeable, and unindexed. No duplicate
members.
 Dictionary is a collection which is ordered* and changeable. No duplicate members.
*As of Python version 3.7, dictionaries are ordered. In Python 3.6 and earlier, dictionaries
are unordered.
When choosing a collection type, it is useful to understand the properties of that type.
Choosing the right type for a particular data set could mean retention of meaning, and, it
could mean an increase in efficiency or security.
Python - Access List Items

Access Items
List items are indexed and you can access them by referring to the index number:
Example
Print the second item of the list:

print(thislist[1])
Try it Yourself »
Note: The first item has index 0.
Negative Indexing
Negative indexing means start from the end
-1 refers to the last item, -2 refers to the second last item etc.
Example
Print the last item of the list:

print(thislist[-1])
Try it Yourself »
Range of Indexes
You can specify a range of indexes by specifying where to start and where to end the range.
When specifying a range, the return value will be a new list with the specified items.
Example
Return the third, fourth, and fifth item:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "orange", "kiwi", "melon", "mango"]

print(thislist[2:5])
Try it Yourself »
Note: The search will start at index 2 (included) and end at index 5 (not included).
Remember that the first item has index 0.
By leaving out the start value, the range will start at the first item:
Example
This example returns the items from the beginning to, but NOT including, "kiwi":

print(thislist[:4])
Try it Yourself »
By leaving out the end value, the range will go on to the end of the list:
Example
This example returns the items from "cherry" to the end:

print(thislist[2:])
Try it Yourself »
ADVERTISEMENT
Range of Negative Indexes
Specify negative indexes if you want to start the search from the end of the list:
Example
This example returns the items from "orange" (-4) to, but NOT including "mango" (-1):

print(thislist[-4:-1])
Try it Yourself »
Check if Item Exists

To determine if a specified item is present in a list use the in keyword:
Example
Check if "apple" is present in the list:

if "apple" in thislist:
print("Yes, 'apple' is in the fruits list")
Try it Yourself »
Python - Change List Items

Change Item Value
To change the value of a specific item, refer to the index number:
Example
Change the second item:

thislist[1] = "blackcurrant"
print(thislist)
Try it Yourself »
Change a Range of Item Values

To change the value of items within a specific range, define a list with the new values, and
refer to the range of index numbers where you want to insert the new values:
Example
Change the values "banana" and "cherry" with the values "blackcurrant" and "watermelon":
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "orange", "kiwi", "mango"]

thislist[1:3] = ["blackcurrant", "watermelon"]
print(thislist)
Try it Yourself »
If you insert more items than you replace, the new items will be inserted where you
specified, and the remaining items will move accordingly:
Example
Change the second value by replacing it with two new values:

thislist[1:2] = ["blackcurrant", "watermelon"]
print(thislist)
Try it Yourself »
Note: The length of the list will change when the number of items inserted does not match
the number of items replaced.
If you insert less items than you replace, the new items will be inserted where you
specified, and the remaining items will move accordingly:
Example
Change the second and third value by replacing it with one value:

thislist[1:3] = ["watermelon"]
print(thislist)
Try it Yourself »
Insert Items
To insert a new list item, without replacing any of the existing values, we can use
the insert() method.
The insert() method inserts an item at the specified index:
Example
Insert "watermelon" as the third item:

thislist.insert(2, "watermelon")
print(thislist)
Try it Yourself »
Note: As a result of the example above, the list will now contain 4 items.
Python - Add List Items

Append Items
To add an item to the end of the list, use the append() method:
Example
Using the append() method to append an item:

thislist.append("orange")
print(thislist)
Try it Yourself »
Insert Items
To insert a list item at a specified index, use the insert() method.
The insert() method inserts an item at the specified index:
Example
Insert an item as the second position:

thislist.insert(1, "orange")
print(thislist)
Try it Yourself »
Note: As a result of the examples above, the lists will now contain 4 items.
Extend List
To append elements from another list to the current list, use the extend() method.
Example
Add the elements of tropical to thislist:

tropical = ["mango", "pineapple", "papaya"]
thislist.extend(tropical)
print(thislist)
Try it Yourself »
The elements will be added to the end of the list.
Add Any Iterable

The extend() method does not have to append lists, you can add any iterable object
(tuples, sets, dictionaries etc.).
Example
Add elements of a tuple to a list:

thistuple = ("kiwi", "orange")
thislist.extend(thistuple)
print(thislist)
Try it Yourself »
Python - Remove List Items

Remove Specified Item
The remove() method removes the specified item.
Example
Remove "banana":

thislist.remove("banana")
print(thislist)
Try it Yourself »
Remove Specified Index

The pop() method removes the specified index.
Example
Remove the second item:

thislist.pop(1)
print(thislist)
Try it Yourself »
If you do not specify the index, the pop() method removes the last item.
Example
Remove the last item:

thislist.pop()
print(thislist)
Try it Yourself »
The del keyword also removes the specified index:
Example
Remove the first item:

del thislist[0]
print(thislist)
Try it Yourself »
The del keyword can also delete the list completely.

Example
Delete the entire list:

del thislist
Try it Yourself »
Clear the List

The clear() method empties the list.
The list still remains, but it has no content.
Example
Clear the list content:

thislist.clear()
print(thislist)
Try it Yourself »
Python - Loop Lists

Loop Through a List
You can loop through the list items by using a for loop:
Example
Print all items in the list, one by one:
for x in thislist:
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Learn more about for loops in our Python For Loops Chapter.
Loop Through the Index Numbers

You can also loop through the list items by referring to their index number.
Use the range() and len() functions to create a suitable iterable.
Example
Print all items by referring to their index number:

for i in range(len(thislist)):
print(thislist[i])
Try it Yourself »
The iterable created in the example above is [0, 1, 2].
Using a While Loop

You can loop through the list items by using a while loop.
Use the len() function to determine the length of the list, then start at 0 and loop your way
through the list items by refering to their indexes.
Remember to increase the index by 1 after each iteration.

Example
Print all items, using a while loop to go through all the index numbers

i = 0
while i < len(thislist):
print(thislist[i])
i = i + 1
Try it Yourself »
Learn more about while loops in our Python While Loops Chapter.
Looping Using List Comprehension

List Comprehension offers the shortest syntax for looping through lists:
Example
A short hand for loop that will print all items in a list:

[print(x) for x in thislist]
Try it Yourself »
Learn more about list comprehension in the next chapter: List Comprehension.
Python - List Comprehension

List Comprehension
List comprehension offers a shorter syntax when you want to create a new list based on the
values of an existing list.
Example:
Based on a list of fruits, you want a new list, containing only the fruits with the letter "a" in
the name.
Without list comprehension you will have to write a for statement with a conditional test
inside:
Example
fruits = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "kiwi", "mango"]
newlist = []
for x in fruits:
if "a" in x:
newlist.append(x)
print(newlist)
Try it Yourself »
With list comprehension you can do all that with only one line of code:
Example
fruits = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "kiwi", "mango"]
newlist = [x for x in fruits if "a" in x]
print(newlist)
Try it Yourself »
The Syntax
newlist = [expression for item in iterable if condition == True]
The return value is a new list, leaving the old list unchanged.
Condition
The condition is like a filter that only accepts the items that valuate to True.
Example
Only accept items that are not "apple":
newlist = [x for x in fruits if x != "apple"]
Try it Yourself »
The condition if x != "apple" will return True for all elements other than "apple", making
the new list contain all fruits except "apple".
The condition is optional and can be omitted:
Example
With no if statement:
newlist = [x for x in fruits]
Try it Yourself »
Iterable
The iterable can be any iterable object, like a list, tuple, set etc.
Example
You can use the range() function to create an iterable:
newlist = [x for x in range(10)]
Try it Yourself »
Same example, but with a condition:
Example
Accept only numbers lower than 5:
newlist = [x for x in range(10) if x < 5]
Try it Yourself »
Expression
The expression is the current item in the iteration, but it is also the outcome, which you can
manipulate before it ends up like a list item in the new list:
Example
Set the values in the new list to upper case:
newlist = [x.upper() for x in fruits]
Try it Yourself »
You can set the outcome to whatever you like:
Example
Set all values in the new list to 'hello':
newlist = ['hello' for x in fruits]
Try it Yourself »
The expression can also contain conditions, not like a filter, but as a way to manipulate the
outcome:
Example
Return "orange" instead of "banana":
newlist = [x if x != "banana" else "orange" for x in fruits]
Try it Yourself »
The expression in the example above says:
"Return the item if it is not banana, if it is banana return orange".

Python - Sort Lists
Sort List Alphanumerically
List objects have a sort() method that will sort the list alphanumerically, ascending, by
default:
Example
Sort the list alphabetically:
thislist = ["orange", "mango", "kiwi", "pineapple", "banana"]

thislist.sort()
print(thislist)
Try it Yourself »
Example
Sort the list numerically:
thislist = [100, 50, 65, 82, 23]

thislist.sort()
print(thislist)
Try it Yourself »
Sort Descending
To sort descending, use the keyword argument reverse = True:
Example
Sort the list descending:
thislist = ["orange", "mango", "kiwi", "pineapple", "banana"]
thislist.sort(reverse = True)
print(thislist)
Try it Yourself »
Example
Sort the list descending:
thislist = [100, 50, 65, 82, 23]

thislist.sort(reverse = True)
print(thislist)
Try it Yourself »
Customize Sort Function

You can also customize your own function by using the keyword argument key = function.
The function will return a number that will be used to sort the list (the lowest number first):
Example
Sort the list based on how close the number is to 50:
def myfunc(n):
return abs(n - 50)
thislist = [100, 50, 65, 82, 23]

thislist.sort(key = myfunc)
print(thislist)
Try it Yourself »
Case Insensitive Sort
By default the sort() method is case sensitive, resulting in all capital letters being sorted
before lower case letters:
Example
Case sensitive sorting can give an unexpected result:
thislist = ["banana", "Orange", "Kiwi", "cherry"]

thislist.sort()
print(thislist)
Try it Yourself »
Luckily we can use built-in functions as key functions when sorting a list.
So if you want a case-insensitive sort function, use str.lower as a key function:
Example
Perform a case-insensitive sort of the list:

thislist.sort(key = str.lower)
print(thislist)
Try it Yourself »
Reverse Order
What if you want to reverse the order of a list, regardless of the alphabet?
The reverse() method reverses the current sorting order of the elements.
Example
Reverse the order of the list items:
thislist.reverse()
print(thislist)
Python - Copy Lists
Copy a List
You cannot copy a list simply by typing list2 = list1, because: list2 will only be
a reference to list1, and changes made in list1 will automatically also be made in list2.
There are ways to make a copy, one way is to use the built-in List method copy().
Example
Make a copy of a list with the copy() method:

mylist = thislist.copy()
print(mylist)
Try it Yourself »
Another way to make a copy is to use the built-in method list().
Example
Make a copy of a list with the list() method:

mylist = list(thislist)
print(mylist)
Python - Join Lists
Join Two Lists
There are several ways to join, or concatenate, two or more lists in Python.
One of the easiest ways are by using the + operator.
Example
Join two list:
list1 = ["a", "b", "c"]

list2 = [1, 2, 3]
list3 = list1 + list2

print(list3)
Try it Yourself »
Another way to join two lists is by appending all the items from list2 into list1, one by one:
Example
Append list2 into list1:
list1 = ["a", "b" , "c"]

list2 = [1, 2, 3]
for x in list2:
list1.append(x)
print(list1)
Try it Yourself »
Or you can use the extend() method, which purpose is to add elements from one list to
another list:
Example
Use the extend() method to add list2 at the end of list1:
list1 = ["a", "b" , "c"]
list2 = [1, 2, 3]
list1.extend(list2)
print(list1)
Python - List Methods

List Methods
Python has a set of built-in methods that you can use on lists.
Method Description
append() Adds an element at the end of the list
clear() Removes all the elements from the list
copy() Returns a copy of the list
count() Returns the number of elements with the specified value
extend() Add the elements of a list (or any iterable), to the end of the current list
index() Returns the index of the first element with the specified value
insert() Adds an element at the specified position
pop() Removes the element at the specified position
remove() Removes the item with the specified value
reverse() Reverses the order of the list
sort() Sorts the list
Python List Exercises


Now you have learned a lot about lists, and how to use them in Python.
Exercise:
Print the second item in the fruits list.

print( )
Python Tuples
mytuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")
Tuple
Tuples are used to store multiple items in a single variable.
Tuple is one of 4 built-in data types in Python used to store collections of data, the other 3
are List, Set, and Dictionary, all with different qualities and usage.
A tuple is a collection which is ordered and unchangeable.
Tuples are written with round brackets.
Example
Create a Tuple:
thistuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")

print(thistuple)
Try it Yourself »
Tuple Items
Tuple items are ordered, unchangeable, and allow duplicate values.
Tuple items are indexed, the first item has index [0], the second item has index [1] etc.
Ordered
When we say that tuples are ordered, it means that the items have a defined order, and
that order will not change.
Unchangeable
Tuples are unchangeable, meaning that we cannot change, add or remove items after the
tuple has been created.
Allow Duplicates
Since tuples are indexed, they can have items with the same value:
Example
Tuples allow duplicate values:
thistuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry", "apple", "cherry")

print(thistuple)
Try it Yourself »
Tuple Length
To determine how many items a tuple has, use the len() function:
Example
Print the number of items in the tuple:

print(len(thistuple))
Try it Yourself »
Create Tuple With One Item

To create a tuple with only one item, you have to add a comma after the item, otherwise
Python will not recognize it as a tuple.
Example
One item tuple, remember the comma:
thistuple = ("apple",)
print(type(thistuple))
#NOT a tuple
thistuple = ("apple")
print(type(thistuple))
Try it Yourself »
Tuple Items - Data Types

Tuple items can be of any data type:
Example
tuple1 = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")

tuple2 = (1, 5, 7, 9, 3)
tuple3 = (True, False, False)
Try it Yourself »
A tuple can contain different data types:
Example
A tuple with strings, integers and boolean values:
tuple1 = ("abc", 34, True, 40, "male")
Try it Yourself »
type()
From Python's perspective, tuples are defined as objects with the data type 'tuple':
<class 'tuple'>
Example
What is the data type of a tuple?

print(type(mytuple))
Try it Yourself »
The tuple() Constructor

It is also possible to use the tuple() constructor to make a tuple.
Example
Using the tuple() method to make a tuple:
thistuple = tuple(("apple", "banana", "cherry")) # note the double round-brackets

print(thistuple)
Try it Yourself »

members.
are unordered.
Python - Access Tuple Items

Access Tuple Items
You can access tuple items by referring to the index number, inside square brackets:
Example
Print the second item in the tuple:

print(thistuple[1])
Try it Yourself »
Note: The first item has index 0.

Negative Indexing
Negative indexing means start from the end.
-1 refers to the last item, -2 refers to the second last item etc.
Example
Print the last item of the tuple:

print(thistuple[-1])
Try it Yourself »
Range of Indexes
You can specify a range of indexes by specifying where to start and where to end the range.
When specifying a range, the return value will be a new tuple with the specified items.
Example
Return the third, fourth, and fifth item:
thistuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry", "orange", "kiwi", "melon", "mango")

print(thistuple[2:5])
Try it Yourself »
Note: The search will start at index 2 (included) and end at index 5 (not included).
Remember that the first item has index 0.
By leaving out the start value, the range will start at the first item:
Example
This example returns the items from the beginning to, but NOT included, "kiwi":
print(thistuple[:4])
Try it Yourself »
By leaving out the end value, the range will go on to the end of the list:
Example
This example returns the items from "cherry" and to the end:

print(thistuple[2:])
Try it Yourself »
Range of Negative Indexes

Specify negative indexes if you want to start the search from the end of the tuple:
Example
This example returns the items from index -4 (included) to index -1 (excluded)

print(thistuple[-4:-1])
Try it Yourself »
Check if Item Exists

To determine if a specified item is present in a tuple use the in keyword:
Example
Check if "apple" is present in the tuple:
if "apple" in thistuple:
print("Yes, 'apple' is in the fruits tuple")
Try it Yourself »
Python - Update Tuples

Tuples are unchangeable, meaning that you cannot change, add, or remove items once the
tuple is created.
But there are some workarounds.
Change Tuple Values

Once a tuple is created, you cannot change its values. Tuples are unchangeable,
or immutable as it also is called.
But there is a workaround. You can convert the tuple into a list, change the list, and convert
the list back into a tuple.
Example
Convert the tuple into a list to be able to change it:
x = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")

y = list(x)
y[1] = "kiwi"
x = tuple(y)
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Add Items
Since tuples are immutable, they do not have a build-in append() method, but there are
other ways to add items to a tuple.
1. Convert into a list: Just like the workaround for changing a tuple, you can convert it
into a list, add your item(s), and convert it back into a tuple.
Example
Convert the tuple into a list, add "orange", and convert it back into a tuple:

y = list(thistuple)
y.append("orange")
thistuple = tuple(y)
Try it Yourself »
2. Add tuple to a tuple. You are allowed to add tuples to tuples, so if you want to add one
item, (or many), create a new tuple with the item(s), and add it to the existing tuple:
Example
Create a new tuple with the value "orange", and add that tuple:

y = ("orange",)
thistuple += y
print(thistuple)
Try it Yourself »
Note: When creating a tuple with only one item, remember to include a comma after the
item, otherwise it will not be identified as a tuple.
ADVERTISEMENT
Remove Items
Note: You cannot remove items in a tuple.
Tuples are unchangeable, so you cannot remove items from it, but you can use the same
workaround as we used for changing and adding tuple items:
Example
Convert the tuple into a list, remove "apple", and convert it back into a tuple:

y = list(thistuple)
y.remove("apple")
thistuple = tuple(y)
Try it Yourself »
Or you can delete the tuple completely:
Example
The del keyword can delete the tuple completely:

del thistuple
print(thistuple) #this will raise an error because the tuple no longer exists
Python - Unpack Tuples

Unpacking a Tuple
When we create a tuple, we normally assign values to it. This is called "packing" a tuple:
Example
Packing a tuple:
fruits = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")
Try it Yourself »
But, in Python, we are also allowed to extract the values back into variables. This is called
"unpacking":
Example
Unpacking a tuple:
(green, yellow, red) = fruits
print(green)
print(yellow)
print(red)
Try it Yourself »
Note: The number of variables must match the number of values in the tuple, if not, you
must use an asterisk to collect the remaining values as a list.
Using Asterisk*
If the number of variables is less than the number of values, you can add an * to the
variable name and the values will be assigned to the variable as a list:
Example
Assign the rest of the values as a list called "red":
fruits = ("apple", "banana", "cherry", "strawberry", "raspberry")
(green, yellow, *red) = fruits
print(green)
print(yellow)
print(red)
Try it Yourself »
If the asterisk is added to another variable name than the last, Python will assign values to
the variable until the number of values left matches the number of variables left.
Example
Add a list of values the "tropic" variable:
fruits = ("apple", "mango", "papaya", "pineapple", "cherry")
(green, *tropic, red) = fruits
print(green)
print(tropic)
print(red)
Try it Yourself »
Python - Loop Tuples

Loop Through a Tuple
You can loop through the tuple items by using a for loop.
Example
Iterate through the items and print the values:

for x in thistuple:
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Learn more about for loops in our Python For Loops Chapter.
Loop Through the Index Numbers
You can also loop through the tuple items by referring to their index number.
Use the range() and len() functions to create a suitable iterable.
Example
Print all items by referring to their index number:

for i in range(len(thistuple)):
print(thistuple[i])
Try it Yourself »
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Using a While Loop

You can loop through the list items by using a while loop.
Use the len() function to determine the length of the tuple, then start at 0 and loop your
way through the tuple items by refering to their indexes.
Remember to increase the index by 1 after each iteration.
Example
Print all items, using a while loop to go through all the index numbers:

i = 0
while i < len(thistuple):
print(thistuple[i])
i = i + 1
Try it Yourself »
Learn more about while loops in our Python While Loops Chapter.
Python - Join Tuples

Join Two Tuples
To join two or more tuples you can use the + operator:
Example
Join two tuples:
tuple1 = ("a", "b" , "c")

tuple2 = (1, 2, 3)
tuple3 = tuple1 + tuple2

print(tuple3)
Try it Yourself »
Multiply Tuples
If you want to multiply the content of a tuple a given number of times, you can use
the * operator:
Example
Multiply the fruits tuple by 2:

mytuple = fruits * 2
print(mytuple)
Try it Yourself »
Python - Tuple Methods
Tuple Methods
Python has two built-in methods that you can use on tuples.
Method Description
count() Returns the number of times a specified value occurs in a tuple
index() Searches the tuple for a specified value and returns the position of where it was
found
Python - Tuple Exercises

Now you have learned a lot about tuples, and how to use them in Python.
Exercise:
Print the first item in the fruits tuple.
print( )
Submit Answer »
Go to the Exercise section and test all of our Python Tuple Exercises:
Python Tuple Exercises
Python Sets
myset = {"apple", "banana", "cherry"}
Set
Sets are used to store multiple items in a single variable.
Set is one of 4 built-in data types in Python used to store collections of data, the other 3
are List, Tuple, and Dictionary, all with different qualities and usage.
A set is a collection which is unordered, unchangeable, and unindexed.
Sets are written with curly brackets.
Example
Create a Set:
thisset = {"apple", "banana", "cherry"}

print(thisset)
Try it Yourself »
Note: Sets are unordered, so you cannot be sure in which order the items will appear.
Set Items
Set items are unordered, unchangeable, and do not allow duplicate values.
Unordered
Unordered means that the items in a set do not have a defined order.
Set items can appear in a different order every time you use them, and cannot be referred
to by index or key.
Unchangeable
Sets are unchangeable, meaning that we cannot change the items after the set has been
created.
Once a set is created, you cannot change its items, but you can add new items.
Duplicates Not Allowed

Sets cannot have two items with the same value.
Example
Duplicate values will be ignored:
thisset = {"apple", "banana", "cherry", "apple"}
print(thisset)
Try it Yourself »
Get the Length of a Set
To determine how many items a set has, use the len() method.
Example
Get the number of items in a set:
print(len(thisset))
Try it Yourself »
Set Items - Data Types

Set items can be of any data type:
Example
set1 = {"apple", "banana", "cherry"}

set2 = {1, 5, 7, 9, 3}
set3 = {True, False, False}
Try it Yourself »
A set can contain different data types:
Example
A set with strings, integers and boolean values:
set1 = {"abc", 34, True, 40, "male"}
Try it Yourself »
type()
From Python's perspective, sets are defined as objects with the data type 'set':
<class 'set'>
Example
What is the data type of a set?
myset = {"apple", "banana", "cherry"}

print(type(myset))
Try it Yourself »
The set() Constructor

It is also possible to use the set() constructor to make a set.
Example
Using the set() constructor to make a set:
thisset = set(("apple", "banana", "cherry")) # note the double round-brackets

print(thisset)
Try it Yourself »


members.
are unordered.
Python - Access Set Items

Access Items
You cannot access items in a set by referring to an index or a key.
But you can loop through the set items using a for loop, or ask if a specified value is
present in a set, by using the in keyword.
Example
Loop through the set, and print the values:
for x in thisset:
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Example
Check if "banana" is present in the set:
print("banana" in thisset)
Try it Yourself »
Change Items
Python - Add Set Items

Add Items
To add one item to a set use the add() method.
Example
Add an item to a set, using the add() method:
thisset.add("orange")
print(thisset)
Try it Yourself »
Add Sets
To add items from another set into the current set, use the update() method.
Example
Add elements from tropical into thisset:
tropical = {"pineapple", "mango", "papaya"}
thisset.update(tropical)
print(thisset)
Try it Yourself »
Add Any Iterable

The object in the update() method does not have to be a set, it can be any iterable object
(tuples, lists, dictionaries etc.).
Example
Add elements of a list to at set:

mylist = ["kiwi", "orange"]
thisset.update(mylist)
print(thisset)
Try it Yourself »
Python - Remove Set Items

Remove Item
To remove an item in a set, use the remove(), or the discard() method.
Example
Remove "banana" by using the remove() method:
thisset.remove("banana")
print(thisset)
Try it Yourself »
Note: If the item to remove does not exist, remove() will raise an error.
Example
Remove "banana" by using the discard() method:
thisset.discard("banana")
print(thisset)
Try it Yourself »
Note: If the item to remove does not exist, discard() will NOT raise an error.
You can also use the pop() method to remove an item, but this method will remove
the last item. Remember that sets are unordered, so you will not know what item that gets
removed.
The return value of the pop() method is the removed item.
Example
Remove the last item by using the pop() method:
x = thisset.pop()
print(x)
print(thisset)
Try it Yourself »
Note: Sets are unordered, so when using the pop() method, you do not know which item
that gets removed.
Example
The clear() method empties the set:
thisset.clear()
print(thisset)
Try it Yourself »
Example
The del keyword will delete the set completely:
del thisset
print(thisset)
Try it Yourself »
Python - Loop Sets

Loop Items
You can loop through the set items by using a for loop:
Example
Loop through the set, and print the values:
for x in thisset:
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Python - Join Sets
Join Two Sets
There are several ways to join two or more sets in Python.
You can use the union() method that returns a new set containing all items from both sets,
or the update() method that inserts all the items from one set into another:
Example
The union() method returns a new set with all items from both sets:
set1 = {"a", "b" , "c"}

set2 = {1, 2, 3}
set3 = set1.union(set2)
print(set3)
Try it Yourself »
Example
The update() method inserts the items in set2 into set1:
set1 = {"a", "b" , "c"}

set2 = {1, 2, 3}
set1.update(set2)
print(set1)
Try it Yourself »
Note: Both union() and update() will exclude any duplicate items.
Keep ONLY the Duplicates
The intersection_update() method will keep only the items that are present in both sets.
Example
Keep the items that exist in both set x, and set y:
x = {"apple", "banana", "cherry"}

y = {"google", "microsoft", "apple"}
x.intersection_update(y)
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
The intersection() method will return a new set, that only contains the items that are
present in both sets.
Example
Return a set that contains the items that exist in both set x, and set y:

z = x.intersection(y)
print(z)
Try it Yourself »
Keep All, But NOT the Duplicates

The symmetric_difference_update() method will keep only the elements that are NOT
present in both sets.
Example
Keep the items that are not present in both sets:
x.symmetric_difference_update(y)
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
The symmetric_difference() method will return a new set, that contains only the elements
that are NOT present in both sets.
Example
Return a set that contains all items from both sets, except items that are present in both:

z = x.symmetric_difference(y)
print(z)
Try it Yourself »
Python - Set Methods

Set Methods
Python has a set of built-in methods that you can use on sets.
Method Description
add() Adds an element to the set

clear() Removes all the elements from the set
copy() Returns a copy of the set
difference() Returns a set containing the difference between two or more sets
difference_update() Removes the items in this set that are also included in another,
specified set
discard() Remove the specified item
intersection() Returns a set, that is the intersection of two other sets
intersection_update() Removes the items in this set that are not present in other,
specified set(s)
isdisjoint() Returns whether two sets have a intersection or not
issubset() Returns whether another set contains this set or not
issuperset() Returns whether this set contains another set or not
pop() Removes an element from the set

remove() Removes the specified element
symmetric_difference() Returns a set with the symmetric differences of two sets
symmetric_difference_update() inserts the symmetric differences from this set and another
union() Return a set containing the union of sets
update() Update the set with the union of this set and others
Python - Set Exercises

Now you have learned a lot about sets, and how to use them in Python.
Exercise:
Check if "apple" is present in the fruits set.
fruits = {"apple", "banana", "cherry"}

if "apple" fruits:
print("Yes, apple is a fruit!")
Submit Answer »
Go to the Exercise section and test all of our Python Set Exercises:
Python Dictionaries
thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
Dictionary
Dictionaries are used to store data values in key:value pairs.
A dictionary is a collection which is ordered*, changeable and does not allow duplicates.
As of Python version 3.7, dictionaries are ordered. In Python 3.6 and earlier, dictionaries
are unordered.
Dictionaries are written with curly brackets, and have keys and values:
Example
Create and print a dictionary:
thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
print(thisdict)
Try it Yourself »
Dictionary Items
Dictionary items are ordered, changeable, and does not allow duplicates.
Dictionary items are presented in key:value pairs, and can be referred to by using the key
name.
Example
Print the "brand" value of the dictionary:
thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
print(thisdict["brand"])
Try it Yourself »
Ordered or Unordered?
As of Python version 3.7, dictionaries are ordered. In Python 3.6 and earlier, dictionaries
are unordered.
When we say that dictionaries are ordered, it means that the items have a defined order,
and that order will not change.
Unordered means that the items does not have a defined order, you cannot refer to an item
by using an index.
Changeable
Dictionaries are changeable, meaning that we can change, add or remove items after the
dictionary has been created.
Duplicates Not Allowed
Dictionaries cannot have two items with the same key:
Example
Duplicate values will overwrite existing values:
thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964,
"year": 2020
}
print(thisdict)
Try it Yourself »
Dictionary Length
To determine how many items a dictionary has, use the len() function:
Example
Print the number of items in the dictionary:
print(len(thisdict))
Try it Yourself »
Dictionary Items - Data Types

The values in dictionary items can be of any data type:
Example
String, int, boolean, and list data types:
thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"electric": False,
"year": 1964,
"colors": ["red", "white", "blue"]
}
Try it Yourself »
type()
From Python's perspective, dictionaries are defined as objects with the data type 'dict':
<class 'dict'>
Example
Print the data type of a dictionary:
thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
print(type(thisdict))
Try it Yourself »


members.
 Dictionary is a collection which is ordered and changeable. No duplicate members.
Python - Access Dictionary Items

Accessing Items
You can access the items of a dictionary by referring to its key name, inside square
brackets:
Example
Get the value of the "model" key:
thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
x = thisdict["model"]
Try it Yourself »
There is also a method called get() that will give you the same result:
Example
Get the value of the "model" key:
x = thisdict.get("model")
Try it Yourself »
Get Keys
The keys() method will return a list of all the keys in the dictionary.
Example
Get a list of the keys:
x = thisdict.keys()
Try it Yourself »
The list of the keys is a view of the dictionary, meaning that any changes done to the
dictionary will be reflected in the keys list.
Example
Add a new item to the original dictionary, and see that the keys list gets updated as well:
car = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
x = car.keys()
print(x) #before the change
car["color"] = "white"
print(x) #after the change
Try it Yourself »
Get Values
The values() method will return a list of all the values in the dictionary.
Example
Get a list of the values:
x = thisdict.values()
Try it Yourself »
The list of the values is a view of the dictionary, meaning that any changes done to the
dictionary will be reflected in the values list.
Example
Make a change in the original dictionary, and see that the values list gets updated as well:
car = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
x = car.values()
car["year"] = 2020
Try it Yourself »
Example
Add a new item to the original dictionary, and see that the values list gets updated as well:
car = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
x = car.values()
car["color"] = "red"
Try it Yourself »
Get Items
The items() method will return each item in a dictionary, as tuples in a list.
Example
Get a list of the key:value pairs
x = thisdict.items()
Try it Yourself »
The returned list is a view of the items of the dictionary, meaning that any changes done to
the dictionary will be reflected in the items list.
Example
Make a change in the original dictionary, and see that the items list gets updated as well:
car = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
x = car.items()
car["year"] = 2020
Try it Yourself »
Example
Add a new item to the original dictionary, and see that the items list gets updated as well:
car = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
x = car.items()
car["color"] = "red"
Try it Yourself »
Check if Key Exists

To determine if a specified key is present in a dictionary use the in keyword:
Example
Check if "model" is present in the dictionary:
thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
if "model" in thisdict:
print("Yes, 'model' is one of the keys in the thisdict dictionary")
Try it Yourself »
Python - Change Dictionary Items
Change Values
You can change the value of a specific item by referring to its key name:
Example
Change the "year" to 2018:
thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
thisdict["year"] = 2018
Try it Yourself »
Update Dictionary
The update() method will update the dictionary with the items from the given argument.
The argument must be a dictionary, or an iterable object with key:value pairs.
Example
Update the "year" of the car by using the update() method:
thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
thisdict.update({"year": 2020})
Python - Add Dictionary Items
Adding Items
Adding an item to the dictionary is done by using a new index key and assigning a value to
it:
Example
thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
thisdict["color"] = "red"
print(thisdict)
Try it Yourself »
Update Dictionary
The update() method will update the dictionary with the items from a given argument. If
the item does not exist, the item will be added.
The argument must be a dictionary, or an iterable object with key:value pairs.
Example
Add a color item to the dictionary by using the update() method:
thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
thisdict.update({"color": "red"})
Try it Yourself »
Python - Remove Dictionary Items
Removing Items
There are several methods to remove items from a dictionary:
Example
The pop() method removes the item with the specified key name:
thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
thisdict.pop("model")
print(thisdict)
Try it Yourself »
Example
The popitem() method removes the last inserted item (in versions before 3.7, a random
item is removed instead):
thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
thisdict.popitem()
print(thisdict)
Try it Yourself »
Example
The del keyword removes the item with the specified key name:
thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
del thisdict["model"]
print(thisdict)
Try it Yourself »
Example
The del keyword can also delete the dictionary completely:
thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
del thisdict
print(thisdict) #this will cause an error because "thisdict" no longer exists.
Try it Yourself »
Example
The clear() method empties the dictionary:
thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
thisdict.clear()
print(thisdict)
Try it Yourself »
Python - Loop Dictionaries
Loop Through a Dictionary
You can loop through a dictionary by using a for loop.
When looping through a dictionary, the return value are the keys of the dictionary, but there
are methods to return the values as well.
Example
Print all key names in the dictionary, one by one:
for x in thisdict:
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Example
Print all values in the dictionary, one by one:
for x in thisdict:
print(thisdict[x])
Try it Yourself »
Example
You can also use the values() method to return values of a dictionary:
for x in thisdict.values():
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Example
You can use the keys() method to return the keys of a dictionary:
for x in thisdict.keys():
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Example
Loop through both keys and values, by using the items() method:
for x, y in thisdict.items():
print(x, y)
Try it Yourself »
Python - Copy Dictionaries

Copy a Dictionary
You cannot copy a dictionary simply by typing dict2 = dict1, because: dict2 will only be
a reference to dict1, and changes made in dict1 will automatically also be made in dict2.
There are ways to make a copy, one way is to use the built-in Dictionary method copy().
Example
Make a copy of a dictionary with the copy() method:
thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
mydict = thisdict.copy()
print(mydict)
Try it Yourself »
Another way to make a copy is to use the built-in function dict().
Example
Make a copy of a dictionary with the dict() function:
thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
mydict = dict(thisdict)
print(mydict)
Try it Yourself »
Python - Nested Dictionaries

Nested Dictionaries
A dictionary can contain dictionaries, this is called nested dictionaries.
Example
Create a dictionary that contain three dictionaries:
myfamily = {
"child1" : {
"name" : "Emil",
"year" : 2004
},
"child2" : {
"name" : "Tobias",
"year" : 2007
},
"child3" : {
"name" : "Linus",
"year" : 2011
}
}
Try it Yourself »
Or, if you want to add three dictionaries into a new dictionary:

Example
Create three dictionaries, then create one dictionary that will contain the other three
dictionaries:
child1 = {
"name" : "Emil",
"year" : 2004
}
child2 = {
"name" : "Tobias",
"year" : 2007
}
child3 = {
"name" : "Linus",
"year" : 2011
}
myfamily = {
"child1" : child1,
"child2" : child2,
"child3" : child3
}
Try it Yourself »
Python Dictionary Methods

Dictionary Methods
Python has a set of built-in methods that you can use on dictionaries.
Method Description
clear() Removes all the elements from the dictionary

copy() Returns a copy of the dictionary
fromkeys() Returns a dictionary with the specified keys and value
get() Returns the value of the specified key
items() Returns a list containing a tuple for each key value pair
keys() Returns a list containing the dictionary's keys
pop() Removes the element with the specified key
popitem() Removes the last inserted key-value pair
setdefault() Returns the value of the specified key. If the key does not exist: insert the key, with
the specified value
update() Updates the dictionary with the specified key-value pairs
values() Returns a list of all the values in the dictionary

Python Dictionary Exercises
Now you have learned a lot about dictionaries, and how to use them in Python.

Exercise:
Use the get method to print the value of the "model" key of the car dictionary.
car = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}
print( )
Submit Answer »
Start the Exercise
Go to the Exercise section and test all of our Python Dictionary Exercises:
Python Dictionary Exercises

Python If...Else
Python Conditions and If statements
Python supports the usual logical conditions from mathematics:
 Equals: a == b
 Not Equals: a != b
 Less than: a < b
 Less than or equal to: a <= b
 Greater than: a > b
 Greater than or equal to: a >= b
These conditions can be used in several ways, most commonly in "if statements" and loops.
An "if statement" is written by using the if keyword.
Example
If statement:
a = 33
b = 200
if b > a:
Try it Yourself »
In this example we use two variables, a and b, which are used as part of the if statement to
test whether b is greater than a. As a is 33, and b is 200, we know that 200 is greater than
33, and so we print to screen that "b is greater than a".
Indentation
Python relies on indentation (whitespace at the beginning of a line) to define scope in the
code. Other programming languages often use curly-brackets for this purpose.
Example
If statement, without indentation (will raise an error):
a = 33
b = 200
if b > a:
print("b is greater than a") # you will get an error
Try it Yourself »
Elif
The elif keyword is pythons way of saying "if the previous conditions were not true, then
try this condition".
Example
a = 33
b = 33
if b > a:
elif a == b:
print("a and b are equal")
Try it Yourself »
In this example a is equal to b, so the first condition is not true, but the elif condition is
true, so we print to screen that "a and b are equal".
Else
The else keyword catches anything which isn't caught by the preceding conditions.
Example
a = 200
b = 33
if b > a:
elif a == b:
print("a and b are equal")
else:
print("a is greater than b")
Try it Yourself »
In this example a is greater than b, so the first condition is not true, also the elif condition
is not true, so we go to the else condition and print to screen that "a is greater than b".
You can also have an else without the elif:
Example
a = 200
b = 33
if b > a:
else:
print("b is not greater than a")
Try it Yourself »
Short Hand If
If you have only one statement to execute, you can put it on the same line as the if
statement.
Example
One line if statement:
if a > b: print("a is greater than b")
Try it Yourself »
Short Hand If ... Else

If you have only one statement to execute, one for if, and one for else, you can put it all on
the same line:
Example
One line if else statement:
a = 2
b = 330
print("A") if a > b else print("B")
Try it Yourself »
This technique is known as Ternary Operators, or Conditional Expressions.
You can also have multiple else statements on the same line:
Example
One line if else statement, with 3 conditions:
a = 330
b = 330
print("A") if a > b else print("=") if a == b else print("B")
Try it Yourself »
And
The and keyword is a logical operator, and is used to combine conditional statements:
Example
Test if a is greater than b, AND if c is greater than a:
a = 200
b = 33
c = 500
if a > b and c > a:
print("Both conditions are True")
Try it Yourself »
Or
The or keyword is a logical operator, and is used to combine conditional statements:
Example
Test if a is greater than b, OR if a is greater than c:
a = 200
b = 33
c = 500
if a > b or a > c:
print("At least one of the conditions is True")
Try it Yourself »
Nested If
You can have if statements inside if statements, this is called nested if statements.
Example
x = 41
if x > 10:
print("Above ten,")
if x > 20:
print("and also above 20!")
else:
print("but not above 20.")
Try it Yourself »
The pass Statement

if statements cannot be empty, but if you for some reason have an if statement with no
content, put in the pass statement to avoid getting an error.
Example
a = 33
b = 200
if b > a:
pass
Try it Yourself »

Exercise:
Print "Hello World" if a is greater than b.
a = 50
b = 10
a b
print("Hello World")
Submit Answer »
Start the Exercise
Python While Loops

Python Loops
Python has two primitive loop commands:
 while loops
 for loops
The while Loop

With the while loop we can execute a set of statements as long as a condition is true.
Example
Print i as long as i is less than 6:
i = 1
while i < 6:
print(i)
i += 1
Try it Yourself »
Note: remember to increment i, or else the loop will continue forever.
The while loop requires relevant variables to be ready, in this example we need to define an
indexing variable, i, which we set to 1.
The break Statement

With the break statement we can stop the loop even if the while condition is true:
Example
Exit the loop when i is 3:
i = 1
while i < 6:
print(i)
if i == 3:
break
i += 1
Try it Yourself »
The continue Statement
With the continue statement we can stop the current iteration, and continue with the next:
Example
Continue to the next iteration if i is 3:
i = 0
while i < 6:
i += 1
if i == 3:
continue
print(i)
Try it Yourself »
The else Statement

With the else statement we can run a block of code once when the condition no longer is
true:
Example
Print a message once the condition is false:
i = 1
while i < 6:
print(i)
i += 1
else:
print("i is no longer less than 6")
Try it Yourself »
Exercise:
Print i as long as i is less than 6.
i = 1
i < 6
print(i)
i += 1
Submit Answer »
Start the Exercise
Python For Loops

Python For Loops
A for loop is used for iterating over a sequence (that is either a list, a tuple, a dictionary, a
set, or a string).
This is less like the for keyword in other programming languages, and works more like an
iterator method as found in other object-orientated programming languages.
With the for loop we can execute a set of statements, once for each item in a list, tuple, set
etc.
Example
Print each fruit in a fruit list:

for x in fruits:
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
The for loop does not require an indexing variable to set beforehand.
Looping Through a String

Even strings are iterable objects, they contain a sequence of characters:
Example
Loop through the letters in the word "banana":
for x in "banana":
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
The break Statement

With the break statement we can stop the loop before it has looped through all the items:
Example
Exit the loop when x is "banana":

for x in fruits:
print(x)
if x == "banana":
break
Try it Yourself »
Example
Exit the loop when x is "banana", but this time the break comes before the print:
for x in fruits:
if x == "banana":
break
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
The continue Statement

With the continue statement we can stop the current iteration of the loop, and continue
with the next:
Example
Do not print banana:

for x in fruits:
if x == "banana":
continue
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
The range() Function

To loop through a set of code a specified number of times, we can use the range() function,
The range() function returns a sequence of numbers, starting from 0 by default, and
increments by 1 (by default), and ends at a specified number.
Example
Using the range() function:
for x in range(6):
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Note that range(6) is not the values of 0 to 6, but the values 0 to 5.
The range() function defaults to 0 as a starting value, however it is possible to specify the
starting value by adding a parameter: range(2, 6), which means values from 2 to 6 (but
not including 6):
Example
Using the start parameter:
for x in range(2, 6):

print(x)
Try it Yourself »
The range() function defaults to increment the sequence by 1, however it is possible to

specify the increment value by adding a third parameter: range(2, 30, 3):
Example
Increment the sequence with 3 (default is 1):
for x in range(2, 30, 3):

print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Else in For Loop

The else keyword in a for loop specifies a block of code to be executed when the loop is
finished:
Example
Print all numbers from 0 to 5, and print a message when the loop has ended:
for x in range(6):
print(x)
else:
print("Finally finished!")
Try it Yourself »
Note: The else block will NOT be executed if the loop is stopped by a break statement.
Example
Break the loop when x is 3, and see what happens with the else block:
for x in range(6):
if x == 3: break
print(x)
else:
print("Finally finished!")
Try it Yourself »
Nested Loops
A nested loop is a loop inside a loop.
The "inner loop" will be executed one time for each iteration of the "outer loop":
Example
Print each adjective for every fruit:
adj = ["red", "big", "tasty"]

for x in adj:
for y in fruits:
print(x, y)
Try it Yourself »
The pass Statement

for loops cannot be empty, but if you for some reason have a for loop with no content, put
in the pass statement to avoid getting an error.
Example
for x in [0, 1, 2]:
pass
Try it Yourself »
Python Functions
A function is a block of code which only runs when it is called.
You can pass data, known as parameters, into a function.
A function can return data as a result.
Creating a Function
In Python a function is defined using the def keyword:
Example
def my_function():
print("Hello from a function")
Calling a Function
To call a function, use the function name followed by parenthesis:
Example
def my_function():
my_function()
Try it Yourself »
Arguments
Information can be passed into functions as arguments.
Arguments are specified after the function name, inside the parentheses. You can add as
many arguments as you want, just separate them with a comma.
The following example has a function with one argument (fname). When the function is
called, we pass along a first name, which is used inside the function to print the full name:
Example
def my_function(fname):
print(fname + " Refsnes")
my_function("Emil")
my_function("Tobias")
my_function("Linus")
Try it Yourself »
Arguments are often shortened to args in Python documentations.
Parameters or Arguments?
The terms parameter and argument can be used for the same thing: information that are
passed into a function.
From a function's perspective:
A parameter is the variable listed inside the parentheses in the function definition.
An argument is the value that is sent to the function when it is called.

Number of Arguments
By default, a function must be called with the correct number of arguments. Meaning that if
your function expects 2 arguments, you have to call the function with 2 arguments, not
more, and not less.
Example
This function expects 2 arguments, and gets 2 arguments:
def my_function(fname, lname):

print(fname + " " + lname)
my_function("Emil", "Refsnes")
Try it Yourself »
If you try to call the function with 1 or 3 arguments, you will get an error:
Example
This function expects 2 arguments, but gets only 1:
def my_function(fname, lname):

print(fname + " " + lname)
my_function("Emil")
Try it Yourself »
Arbitrary Arguments, *args

If you do not know how many arguments that will be passed into your function, add
a * before the parameter name in the function definition.
This way the function will receive a tuple of arguments, and can access the items
accordingly:
Example
If the number of arguments is unknown, add a * before the parameter name:
def my_function(*kids):
print("The youngest child is " + kids[2])
my_function("Emil", "Tobias", "Linus")
Try it Yourself »
Arbitrary Arguments are often shortened to *args in Python documentations.
Keyword Arguments
You can also send arguments with the key = value syntax.
This way the order of the arguments does not matter.
Example
def my_function(child3, child2, child1):
print("The youngest child is " + child3)
my_function(child1 = "Emil", child2 = "Tobias", child3 = "Linus")
Try it Yourself »
The phrase Keyword Arguments are often shortened to kwargs in Python documentations.
Arbitrary Keyword Arguments, **kwargs

If you do not know how many keyword arguments that will be passed into your function,
add two asterisk: ** before the parameter name in the function definition.
This way the function will receive a dictionary of arguments, and can access the items
accordingly:
Example
If the number of keyword arguments is unknown, add a double ** before the parameter
name:
def my_function(**kid):
print("His last name is " + kid["lname"])
my_function(fname = "Tobias", lname = "Refsnes")
Try it Yourself »
Arbitrary Kword Arguments are often shortened to **kwargs in Python documentations.
Default Parameter Value

The following example shows how to use a default parameter value.
If we call the function without argument, it uses the default value:
Example
def my_function(country = "Norway"):
print("I am from " + country)
my_function("Sweden")
my_function("India")
my_function()
my_function("Brazil")
Try it Yourself »
Passing a List as an Argument

You can send any data types of argument to a function (string, number, list, dictionary
etc.), and it will be treated as the same data type inside the function.
E.g. if you send a List as an argument, it will still be a List when it reaches the function:
Example
def my_function(food):
for x in food:
print(x)
my_function(fruits)
Try it Yourself »
Return Values
To let a function return a value, use the return statement:
Example
def my_function(x):
return 5 * x
print(my_function(3))
Try it Yourself »
The pass Statement

function definitions cannot be empty, but if you for some reason have a function definition
with no content, put in the pass statement to avoid getting an error.
Example
def myfunction():
pass
Try it Yourself »
Recursion
Python also accepts function recursion, which means a defined function can call itself.
Recursion is a common mathematical and programming concept. It means that a function

calls itself. This has the benefit of meaning that you can loop through data to reach a result.
The developer should be very careful with recursion as it can be quite easy to slip into
writing a function which never terminates, or one that uses excess amounts of memory or
processor power. However, when written correctly recursion can be a very efficient and
mathematically-elegant approach to programming.
In this example, tri_recursion() is a function that we have defined to call itself

("recurse"). We use the k variable as the data, which decrements (-1) every time we
recurse. The recursion ends when the condition is not greater than 0 (i.e. when it is 0).
To a new developer it can take some time to work out how exactly this works, best way to
find out is by testing and modifying it.
Example
Recursion Example
def tri_recursion(k):
if(k > 0):
result = k + tri_recursion(k - 1)
print(result)
else:
result = 0
return result
print("\n\nRecursion Example Results")

tri_recursion(6)
Try it Yourself »
Exercise:
Create a function named my_function.
:
Submit Answer »
Start the Exercise
Python Lambda
A lambda function is a small anonymous function.
A lambda function can take any number of arguments, but can only have one
expression.
Syntax
lambda arguments : expression
The expression is executed and the result is returned:
Example
Add 10 to argument a, and return the result:
x = lambda a : a + 10
print(x(5))
Try it Yourself »
Lambda functions can take any number of arguments:
Example
Multiply argument a with argument b and return the result:
x = lambda a, b : a * b
print(x(5, 6))
Try it Yourself »
Example
Summarize argument a, b, and c and return the result:
x = lambda a, b, c : a + b + c
print(x(5, 6, 2))
Try it Yourself »
Why Use Lambda Functions?

The power of lambda is better shown when you use them as an anonymous function inside
another function.
Say you have a function definition that takes one argument, and that argument will be
multiplied with an unknown number:
def myfunc(n):
return lambda a : a * n
Use that function definition to make a function that always doubles the number you send in:
Example
def myfunc(n):
mydoubler = myfunc(2)
print(mydoubler(11))
Try it Yourself »
Or, use the same function definition to make a function that always triples the number you
send in:
Example
def myfunc(n):
mytripler = myfunc(3)
print(mytripler(11))
Try it Yourself »
Or, use the same function definition to make both functions, in the same program:
Example
def myfunc(n):
mydoubler = myfunc(2)
mytripler = myfunc(3)
print(mydoubler(11))
print(mytripler(11))
Try it Yourself »
Use lambda functions when an anonymous function is required for a short period of time.

Exercise:
Create a lambda function that takes one parameter ( a) and returns it.
x =
Submit Answer »
Start the Exercise
Python Arrays
Note: Python does not have built-in support for Arrays, but Python Lists can be used
instead.
Arrays
Note: This page shows you how to use LISTS as ARRAYS, however, to work with arrays in
Python you will have to import a library, like the NumPy library.
Arrays are used to store multiple values in one single variable:
Example
Create an array containing car names:
cars = ["Ford", "Volvo", "BMW"]
Try it Yourself »
What is an Array?
An array is a special variable, which can hold more than one value at a time.
If you have a list of items (a list of car names, for example), storing the cars in single
variables could look like this:
car1 = "Ford"
car2 = "Volvo"
car3 = "BMW"
However, what if you want to loop through the cars and find a specific one? And what if you
had not 3 cars, but 300?
The solution is an array!
An array can hold many values under a single name, and you can access the values by
referring to an index number.
Access the Elements of an Array

You refer to an array element by referring to the index number.
Example
Get the value of the first array item:
x = cars[0]
Try it Yourself »
Example
Modify the value of the first array item:
cars[0] = "Toyota"
Try it Yourself »
The Length of an Array

Use the len() method to return the length of an array (the number of elements in an
array).
Example
Return the number of elements in the cars array:
x = len(cars)
Try it Yourself »
Note: The length of an array is always one more than the highest array index.
Looping Array Elements
You can use the for in loop to loop through all the elements of an array.
Example
Print each item in the cars array:
for x in cars:
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Adding Array Elements

You can use the append() method to add an element to an array.
Example
Add one more element to the cars array:
cars.append("Honda")
Try it Yourself »
Removing Array Elements

You can use the pop() method to remove an element from the array.
Example
Delete the second element of the cars array:
cars.pop(1)
Try it Yourself »
You can also use the remove() method to remove an element from the array.
Example
Delete the element that has the value "Volvo":
cars.remove("Volvo")
Try it Yourself »
Note: The list's remove() method only removes the first occurrence of the specified value.
Array Methods
Python has a set of built-in methods that you can use on lists/arrays.
Method Description
remove() Removes the first item with the specified value
Note: Python does not have built-in support for Arrays, but Python Lists can be used
instead.
Python Classes/Objects
Python Classes/Objects
Python is an object oriented programming language.
Almost everything in Python is an object, with its properties and methods.
A Class is like an object constructor, or a "blueprint" for creating objects.

Create a Class
To create a class, use the keyword class:
Example
Create a class named MyClass, with a property named x:
class MyClass:
x = 5
Try it Yourself »
Create Object
Now we can use the class named MyClass to create objects:
Example
Create an object named p1, and print the value of x:
p1 = MyClass()
print(p1.x)
Try it Yourself »
The __init__() Function

The examples above are classes and objects in their simplest form, and are not really useful
in real life applications.
To understand the meaning of classes we have to understand the built-in __init__()

function.
All classes have a function called __init__(), which is always executed when the class is
being initiated.
Use the __init__() function to assign values to object properties, or other operations that
are necessary to do when the object is being created:
Example
Create a class named Person, use the __init__() function to assign values for name and
age:
class Person:
def __init__(self, name, age):
self.name = name
self.age = age
p1 = Person("John", 36)
print(p1.name)
print(p1.age)
Try it Yourself »
Note: The __init__() function is called automatically every time the class is being used to
create a new object.
Object Methods
Objects can also contain methods. Methods in objects are functions that belong to the
object.
Let us create a method in the Person class:
Example
Insert a function that prints a greeting, and execute it on the p1 object:
class Person:
def __init__(self, name, age):
self.name = name
self.age = age
def myfunc(self):
print("Hello my name is " + self.name)
p1.myfunc()
Try it Yourself »
Note: The self parameter is a reference to the current instance of the class, and is used to
access variables that belong to the class.
The self Parameter

The self parameter is a reference to the current instance of the class, and is used to access
variables that belongs to the class.
It does not have to be named self , you can call it whatever you like, but it has to be the
first parameter of any function in the class:
Example
Use the words mysillyobject and abc instead of self:
class Person:
def __init__(mysillyobject, name, age):
mysillyobject.name = name
mysillyobject.age = age
def myfunc(abc):
print("Hello my name is " + abc.name)
p1.myfunc()
Try it Yourself »
Modify Object Properties

You can modify properties on objects like this:
Example
Set the age of p1 to 40:
p1.age = 40
Try it Yourself »
Delete Object Properties

You can delete properties on objects by using the del keyword:
Example
Delete the age property from the p1 object:
del p1.age
Try it Yourself »
Delete Objects
You can delete objects by using the del keyword:
Example
Delete the p1 object:
del p1
Try it Yourself »
The pass Statement
class definitions cannot be empty, but if you for some reason have a class definition with
no content, put in the pass statement to avoid getting an error.
Example
class Person:
pass
Try it Yourself »
Test
Exercise:
Create a class named MyClass:
MyClass:
x = 5
Submit Answer »
Start the Exercise
Python Inheritance
Python Inheritance
Inheritance allows us to define a class that inherits all the methods and properties from
another class.
Parent class is the class being inherited from, also called base class.
Child class is the class that inherits from another class, also called derived class.
Create a Parent Class

Any class can be a parent class, so the syntax is the same as creating any other class:
Example
Create a class named Person, with firstname and lastname properties, and
a printname method:
class Person:
def __init__(self, fname, lname):
self.firstname = fname
self.lastname = lname
def printname(self):
print(self.firstname, self.lastname)
#Use the Person class to create an object, and then execute the printname method:
x = Person("John", "Doe")
x.printname()
Try it Yourself »
Create a Child Class

To create a class that inherits the functionality from another class, send the parent class as
a parameter when creating the child class:
Example
Create a class named Student, which will inherit the properties and methods from
the Person class:
class Student(Person):
pass
Note: Use the pass keyword when you do not want to add any other properties or methods
to the class.
Now the Student class has the same properties and methods as the Person class.
Example
Use the Student class to create an object, and then execute the printname method:
x = Student("Mike", "Olsen")
x.printname()
Try it Yourself »
Add the __init__() Function

So far we have created a child class that inherits the properties and methods from its
parent.
We want to add the __init__() function to the child class (instead of the pass keyword).
Note: The __init__() function is called automatically every time the class is being used to
create a new object.
Example
Add the __init__() function to the Student class:
#add properties etc.
When you add the __init__() function, the child class will no longer inherit the
parent's __init__() function.
Note: The child's __init__() function overrides the inheritance of the

parent's __init__() function.
To keep the inheritance of the parent's __init__() function, add a call to the
parent's __init__() function:
Example
Person.__init__(self, fname, lname)
Try it Yourself »
Now we have successfully added the __init__() function, and kept the inheritance of the
parent class, and we are ready to add functionality in the __init__() function.
Use the super() Function

Python also has a super() function that will make the child class inherit all the methods and
properties from its parent:
Example
super().__init__(fname, lname)
Try it Yourself »
By using the super() function, you do not have to use the name of the parent element, it
will automatically inherit the methods and properties from its parent.
Add Properties
Example
Add a property called graduationyear to the Student class:
self.graduationyear = 2019
Try it Yourself »
In the example below, the year 2019 should be a variable, and passed into the Student class
when creating student objects. To do so, add another parameter in the __init__() function:
Example
Add a year parameter, and pass the correct year when creating objects:
def __init__(self, fname, lname, year):
self.graduationyear = year
x = Student("Mike", "Olsen", 2019)
Try it Yourself »
Add Methods
Example
Add a method called welcome to the Student class:
def __init__(self, fname, lname, year):
self.graduationyear = year
def welcome(self):
print("Welcome", self.firstname, self.lastname, "to the class of",
self.graduationyear)
Try it Yourself »
If you add a method in the child class with the same name as a function in the parent class,
the inheritance of the parent method will be overridden.
Test
Exercise:
What is the correct syntax to create a class named Student that will inherit properties and
methods from a class named Person?
class :
Submit Answer »
Start the Exercise
Python Iterators
Python Iterators
An iterator is an object that contains a countable number of values.
An iterator is an object that can be iterated upon, meaning that you can traverse through all
the values.
Technically, in Python, an iterator is an object which implements the iterator protocol, which
consist of the methods __iter__() and __next__().
Iterator vs Iterable
Lists, tuples, dictionaries, and sets are all iterable objects. They are
iterable containers which you can get an iterator from.
All these objects have a iter() method which is used to get an iterator:
Example
Return an iterator from a tuple, and print each value:

myit = iter(mytuple)
print(next(myit))
print(next(myit))
print(next(myit))
Try it Yourself »
Even strings are iterable objects, and can return an iterator:
Example
Strings are also iterable objects, containing a sequence of characters:
mystr = "banana"
myit = iter(mystr)
print(next(myit))
print(next(myit))
print(next(myit))
print(next(myit))
print(next(myit))
print(next(myit))
Try it Yourself »
Looping Through an Iterator

We can also use a for loop to iterate through an iterable object:
Example
Iterate the values of a tuple:

for x in mytuple:
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Example
Iterate the characters of a string:
mystr = "banana"
for x in mystr:
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
The for loop actually creates an iterator object and executes the next() method for each
loop.
Create an Iterator
To create an object/class as an iterator you have to implement the
methods __iter__() and __next__() to your object.
As you have learned in the Python Classes/Objects chapter, all classes have a function
called __init__(), which allows you to do some initializing when the object is being created.
The __iter__() method acts similar, you can do operations (initializing etc.), but must
always return the iterator object itself.
The __next__() method also allows you to do operations, and must return the next item in
the sequence.
Example
Create an iterator that returns numbers, starting with 1, and each sequence will increase by
one (returning 1,2,3,4,5 etc.):
class MyNumbers:
def __iter__(self):
self.a = 1
return self
def __next__(self):
x = self.a
self.a += 1
return x
myclass = MyNumbers()
myiter = iter(myclass)
print(next(myiter))
print(next(myiter))
print(next(myiter))
print(next(myiter))
print(next(myiter))
Try it Yourself »
StopIteration
The example above would continue forever if you had enough next() statements, or if it was
used in a for loop.
To prevent the iteration to go on forever, we can use the StopIteration statement.
In the __next__() method, we can add a terminating condition to raise an error if the
iteration is done a specified number of times:
Example
Stop after 20 iterations:
class MyNumbers:
def __iter__(self):
self.a = 1
return self
def __next__(self):
if self.a <= 20:
x = self.a
self.a += 1
return x
else:
raise StopIteration
myclass = MyNumbers()
myiter = iter(myclass)
for x in myiter:
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Python Scope
A variable is only available from inside the region it is created. This is called scope.
Local Scope
A variable created inside a function belongs to the local scope of that function, and can only
be used inside that function.
Example
A variable created inside a function is available inside that function:
def myfunc():
x = 300
print(x)
myfunc()
Try it Yourself »
Function Inside Function

As explained in the example above, the variable x is not available outside the function, but
it is available for any function inside the function:
Example
The local variable can be accessed from a function within the function:
def myfunc():
x = 300
def myinnerfunc():
print(x)
myinnerfunc()
myfunc()
Try it Yourself »
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Global Scope
A variable created in the main body of the Python code is a global variable and belongs to
the global scope.
Global variables are available from within any scope, global and local.
Example
A variable created outside of a function is global and can be used by anyone:
x = 300
def myfunc():
print(x)
myfunc()
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Naming Variables
If you operate with the same variable name inside and outside of a function, Python will
treat them as two separate variables, one available in the global scope (outside the
function) and one available in the local scope (inside the function):
Example
The function will print the local x, and then the code will print the global x:
x = 300
def myfunc():
x = 200
print(x)
myfunc()
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Global Keyword
If you need to create a global variable, but are stuck in the local scope, you can use
the global keyword.
The global keyword makes the variable global.
Example
If you use the global keyword, the variable belongs to the global scope:
def myfunc():
global x
x = 300
myfunc()
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Also, use the global keyword if you want to make a change to a global variable inside a
function.
Example
To change the value of a global variable inside a function, refer to the variable by using
the global keyword:
x = 300
def myfunc():
global x
x = 200
myfunc()
print(x)
Python Modules
What is a Module?
Consider a module to be the same as a code library.
A file containing a set of functions you want to include in your application.
Create a Module
To create a module just save the code you want in a file with the file extension .py:
Example
Save this code in a file named mymodule.py
def greeting(name):
print("Hello, " + name)
Use a Module
Now we can use the module we just created, by using the import statement:
Example
Import the module named mymodule, and call the greeting function:
import mymodule
mymodule.greeting("Jonathan")
Run Example »
Note: When using a function from a module, use the syntax: module_name.function_name.
Variables in Module
The module can contain functions, as already described, but also variables of all types
(arrays, dictionaries, objects etc):
Example
Save this code in the file mymodule.py
person1 = {
"name": "John",
"age": 36,
"country": "Norway"
}
Example
Import the module named mymodule, and access the person1 dictionary:
import mymodule
a = mymodule.person1["age"]
print(a)
Run Example »
Naming a Module
You can name the module file whatever you like, but it must have the file extension .py
Re-naming a Module
You can create an alias when you import a module, by using the as keyword:
Example
Create an alias for mymodule called mx:
import mymodule as mx
a = mx.person1["age"]
print(a)
Run Example »
Built-in Modules
There are several built-in modules in Python, which you can import whenever you like.
Example
Import and use the platform module:
import platform
x = platform.system()
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Using the dir() Function
There is a built-in function to list all the function names (or variable names) in a module.
The dir() function:
Example
List all the defined names belonging to the platform module:
import platform
x = dir(platform)
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Note: The dir() function can be used on all modules, also the ones you create yourself.
Import From Module

You can choose to import only parts from a module, by using the from keyword.
Example
The module named mymodule has one function and one dictionary:
def greeting(name):
print("Hello, " + name)
person1 = {
"name": "John",
"age": 36,
"country": "Norway"
}
Example
Import only the person1 dictionary from the module:
from mymodule import person1
print (person1["age"])
Run Example »
Note: When importing using the from keyword, do not use the module name when referring
to elements in the module. Example: person1["age"], not mymodule.person1["age"]

Exercise:
What is the correct syntax to import a module named "mymodule"?
mymodule
Submit Answer »
Start the Exercise
Python Dates
Python Dates
A date in Python is not a data type of its own, but we can import a module
named datetime to work with dates as date objects.
Example
Import the datetime module and display the current date:
import datetime
x = datetime.datetime.now()
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Date Output
When we execute the code from the example above the result will be:
2021-10-28 22:38:17.142573
The date contains year, month, day, hour, minute, second, and microsecond.
The datetime module has many methods to return information about the date object.
Here are a few examples, you will learn more about them later in this chapter:
Example
Return the year and name of weekday:
import datetime
x = datetime.datetime.now()
print(x.year)
print(x.strftime("%A"))
Try it Yourself »
Creating Date Objects

To create a date, we can use the datetime() class (constructor) of the datetime module.
The datetime() class requires three parameters to create a date: year, month, day.
Example
Create a date object:
import datetime
x = datetime.datetime(2020, 5, 17)
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
The datetime() class also takes parameters for time and timezone (hour, minute, second,
microsecond, tzone), but they are optional, and has a default value of 0, (None for
timezone).
The strftime() Method

The datetime object has a method for formatting date objects into readable strings.
The method is called strftime(), and takes one parameter, format, to specify the format of
the returned string:
Example
Display the name of the month:
import datetime
x = datetime.datetime(2018, 6, 1)
print(x.strftime("%B"))
Try it Yourself »
A reference of all the legal format codes:

Directive Description Example Try it
%a Weekday, short version Wed Try it »
%A Weekday, full version Wednesday Try it »
%w Weekday as a number 0-6, 0 is Sunday 3 Try it »
%d Day of month 01-31 31 Try it »
%b Month name, short version Dec Try it »
%B Month name, full version December Try it »
%m Month as a number 01-12 12 Try it »
%y Year, short version, without century 18 Try it »
%Y Year, full version 2018 Try it »
%H Hour 00-23 17 Try it »
%I Hour 00-12 05 Try it »

%p AM/PM PM Try it »
%M Minute 00-59 41 Try it »
%S Second 00-59 08 Try it »
%f Microsecond 000000-999999 548513 Try it »
%z UTC offset +0100
%Z Timezone CST
%j Day number of year 001-366 365 Try it »
%U Week number of year, Sunday as the first 52 Try it »

day of week, 00-53
%W Week number of year, Monday as the first 52 Try it »

day of week, 00-53
%c Local version of date and time Mon Dec 31 17:41:00 Try it »

2018
%C Century 20 Try it »
%x Local version of date 12/31/18 Try it »
%X Local version of time 17:41:00 Try it »
%% A % character % Try it »
%G ISO 8601 year 2018 Try it »
%u ISO 8601 weekday (1-7) 1 Try it »
%V ISO 8601 weeknumber (01-53) 01 Try it »
Python Math
Python has a set of built-in math functions, including an extensive math module,
that allows you to perform mathematical tasks on numbers.
Built-in Math Functions

The min() and max() functions can be used to find the lowest or highest value in an
iterable:
Example
x = min(5, 10, 25)
y = max(5, 10, 25)
print(x)
print(y)
Try it Yourself »
The abs() function returns the absolute (positive) value of the specified number:
Example
x = abs(-7.25)
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
The pow(x, y) function returns the value of x to the power of y (x y).
Example
Return the value of 4 to the power of 3 (same as 4 * 4 * 4):
x = pow(4, 3)
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
The Math Module

Python has also a built-in module called math, which extends the list of mathematical
functions.
To use it, you must import the math module:
import math
When you have imported the math module, you can start using methods and constants of
the module.
The math.sqrt() method for example, returns the square root of a number:
Example
import math
x = math.sqrt(64)
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
The math.ceil() method rounds a number upwards to its nearest integer, and
the math.floor() method rounds a number downwards to its nearest integer, and returns
the result:
Example
import math
x = math.ceil(1.4)
y = math.floor(1.4)
print(x) # returns 2
print(y) # returns 1
Try it Yourself »
The math.pi constant, returns the value of PI (3.14...):
Example
import math
x = math.pi
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Complete Math Module Reference

In our Math Module Reference you will find a complete reference of all methods and
constants that belongs to the Math module.
Python JSON
JSON is a syntax for storing and exchanging data.
JSON is text, written with JavaScript object notation.
JSON in Python
Python has a built-in package called json, which can be used to work with JSON data.
Example
Import the json module:
import json
Parse JSON - Convert from JSON to Python

If you have a JSON string, you can parse it by using the json.loads() method.
The result will be a Python dictionary.
Example
Convert from JSON to Python:
import json
# some JSON:
x = '{ "name":"John", "age":30, "city":"New York"}'
# parse x:
y = json.loads(x)
# the result is a Python dictionary:
print(y["age"])
Try it Yourself »
Convert from Python to JSON

If you have a Python object, you can convert it into a JSON string by using
the json.dumps() method.
Example
Convert from Python to JSON:
import json
# a Python object (dict):

x = {
"name": "John",
"age": 30,
"city": "New York"
}
# convert into JSON:

y = json.dumps(x)
# the result is a JSON string:

print(y)
Try it Yourself »
You can convert Python objects of the following types, into JSON strings:
 dict
 list
 tuple
 string
 int
 float
 True
 False
 None
Example
Convert Python objects into JSON strings, and print the values:
import json
print(json.dumps({"name": "John", "age": 30}))

print(json.dumps(["apple", "bananas"]))
print(json.dumps(("apple", "bananas")))
print(json.dumps("hello"))
print(json.dumps(42))
print(json.dumps(31.76))
print(json.dumps(True))
print(json.dumps(False))
print(json.dumps(None))
Try it Yourself »
When you convert from Python to JSON, Python objects are converted into the JSON
(JavaScript) equivalent:
Python JSON
dict Object
list Array
tuple Array
str String
int Number
float Number
True true
False false
None null
Example
Convert a Python object containing all the legal data types:
import json
x = {
"name": "John",
"age": 30,
"married": True,
"divorced": False,
"children": ("Ann","Billy"),
"pets": None,
"cars": [
{"model": "BMW 230", "mpg": 27.5},
{"model": "Ford Edge", "mpg": 24.1}
]
}
print(json.dumps(x))
Try it Yourself »
Format the Result
The example above prints a JSON string, but it is not very easy to read, with no
indentations and line breaks.
The json.dumps() method has parameters to make it easier to read the result:
Example
Use the indent parameter to define the numbers of indents:
json.dumps(x, indent=4)
Try it Yourself »
You can also define the separators, default value is (", ", ": "), which means using a comma
and a space to separate each object, and a colon and a space to separate keys from values:
Example
Use the separators parameter to change the default separator:
json.dumps(x, indent=4, separators=(". ", " = "))
Try it Yourself »
Order the Result

The json.dumps() method has parameters to order the keys in the result:
Example
Use the sort_keys parameter to specify if the result should be sorted or not:
json.dumps(x, indent=4, sort_keys=True)
Try it Yourself »
Python RegEx
A RegEx, or Regular Expression, is a sequence of characters that forms a search
pattern.
RegEx can be used to check if a string contains the specified search pattern.
RegEx Module
Python has a built-in package called re, which can be used to work with Regular
Expressions.
Import the re module:
import re
RegEx in Python
When you have imported the re module, you can start using regular expressions:
Example
Search the string to see if it starts with "The" and ends with "Spain":
import re
txt = "The rain in Spain"

x = re.search("^The.*Spain$", txt)
Try it Yourself »
RegEx Functions
The re module offers a set of functions that allows us to search a string for a match:
Function Description
findall Returns a list containing all matches
search Returns a Match object if there is a match anywhere in the string
split Returns a list where the string has been split at each match
sub Replaces one or many matches with a string
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Metacharacters
Metacharacters are characters with a special meaning:
Character Description Example Try it
[] A set of characters "[a-m]" Try it »

\ Signals a special sequence (can also be used to escape "\d" Try it »
special characters)
. Any character (except newline character) "he..o" Try it »
^ Starts with "^hello" Try it »
$ Ends with "planet$" Try it »
* Zero or more occurrences "he.*o" Try it »
+ One or more occurrences "he.+o" Try it »
? Zero or one occurrences "he.?o" Try it »
{} Exactly the specified number of occurrences "he{2}o" Try it »
| Either or "falls|stays" Try it »
() Capture and group

Special Sequences
A special sequence is a \ followed by one of the characters in the list below, and has a
special meaning:
Character Description Example Try it
\A Returns a match if the specified characters are at the "\AThe" Try it »

beginning of the string
\b Returns a match where the specified characters are at the r"\bain" Try it »
beginning or at the end of a word r"ain\b" Try it »
(the "r" in the beginning is making sure that the string is
being treated as a "raw string")
\B Returns a match where the specified characters are r"\Bain" Try it »

present, but NOT at the beginning (or at the end) of a r"ain\B" Try it »
word
(the "r" in the beginning is making sure that the string is
being treated as a "raw string")
\d Returns a match where the string contains digits (numbers "\d" Try it »
from 0-9)
\D Returns a match where the string DOES NOT contain digits "\D" Try it »
\s Returns a match where the string contains a white space "\s" Try it »
character
\S Returns a match where the string DOES NOT contain a "\S" Try it »
white space character
\w Returns a match where the string contains any word "\w" Try it »
characters (characters from a to Z, digits from 0-9, and
the underscore _ character)
\W Returns a match where the string DOES NOT contain any "\W" Try it »
word characters
\Z Returns a match if the specified characters are at the end "Spain\Z" Try it »
of the string
Sets
A set is a set of characters inside a pair of square brackets [] with a special meaning:
Set Description Try it
[arn] Returns a match where one of the specified characters (a, r, or n) are Try it »
present
[a-n] Returns a match for any lower case character, alphabetically Try it »
between a and n
[^arn] Returns a match for any character EXCEPT a, r, and n Try it »

[0123] Returns a match where any of the specified digits (0, 1, 2, or 3) are Try it »
present
[0-9] Returns a match for any digit between 0 and 9 Try it »
[0-5][0-9] Returns a match for any two-digit numbers from 00 and 59 Try it »
[a-zA-Z] Returns a match for any character alphabetically between a and z, lower Try it »
case OR upper case
[+] In sets, +, *, ., |, (), $,{} has no special meaning, so [+] means: return a Try it »
match for any + character in the string
The findall() Function

The findall() function returns a list containing all matches.
Example
Print a list of all matches:
import re

x = re.findall("ai", txt)
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
The list contains the matches in the order they are found.
If no matches are found, an empty list is returned:
Example
Return an empty list if no match was found:
import re

x = re.findall("Portugal", txt)
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
The search() Function

The search() function searches the string for a match, and returns a Match object if there is
a match.
If there is more than one match, only the first occurrence of the match will be returned:
Example
Search for the first white-space character in the string:
import re

x = re.search("\s", txt)
print("The first white-space character is located in position:", x.start())
Try it Yourself »
If no matches are found, the value None is returned:
Example
Make a search that returns no match:
import re

x = re.search("Portugal", txt)
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
The split() Function

The split() function returns a list where the string has been split at each match:
Example
Split at each white-space character:
import re

x = re.split("\s", txt)
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
You can control the number of occurrences by specifying the maxsplit parameter:
Example
Split the string only at the first occurrence:
import re

x = re.split("\s", txt, 1)
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
The sub() Function
The sub() function replaces the matches with the text of your choice:
Example
Replace every white-space character with the number 9:
import re

x = re.sub("\s", "9", txt)
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
You can control the number of replacements by specifying the count parameter:
Example
Replace the first 2 occurrences:
import re

x = re.sub("\s", "9", txt, 2)
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Match Object
A Match Object is an object containing information about the search and the result.
Note: If there is no match, the value None will be returned, instead of the Match Object.
Example
Do a search that will return a Match Object:
import re

x = re.search("ai", txt)
print(x) #this will print an object
Try it Yourself »
The Match object has properties and methods used to retrieve information about the search,
and the result:
.span() returns a tuple containing the start-, and end positions of the match.
.string returns the string passed into the function
.group() returns the part of the string where there was a match
Example
Print the position (start- and end-position) of the first match occurrence.
The regular expression looks for any words that starts with an upper case "S":
import re

x = re.search(r"\bS\w+", txt)
print(x.span())
Try it Yourself »
Example
Print the string passed into the function:
import re

print(x.string)
Try it Yourself »
Example
Print the part of the string where there was a match.
The regular expression looks for any words that starts with an upper case "S":
import re

print(x.group())
Try it Yourself »
Note: If there is no match, the value None will be returned, instead of the Match Object.
Python PIP
What is PIP?
PIP is a package manager for Python packages, or modules if you like.
Note: If you have Python version 3.4 or later, PIP is included by default.
What is a Package?
A package contains all the files you need for a module.
Modules are Python code libraries you can include in your project.
Check if PIP is Installed

Navigate your command line to the location of Python's script directory, and type the
following:
Example
Check PIP version:
C:\Users\Your Name\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python36-32\Scripts>pip --version

Install PIP
If you do not have PIP installed, you can download and install it from this
page: https://pypi.org/project/pip/
Download a Package
Downloading a package is very easy.
Open the command line interface and tell PIP to download the package you want.
Navigate your command line to the location of Python's script directory, and type the
following:
Example
Download a package named "camelcase":
C:\Users\Your Name\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python36-32\Scripts>pip install

camelcase
Now you have downloaded and installed your first package!
Using a Package
Once the package is installed, it is ready to use.
Import the "camelcase" package into your project.
Example
Import and use "camelcase":
import camelcase
c = camelcase.CamelCase()
txt = "hello world"
print(c.hump(txt))
Run Example »
Find Packages
Find more packages at https://pypi.org/.
Remove a Package
Use the uninstall command to remove a package:
Example
Uninstall the package named "camelcase":
C:\Users\Your Name\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python36-32\Scripts>pip uninstall

camelcase
The PIP Package Manager will ask you to confirm that you want to remove the camelcase
package:
Uninstalling camelcase-02.1:
Would remove:
c:\users\Your Name\appdata\local\programs\python\python36-32\lib\site-
packages\camecase-0.2-py3.6.egg-info
c:\users\Your Name\appdata\local\programs\python\python36-32\lib\site-
packages\camecase\*
Proceed (y/n)?
Press y and the package will be removed.

List Packages
Use the list command to list all the packages installed on your system:
Example
List installed packages:
C:\Users\Your Name\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python36-32\Scripts>pip list
Result:
Package Version
-----------------------
camelcase 0.2
mysql-connector 2.1.6
pip 18.1
pymongo 3.6.1
setuptools 39.0.1
Python Try...Except
The try block lets you test a block of code for errors.
The except block lets you handle the error.
The finally block lets you execute code, regardless of the result of the try- and
except blocks.
Exception Handling
When an error occurs, or exception as we call it, Python will normally stop and generate an
error message.
These exceptions can be handled using the try statement:
Example
The try block will generate an exception, because x is not defined:
try:
print(x)
except:
print("An exception occurred")
Try it Yourself »
Since the try block raises an error, the except block will be executed.
Without the try block, the program will crash and raise an error:
Example
This statement will raise an error, because x is not defined:
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Many Exceptions
You can define as many exception blocks as you want, e.g. if you want to execute a special
block of code for a special kind of error:
Example
Print one message if the try block raises a NameError and another for other errors:
try:
print(x)
except NameError:
print("Variable x is not defined")
except:
print("Something else went wrong")
Try it Yourself »
Else
You can use the else keyword to define a block of code to be executed if no errors were
raised:
Example
In this example, the try block does not generate any error:
try:
print("Hello")
except:
print("Something went wrong")
else:
print("Nothing went wrong")
Try it Yourself »
Finally
The finally block, if specified, will be executed regardless if the try block raises an error or
not.
Example
try:
print(x)
except:
print("Something went wrong")
finally:
print("The 'try except' is finished")
Try it Yourself »
This can be useful to close objects and clean up resources:

Example
Try to open and write to a file that is not writable:
try:
f = open("demofile.txt")
try:
f.write("Lorum Ipsum")
except:
print("Something went wrong when writing to the file")
finally:
f.close()
except:
print("Something went wrong when opening the file")
Try it Yourself »
The program can continue, without leaving the file object open.
Raise an exception
As a Python developer you can choose to throw an exception if a condition occurs.
To throw (or raise) an exception, use the raise keyword.
Example
Raise an error and stop the program if x is lower than 0:
x = -1
if x < 0:
raise Exception("Sorry, no numbers below zero")
Try it Yourself »
The raise keyword is used to raise an exception.
You can define what kind of error to raise, and the text to print to the user.
Example
Raise a TypeError if x is not an integer:
x = "hello"
if not type(x) is int:

raise TypeError("Only integers are allowed")
Try it Yourself »
Python User Input

User Input
Python allows for user input.
That means we are able to ask the user for input.
The method is a bit different in Python 3.6 than Python 2.7.
Python 3.6 uses the input() method.
Python 2.7 uses the raw_input() method.
The following example asks for the username, and when you entered the username, it gets
printed on the screen:
Python 3.6
username = input("Enter username:")
print("Username is: " + username)
Run Example »
Python 2.7
username = raw_input("Enter username:")
print("Username is: " + username)
Run Example »
Python stops executing when it comes to the input() function, and continues when the user
has given some input.
Python String Formatting

To make sure a string will display as expected, we can format the result with
the format() method.
String format()
The format() method allows you to format selected parts of a string.
Sometimes there are parts of a text that you do not control, maybe they come from a
database, or user input?
To control such values, add placeholders (curly brackets {}) in the text, and run the values
through the format() method:
Example
Add a placeholder where you want to display the price:
price = 49
txt = "The price is {} dollars"
print(txt.format(price))
Try it Yourself »
You can add parameters inside the curly brackets to specify how to convert the value:
Example
Format the price to be displayed as a number with two decimals:
txt = "The price is {:.2f} dollars"

Try it Yourself »
Check out all formatting types in our String format() Reference.
Multiple Values
If you want to use more values, just add more values to the format() method:
print(txt.format(price, itemno, count))
And add more placeholders:
Example
quantity = 3
itemno = 567
price = 49
myorder = "I want {} pieces of item number {} for {:.2f} dollars."
Try it Yourself »
Index Numbers
You can use index numbers (a number inside the curly brackets {0}) to be sure the values
are placed in the correct placeholders:
Example
quantity = 3
itemno = 567
price = 49
myorder = "I want {0} pieces of item number {1} for {2:.2f} dollars."
Try it Yourself »
Also, if you want to refer to the same value more than once, use the index number:
Example
age = 36
name = "John"
txt = "His name is {1}. {1} is {0} years old."
print(txt.format(age, name))
Try it Yourself »
Named Indexes
You can also use named indexes by entering a name inside the curly brackets {carname},
but then you must use names when you pass the parameter values txt.format(carname =
"Ford"):
Example
myorder = "I have a {carname}, it is a {model}."
print(myorder.format(carname = "Ford", model = "Mustang"))
Try it Yourself »
File Handling
Python File Open

File handling is an important part of any web application.
Python has several functions for creating, reading, updating, and deleting files.
File Handling
The key function for working with files in Python is the open() function.
The open() function takes two parameters; filename, and mode.
There are four different methods (modes) for opening a file:
"r" - Read - Default value. Opens a file for reading, error if the file does not exist
"a" - Append - Opens a file for appending, creates the file if it does not exist
"w" - Write - Opens a file for writing, creates the file if it does not exist
"x" - Create - Creates the specified file, returns an error if the file exists
In addition you can specify if the file should be handled as binary or text mode
"t" - Text - Default value. Text mode
"b" - Binary - Binary mode (e.g. images)
Syntax
To open a file for reading it is enough to specify the name of the file:
f = open("demofile.txt")
The code above is the same as:
f = open("demofile.txt", "rt")
Because "r" for read, and "t" for text are the default values, you do not need to specify them.
Note: Make sure the file exists, or else you will get an error.
Python Read Files
Python File Open
Open a File on the Server
Assume we have the following file, located in the same folder as Python:
demofile.txt
Hello! Welcome to demofile.txt

This file is for testing purposes.
Good Luck!
To open the file, use the built-in open() function.
The open() function returns a file object, which has a read() method for reading the content of the file:
Example
f = open("demofile.txt", "r")
print(f.read())
Run Example »
If the file is located in a different location, you will have to specify the file path, like this:
Example
Open a file on a different location:
f = open("D:\\myfiles\welcome.txt", "r")
print(f.read())
Run Example »
Read Only Parts of the File
By default the read() method returns the whole text, but you can also specify how many characters you
want to return:
Example
Return the 5 first characters of the file:

print(f.read(5))
Run Example »
Read Lines
You can return one line by using the readline() method:
Example
Read one line of the file:
print(f.readline())
Run Example »
By calling readline() two times, you can read the two first lines:
Example
Read two lines of the file:
print(f.readline())
print(f.readline())
Run Example »
By looping through the lines of the file, you can read the whole file, line by line:
Example
Loop through the file line by line:
for x in f:
print(x)
Run Example »
Close Files
It is a good practice to always close the file when you are done with it.
Example
Close the file when you are finish with it:
print(f.readline())
f.close()
Run Example »
Note: You should always close your files, in some cases, due to buffering, changes made to a file may not
show until you close the file.
Python Write/Create Files

Python File Write
Write to an Existing File
To write to an existing file, you must add a parameter to the open() function:
"a" - Append - will append to the end of the file
"w" - Write - will overwrite any existing content
Example
Open the file "demofile2.txt" and append content to the file:
f = open("demofile2.txt", "a")
f.write("Now the file has more content!")
f.close()
#open and read the file after the appending:

f = open("demofile2.txt", "r")
print(f.read())
Run Example »
Example
Open the file "demofile3.txt" and overwrite the content:

f = open("demofile3.txt", "w")
f.write("Woops! I have deleted the content!")
f.close()
#open and read the file after the appending:

f = open("demofile3.txt", "r")
print(f.read())
Run Example »
Note: the "w" method will overwrite the entire file.
Create a New File
To create a new file in Python, use the open() method, with one of the following parameters:
"x" - Create - will create a file, returns an error if the file exist
"a" - Append - will create a file if the specified file does not exist
"w" - Write - will create a file if the specified file does not exist
Example
Create a file called "myfile.txt":
f = open("myfile.txt", "x")
Result: a new empty file is created!
Example
Create a new file if it does not exist:
f = open("myfile.txt", "w")
Python Delete File

Delete a File
To delete a file, you must import the OS module, and run its os.remove() function:
Example
Remove the file "demofile.txt":
import os
os.remove("demofile.txt")
Check if File exist:
To avoid getting an error, you might want to check if the file exists before you try to delete it:
Example
Check if file exists, then delete it:
import os
if os.path.exists("demofile.txt"):
os.remove("demofile.txt")
else:
print("The file does not exist")
Delete Folder
To delete an entire folder, use the os.rmdir() method:
Example
Remove the folder "myfolder":
import os
os.rmdir("myfolder")
Note: You can only remove empty folders.

Machine Learning
Machine Learning
Machine Learning is making the computer learn from studying data and statistics.
Machine Learning is a step into the direction of artificial intelligence (AI).
Machine Learning is a program that analyses data and learns to predict the outcome.
Where To Start?
In this tutorial we will go back to mathematics and study statistics, and how to calculate important numbers
based on data sets.
We will also learn how to use various Python modules to get the answers we need.
And we will learn how to make functions that are able to predict the outcome based on what we have
learned.
Data Set
In the mind of a computer, a data set is any collection of data. It can be anything from an array to a
complete database.
Example of an array:
[99,86,87,88,111,86,103,87,94,78,77,85,86]
Example of a database:
Carname Color Age Speed AutoPass

BMW red 5 99 Y
Volvo black 7 86 Y
VW gray 8 87 N
VW white 7 88 Y
Ford white 2 111 Y
VW white 17 86 Y
Tesla red 2 103 Y
BMW black 9 87 Y
Volvo gray 4 94 N
Ford white 11 78 N
Toyota gray 12 77 N
VW white 9 85 N
Toyota blue 6 86 Y
By looking at the array, we can guess that the average value is probably around 80 or 90, and we are also
able to determine the highest value and the lowest value, but what else can we do?
And by looking at the database we can see that the most popular color is white, and the oldest car is 17
years, but what if we could predict if a car had an AutoPass, just by looking at the other values?
That is what Machine Learning is for! Analyzing data and predicting the outcome!
In Machine Learning it is common to work with very large data sets. In this tutorial we will try to make it as
easy as possible to understand the different concepts of machine learning, and we will work with small easy-
to-understand data sets.
Data Types
To analyze data, it is important to know what type of data we are dealing with.
We can split the data types into three main categories:
 Numerical
 Categorical
 Ordinal
Numerical data are numbers, and can be split into two numerical categories:
 Discrete Data
- numbers that are limited to integers. Example: The number of cars passing by.
 Continuous Data
- numbers that are of infinite value. Example: The price of an item, or the size of an item
Categorical data are values that cannot be measured up against each other. Example: a color value, or any
yes/no values.
Ordinal data are like categorical data, but can be measured up against each other. Example: school grades
where A is better than B and so on.
By knowing the data type of your data source, you will be able to know what technique to use when
analyzing them.
You will learn more about statistics and analyzing data in the next chapters.
Machine Learning - Mean Median Mode

Mean, Median, and Mode
What can we learn from looking at a group of numbers?
In Machine Learning (and in mathematics) there are often three values that interests us:
 Mean - The average value

 Median - The mid point value
 Mode - The most common value
Example: We have registered the speed of 13 cars:
speed = [99,86,87,88,111,86,103,87,94,78,77,85,86]
What is the average, the middle, or the most common speed value?
Mean
The mean value is the average value.
To calculate the mean, find the sum of all values, and divide the sum by the number of values:
(99+86+87+88+111+86+103+87+94+78+77+85+86) / 13 = 89.77
The NumPy module has a method for this. Learn about the NumPy module in our NumPy Tutorial.
Example
Use the NumPy mean() method to find the average speed:
import numpy
speed = [99,86,87,88,111,86,103,87,94,78,77,85,86]
x = numpy.mean(speed)
print(x)
Run example »
Median
The median value is the value in the middle, after you have sorted all the values:
77, 78, 85, 86, 86, 86, 87, 87, 88, 94, 99, 103, 111
It is important that the numbers are sorted before you can find the median.
The NumPy module has a method for this:
Example
Use the NumPy median() method to find the middle value:
import numpy
speed = [99,86,87,88,111,86,103,87,94,78,77,85,86]
x = numpy.median(speed)
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
If there are two numbers in the middle, divide the sum of those numbers by two.
77, 78, 85, 86, 86, 86, 87, 87, 94, 98, 99, 103
(86 + 87) / 2 = 86.5
Example
Using the NumPy module:
import numpy
speed = [99,86,87,88,86,103,87,94,78,77,85,86]
x = numpy.median(speed)
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Mode
The Mode value is the value that appears the most number of times:
99, 86, 87, 88, 111, 86, 103, 87, 94, 78, 77, 85, 86 = 86
The SciPy module has a method for this. Learn about the SciPy module in our SciPy Tutorial.
Example
Use the SciPy mode() method to find the number that appears the most:
from scipy import stats
speed = [99,86,87,88,111,86,103,87,94,78,77,85,86]
x = stats.mode(speed)
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Chapter Summary
The Mean, Median, and Mode are techniques that are often used in Machine Learning, so it is important to
understand the concept behind them.
Machine Learning - Standard Deviation

What is Standard Deviation?
Standard deviation is a number that describes how spread out the values are.
A low standard deviation means that most of the numbers are close to the mean (average) value.
A high standard deviation means that the values are spread out over a wider range.
Example: This time we have registered the speed of 7 cars:
speed = [86,87,88,86,87,85,86]
The standard deviation is:
0.9
Meaning that most of the values are within the range of 0.9 from the mean value, which is 86.4.
Let us do the same with a selection of numbers with a wider range:
speed = [32,111,138,28,59,77,97]
The standard deviation is:
37.85
Meaning that most of the values are within the range of 37.85 from the mean value, which is 77.4.
As you can see, a higher standard deviation indicates that the values are spread out over a wider range.
The NumPy module has a method to calculate the standard deviation:
Example
Use the NumPy std() method to find the standard deviation:
import numpy
speed = [86,87,88,86,87,85,86]
x = numpy.std(speed)
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Example
import numpy
speed = [32,111,138,28,59,77,97]
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Variance
Variance is another number that indicates how spread out the values are.
In fact, if you take the square root of the variance, you get the standard deviation!
Or the other way around, if you multiply the standard deviation by itself, you get the variance!
To calculate the variance you have to do as follows:
1. Find the mean:
(32+111+138+28+59+77+97) / 7 = 77.4
2. For each value: find the difference from the mean:
32 - 77.4 = -45.4
111 - 77.4 = 33.6
138 - 77.4 = 60.6
28 - 77.4 = -49.4
59 - 77.4 = -18.4
77 - 77.4 = - 0.4
97 - 77.4 = 19.6
3. For each difference: find the square value:
(-45.4)2 = 2061.16
(33.6)2 = 1128.96
(60.6)2 = 3672.36
(-49.4)2 = 2440.36
(-18.4)2 = 338.56
(- 0.4)2 = 0.16
(19.6)2 = 384.16
4. The variance is the average number of these squared differences:

(2061.16+1128.96+3672.36+2440.36+338.56+0.16+384.16) / 7 = 1432.2
Luckily, NumPy has a method to calculate the variance:
Example
Use the NumPy var() method to find the variance:
import numpy
speed = [32,111,138,28,59,77,97]
x = numpy.var(speed)
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Standard Deviation
As we have learned, the formula to find the standard deviation is the square root of the variance:
√1432.25 = 37.85
Or, as in the example from before, use the NumPy to calculate the standard deviation:
Example
Use the NumPy std() method to find the standard deviation:
import numpy
speed = [32,111,138,28,59,77,97]
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Symbols
Standard Deviation is often represented by the symbol Sigma: σ
Variance is often represented by the symbol Sigma Square: σ 2

Chapter Summary
The Standard Deviation and Variance are terms that are often used in Machine Learning, so it is important to
understand how to get them, and the concept behind them.
Machine Learning - Percentiles

What are Percentiles?
Percentiles are used in statistics to give you a number that describes the value that a given percent of the
values are lower than.
Example: Let's say we have an array of the ages of all the people that lives in a street.
ages = [5,31,43,48,50,41,7,11,15,39,80,82,32,2,8,6,25,36,27,61,31]
What is the 75. percentile? The answer is 43, meaning that 75% of the people are 43 or younger.
The NumPy module has a method for finding the specified percentile:
Example
Use the NumPy percentile() method to find the percentiles:
import numpy
ages = [5,31,43,48,50,41,7,11,15,39,80,82,32,2,8,6,25,36,27,61,31]
x = numpy.percentile(ages, 75)
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Example
What is the age that 90% of the people are younger than?
import numpy
ages = [5,31,43,48,50,41,7,11,15,39,80,82,32,2,8,6,25,36,27,61,31]
x = numpy.percentile(ages, 90)
print(x)
Machine Learning - Data Distribution
Data Distribution
Earlier in this tutorial we have worked with very small amounts of data in our examples, just to understand
the different concepts.
In the real world, the data sets are much bigger, but it can be difficult to gather real world data, at least at
an early stage of a project.
How Can we Get Big Data Sets?
To create big data sets for testing, we use the Python module NumPy, which comes with a number of
methods to create random data sets, of any size.
Example
Create an array containing 250 random floats between 0 and 5:
import numpy
x = numpy.random.uniform(0.0, 5.0, 250)
print(x)
Try it Yourself »
Histogram
To visualize the data set we can draw a histogram with the data we collected.
We will use the Python module Matplotlib to draw a histogram.
Learn about the Matplotlib module in our Matplotlib Tutorial.
Example
Draw a histogram:
import numpy
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

plt.hist(x, 5)
plt.show()
Result:
Run example »
Histogram Explained
We use the array from the example above to draw a histogram with 5 bars.
The first bar represents how many values in the array are between 0 and 1.
The second bar represents how many values are between 1 and 2.
Etc.
Which gives us this result:
 52 values are between 0 and 1

Note: The array values are random numbers and will not show the exact same result on your computer.
Big Data Distributions
An array containing 250 values is not considered very big, but now you know how to create a random set of
values, and by changing the parameters, you can create the data set as big as you want.
Example
Create an array with 100000 random numbers, and display them using a histogram with 100 bars:
import numpy
plt.hist(x, 100)
plt.show()
Run example »
Machine Learning - Normal Data

Distribution
Normal Data Distribution
In the previous chapter we learned how to create a completely random array, of a given size, and between
two given values.
In this chapter we will learn how to create an array where the values are concentrated around a given value.
In probability theory this kind of data distribution is known as the normal data distribution, or the Gaussian
data distribution, after the mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss who came up with the formula of this data
distribution.
Example
A typical normal data distribution:
import numpy
x = numpy.random.normal(5.0, 1.0, 100000)
plt.hist(x, 100)
plt.show()
Result:
Run example »
Note: A normal distribution graph is also known as the bell curve because of it's characteristic shape of a
bell.
Histogram Explained
We use the array from the numpy.random.normal() method, with 100000 values, to draw a histogram with
100 bars.
We specify that the mean value is 5.0, and the standard deviation is 1.0.
Meaning that the values should be concentrated around 5.0, and rarely further away than 1.0 from the
mean.
And as you can see from the histogram, most values are between 4.0 and 6.0, with a top at approximately
5.0.
Machine Learning - Scatter Plot

Scatter Plot
A scatter plot is a diagram where each value in the data set is represented by a dot.
The Matplotlib module has a method for drawing scatter plots, it needs two arrays of the same length, one
for the values of the x-axis, and one for the values of the y-axis:
x = [5,7,8,7,2,17,2,9,4,11,12,9,6]
y = [99,86,87,88,111,86,103,87,94,78,77,85,86]
The x array represents the age of each car.
The y array represents the speed of each car.
Example
Use the scatter() method to draw a scatter plot diagram:
x = [5,7,8,7,2,17,2,9,4,11,12,9,6]
y = [99,86,87,88,111,86,103,87,94,78,77,85,86]
plt.scatter(x, y)
plt.show()
Result:
Run example »
Scatter Plot Explained
The x-axis represents ages, and the y-axis represents speeds.
What we can read from the diagram is that the two fastest cars were both 2 years old, and the slowest car
was 12 years old.
Note: It seems that the newer the car, the faster it drives, but that could be a coincidence, after all we only
registered 13 cars.
Random Data Distributions
In Machine Learning the data sets can contain thousands-, or even millions, of values.
You might not have real world data when you are testing an algorithm, you might have to use randomly
generated values.
As we have learned in the previous chapter, the NumPy module can help us with that!
Let us create two arrays that are both filled with 1000 random numbers from a normal data distribution.
The first array will have the mean set to 5.0 with a standard deviation of 1.0.
The second array will have the mean set to 10.0 with a standard deviation of 2.0:
Example
A scatter plot with 1000 dots:
import numpy
x = numpy.random.normal(5.0, 1.0, 1000)

y = numpy.random.normal(10.0, 2.0, 1000)
plt.scatter(x, y)
plt.show()
Result:
Run example »
Scatter Plot Explained
We can see that the dots are concentrated around the value 5 on the x-axis, and 10 on the y-axis.
We can also see that the spread is wider on the y-axis than on the x-axis.
Machine Learning - Linear Regression

Regression
The term regression is used when you try to find the relationship between variables.
In Machine Learning, and in statistical modeling, that relationship is used to predict the outcome of future
events.
Linear Regression
Linear regression uses the relationship between the data-points to draw a straight line through all them.
This line can be used to predict future values.
In Machine Learning, predicting the future is very important.
How Does it Work?
Python has methods for finding a relationship between data-points and to draw a line of linear regression.
We will show you how to use these methods instead of going through the mathematic formula.
In the example below, the x-axis represents age, and the y-axis represents speed. We have registered the
age and speed of 13 cars as they were passing a tollbooth. Let us see if the data we collected could be used
in a linear regression:
Example
Start by drawing a scatter plot:
x = [5,7,8,7,2,17,2,9,4,11,12,9,6]
y = [99,86,87,88,111,86,103,87,94,78,77,85,86]
plt.scatter(x, y)
plt.show()
Result:
Run example »
Example
Import scipy and draw the line of Linear Regression:

x = [5,7,8,7,2,17,2,9,4,11,12,9,6]
y = [99,86,87,88,111,86,103,87,94,78,77,85,86]
slope, intercept, r, p, std_err = stats.linregress(x, y)
def myfunc(x):
return slope * x + intercept
mymodel = list(map(myfunc, x))
plt.scatter(x, y)
plt.plot(x, mymodel)
plt.show()
Result:
Run example »
Example Explained
Import the modules you need.
You can learn about the Matplotlib module in our Matplotlib Tutorial.
You can learn about the SciPy module in our SciPy Tutorial.

Create the arrays that represent the values of the x and y axis:
x = [5,7,8,7,2,17,2,9,4,11,12,9,6]
y = [99,86,87,88,111,86,103,87,94,78,77,85,86]
Execute a method that returns some important key values of Linear Regression:
Create a function that uses the slope and intercept values to return a new value. This new value
represents where on the y-axis the corresponding x value will be placed:
def myfunc(x):
Run each value of the x array through the function. This will result in a new array with new values for the y-
axis:

Draw the original scatter plot:
plt.scatter(x, y)
Draw the line of linear regression:
Display the diagram:
plt.show()
R for Relationship
It is important to know how the relationship between the values of the x-axis and the values of the y-axis is,
if there are no relationship the linear regression can not be used to predict anything.
This relationship - the coefficient of correlation - is called r.
The r value ranges from -1 to 1, where 0 means no relationship, and 1 (and -1) means 100% related.
Python and the Scipy module will compute this value for you, all you have to do is feed it with the x and y
values.
Example
How well does my data fit in a linear regression?
x = [5,7,8,7,2,17,2,9,4,11,12,9,6]
y = [99,86,87,88,111,86,103,87,94,78,77,85,86]
print(r)
Try it Yourself »
Note: The result -0.76 shows that there is a relationship, not perfect, but it indicates that we could use
linear regression in future predictions.
Predict Future Values
Now we can use the information we have gathered to predict future values.
Example: Let us try to predict the speed of a 10 years old car.

To do so, we need the same myfunc() function from the example above:
def myfunc(x):
Example
Predict the speed of a 10 years old car:
x = [5,7,8,7,2,17,2,9,4,11,12,9,6]
y = [99,86,87,88,111,86,103,87,94,78,77,85,86]
def myfunc(x):
speed = myfunc(10)
print(speed)
Run example »
The example predicted a speed at 85.6, which we also could read from the diagram:
Bad Fit?
Let us create an example where linear regression would not be the best method to predict future values.
Example
These values for the x- and y-axis should result in a very bad fit for linear regression:

x = [89,43,36,36,95,10,66,34,38,20,26,29,48,64,6,5,36,66,72,40]
y = [21,46,3,35,67,95,53,72,58,10,26,34,90,33,38,20,56,2,47,15]
def myfunc(x):
plt.scatter(x, y)
plt.show()
Result:
Run example »
And the r for relationship?
Example
You should get a very low r value.
import numpy
x = [89,43,36,36,95,10,66,34,38,20,26,29,48,64,6,5,36,66,72,40]
y = [21,46,3,35,67,95,53,72,58,10,26,34,90,33,38,20,56,2,47,15]
print(r)
Try it Yourself »
The result: 0.013 indicates a very bad relationship, and tells us that this data set is not suitable for linear
regression.
Machine Learning - Polynomial Regression

Polynomial Regression
If your data points clearly will not fit a linear regression (a straight line through all data points), it might be
ideal for polynomial regression.
Polynomial regression, like linear regression, uses the relationship between the variables x and y to find the
best way to draw a line through the data points.
How Does it Work?
Python has methods for finding a relationship between data-points and to draw a line of polynomial
regression. We will show you how to use these methods instead of going through the mathematic formula.
In the example below, we have registered 18 cars as they were passing a certain tollbooth.
We have registered the car's speed, and the time of day (hour) the passing occurred.
The x-axis represents the hours of the day and the y-axis represents the speed:
Example
Start by drawing a scatter plot:
x = [1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9,10,12,13,14,15,16,18,19,21,22]
y = [100,90,80,60,60,55,60,65,70,70,75,76,78,79,90,99,99,100]
plt.scatter(x, y)
plt.show()
Result:
Run example »
Example
Import numpy and matplotlib then draw the line of Polynomial Regression:
import numpy
x = [1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9,10,12,13,14,15,16,18,19,21,22]
y = [100,90,80,60,60,55,60,65,70,70,75,76,78,79,90,99,99,100]
mymodel = numpy.poly1d(numpy.polyfit(x, y, 3))
myline = numpy.linspace(1, 22, 100)
plt.scatter(x, y)
plt.plot(myline, mymodel(myline))
plt.show()
Result:
Run example »
Example Explained
Import the modules you need.
You can learn about the NumPy module in our NumPy Tutorial.
You can learn about the SciPy module in our SciPy Tutorial.
import numpy
Create the arrays that represent the values of the x and y axis:
x = [1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9,10,12,13,14,15,16,18,19,21,22]
y = [100,90,80,60,60,55,60,65,70,70,75,76,78,79,90,99,99,100]
NumPy has a method that lets us make a polynomial model:
Then specify how the line will display, we start at position 1, and end at position 22:
Draw the original scatter plot:

plt.scatter(x, y)
Draw the line of polynomial regression:
Display the diagram:
plt.show()
R-Squared
It is important to know how well the relationship between the values of the x- and y-axis is, if there are no
relationship the polynomial regression can not be used to predict anything.
The relationship is measured with a value called the r-squared.
The r-squared value ranges from 0 to 1, where 0 means no relationship, and 1 means 100% related.
Python and the Sklearn module will compute this value for you, all you have to do is feed it with the x and y
arrays:
Example
How well does my data fit in a polynomial regression?
import numpy
from sklearn.metrics import r2_score
x = [1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9,10,12,13,14,15,16,18,19,21,22]
y = [100,90,80,60,60,55,60,65,70,70,75,76,78,79,90,99,99,100]
print(r2_score(y, mymodel(x)))
Try if Yourself »
Note: The result 0.94 shows that there is a very good relationship, and we can use polynomial regression in
future predictions.
Predict Future Values
Now we can use the information we have gathered to predict future values.
Example: Let us try to predict the speed of a car that passes the tollbooth at around 17 P.M:
To do so, we need the same mymodel array from the example above:
Example
Predict the speed of a car passing at 17 P.M:
import numpy
x = [1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9,10,12,13,14,15,16,18,19,21,22]
y = [100,90,80,60,60,55,60,65,70,70,75,76,78,79,90,99,99,100]
speed = mymodel(17)
print(speed)
Run example »
The example predicted a speed to be 88.87, which we also could read from the diagram:
Bad Fit?
Let us create an example where polynomial regression would not be the best method to predict future
values.
Example
These values for the x- and y-axis should result in a very bad fit for polynomial regression:
import numpy
x = [89,43,36,36,95,10,66,34,38,20,26,29,48,64,6,5,36,66,72,40]
y = [21,46,3,35,67,95,53,72,58,10,26,34,90,33,38,20,56,2,47,15]
plt.scatter(x, y)
plt.show()
Result:
Run example »
And the r-squared value?
Example
You should get a very low r-squared value.
import numpy
x = [89,43,36,36,95,10,66,34,38,20,26,29,48,64,6,5,36,66,72,40]
y = [21,46,3,35,67,95,53,72,58,10,26,34,90,33,38,20,56,2,47,15]
print(r2_score(y, mymodel(x)))
Try if Yourself »
The result: 0.00995 indicates a very bad relationship, and tells us that this data set is not suitable for
polynomial regression.
Machine Learning - Multiple Regression

Multiple Regression
Multiple regression is like linear regression, but with more than one independent value, meaning that we try
to predict a value based on two or more variables.
Take a look at the data set below, it contains some information about cars.
Car Model Volume Weight CO2
Toyota Aygo 1000 790 99
Mitsubishi Space Star 1200 1160 95
Skoda Citigo 1000 929 95
Fiat 500 900 865 90
Mini Cooper 1500 1140 105
VW Up! 1000 929 105
Skoda Fabia 1400 1109 90

Mercedes A-Class 1500 1365 92
Ford Fiesta 1500 1112 98
Audi A1 1600 1150 99
Hyundai I20 1100 980 99
Suzuki Swift 1300 990 101
Ford Fiesta 1000 1112 99
Honda Civic 1600 1252 94
Hundai I30 1600 1326 97
Opel Astra 1600 1330 97
BMW 1 1600 1365 99
Mazda 3 2200 1280 104
Skoda Rapid 1600 1119 104
Ford Focus 2000 1328 105
Ford Mondeo 1600 1584 94
Opel Insignia 2000 1428 99
Mercedes C-Class 2100 1365 99
Skoda Octavia 1600 1415 99
Volvo S60 2000 1415 99

Mercedes CLA 1500 1465 102
Audi A4 2000 1490 104
Audi A6 2000 1725 114
Volvo V70 1600 1523 109
BMW 5 2000 1705 114
Mercedes E-Class 2100 1605 115
Volvo XC70 2000 1746 117
Ford B-Max 1600 1235 104
BMW 2 1600 1390 108
Opel Zafira 1600 1405 109
Mercedes SLK 2500 1395 120
We can predict the CO2 emission of a car based on the size of the engine, but with multiple regression we
can throw in more variables, like the weight of the car, to make the prediction more accurate.
How Does it Work?
In Python we have modules that will do the work for us. Start by importing the Pandas module.
import pandas
Learn about the Pandas module in our Pandas Tutorial.
The Pandas module allows us to read csv files and return a DataFrame object.
The file is meant for testing purposes only, you can download it here: cars.csv
df = pandas.read_csv("cars.csv")
Then make a list of the independent values and call this variable X.
Put the dependent values in a variable called y.
X = df[['Weight', 'Volume']]
y = df['CO2']
Tip: It is common to name the list of independent values with a upper case X, and the list of dependent
values with a lower case y.
We will use some methods from the sklearn module, so we will have to import that module as well:
from sklearn import linear_model
From the sklearn module we will use the LinearRegression() method to create a linear regression object.
This object has a method called fit() that takes the independent and dependent values as parameters and
fills the regression object with data that describes the relationship:
regr = linear_model.LinearRegression()
regr.fit(X, y)
Now we have a regression object that are ready to predict CO2 values based on a car's weight and volume:
#predict the CO2 emission of a car where the weight is 2300kg, and the volume is 1300cm 3:
predictedCO2 = regr.predict([[2300, 1300]])
Example
See the whole example in action:
import pandas
y = df['CO2']
regr.fit(X, y)
#predict the CO2 emission of a car where the weight is 2300kg, and the volume is 1300cm 3:
print(predictedCO2)
Result:
[107.2087328]
Run example »
We have predicted that a car with 1.3 liter engine, and a weight of 2300 kg, will release approximately 107
grams of CO2 for every kilometer it drives.
Coefficient
The coefficient is a factor that describes the relationship with an unknown variable.
Example: if x is a variable, then 2x is x two times. x is the unknown variable, and the number 2 is the
coefficient.
In this case, we can ask for the coefficient value of weight against CO2, and for volume against CO2. The
answer(s) we get tells us what would happen if we increase, or decrease, one of the independent values.
Example
Print the coefficient values of the regression object:
import pandas
y = df['CO2']
regr.fit(X, y)
print(regr.coef_)
Result:
[0.00755095 0.00780526]
Run example »
Result Explained
The result array represents the coefficient values of weight and volume.
Weight: 0.00755095
Volume: 0.00780526
These values tell us that if the weight increase by 1kg, the CO2 emission increases by 0.00755095g.
And if the engine size (Volume) increases by 1 cm 3, the CO2 emission increases by 0.00780526 g.
I think that is a fair guess, but let test it!
We have already predicted that if a car with a 1300cm 3 engine weighs 2300kg, the CO2 emission will be
approximately 107g.
What if we increase the weight with 1000kg?

Example
Copy the example from before, but change the weight from 2300 to 3300:
import pandas
y = df['CO2']
regr.fit(X, y)
print(predictedCO2)
Result:
[114.75968007]
Run example »
We have predicted that a car with 1.3 liter engine, and a weight of 3300 kg, will release approximately 115
grams of CO2 for every kilometer it drives.
Which shows that the coefficient of 0.00755095 is correct:
107.2087328 + (1000 * 0.00755095) = 114.75968
Machine Learning - Scale

Scale Features
When your data has different values, and even different measurement units, it can be difficult to compare
them. What is kilograms compared to meters? Or altitude compared to time?
The answer to this problem is scaling. We can scale data into new values that are easier to compare.
Take a look at the table below, it is the same data set that we used in the multiple regression chapter, but
this time the volume column contains values in liters instead of cm3 (1.0 instead of 1000).
The file is meant for testing purposes only, you can download it here: cars2.csv
Car Model Volume Weight CO2
Toyota Aygo 1.0 790 99
Mitsubishi Space Star 1.2 1160 95
Skoda Citigo 1.0 929 95
Fiat 500 0.9 865 90
Mini Cooper 1.5 1140 105
VW Up! 1.0 929 105
Skoda Fabia 1.4 1109 90
Mercedes A-Class 1.5 1365 92
Ford Fiesta 1.5 1112 98
Audi A1 1.6 1150 99
Hyundai I20 1.1 980 99
Suzuki Swift 1.3 990 101
Ford Fiesta 1.0 1112 99
Honda Civic 1.6 1252 94
Hundai I30 1.6 1326 97
Opel Astra 1.6 1330 97
BMW 1 1.6 1365 99

Mazda 3 2.2 1280 104
Skoda Rapid 1.6 1119 104
Ford Focus 2.0 1328 105
Ford Mondeo 1.6 1584 94
Opel Insignia 2.0 1428 99
Mercedes C-Class 2.1 1365 99
Skoda Octavia 1.6 1415 99
Volvo S60 2.0 1415 99
Mercedes CLA 1.5 1465 102
Audi A4 2.0 1490 104
Audi A6 2.0 1725 114
Volvo V70 1.6 1523 109
BMW 5 2.0 1705 114
Mercedes E-Class 2.1 1605 115
Volvo XC70 2.0 1746 117
Ford B-Max 1.6 1235 104
BMW 2 1.6 1390 108
Opel Zafira 1.6 1405 109

Mercedes SLK 2.5 1395 120
It can be difficult to compare the volume 1.0 with the weight 790, but if we scale them both into comparable
values, we can easily see how much one value is compared to the other.
There are different methods for scaling data, in this tutorial we will use a method called standardization.
The standardization method uses this formula:
z = (x - u) / s
Where z is the new value, x is the original value, u is the mean and s is the standard deviation.
If you take the weight column from the data set above, the first value is 790, and the scaled value will be:
(790 - 1292.23) / 238.74 = -2.1
If you take the volume column from the data set above, the first value is 1.0, and the scaled value will be:
(1.0 - 1.61) / 0.38 = -1.59
Now you can compare -2.1 with -1.59 instead of comparing 790 with 1.0.
You do not have to do this manually, the Python sklearn module has a method
called StandardScaler() which returns a Scaler object with methods for transforming data sets.
Example
Scale all values in the Weight and Volume columns:
import pandas
from sklearn.preprocessing import StandardScaler
scale = StandardScaler()
df = pandas.read_csv("cars2.csv")
scaledX = scale.fit_transform(X)
print(scaledX)
Result:
Note that the first two values are -2.1 and -1.59, which corresponds to our calculations:
[[-2.10389253 -1.59336644]
[-0.55407235 -1.07190106]
[-1.52166278 -1.59336644]
[-1.78973979 -1.85409913]
[-0.63784641 -0.28970299]
[-1.52166278 -1.59336644]
[-0.76769621 -0.55043568]
[ 0.3046118 -0.28970299]
[-0.7551301 -0.28970299]
[-0.59595938 -0.0289703 ]
[-1.30803892 -1.33263375]
[-1.26615189 -0.81116837]
[-0.7551301 -1.59336644]
[-0.16871166 -0.0289703 ]
[ 0.14125238 -0.0289703 ]
[ 0.15800719 -0.0289703 ]
[ 0.3046118 -0.0289703 ]
[-0.05142797 1.53542584]
[-0.72580918 -0.0289703 ]
[ 0.14962979 1.01396046]
[ 1.2219378 -0.0289703 ]
[ 0.5685001 1.01396046]
[ 0.3046118 1.27469315]
[ 0.51404696 -0.0289703 ]
[ 0.51404696 1.01396046]
[ 0.72348212 -0.28970299]
[ 0.8281997 1.01396046]
[ 1.81254495 1.01396046]
[ 0.96642691 -0.0289703 ]
[ 1.72877089 1.01396046]
[ 1.30990057 1.27469315]
[ 1.90050772 1.01396046]
[-0.23991961 -0.0289703 ]
[ 0.40932938 -0.0289703 ]
[ 0.47215993 -0.0289703 ]
[ 0.4302729 2.31762392]]
Run example »
Predict CO2 Values
The task in the Multiple Regression chapter was to predict the CO2 emission from a car when you only knew
its weight and volume.
When the data set is scaled, you will have to use the scale when you predict values:
Example
Predict the CO2 emission from a 1.3 liter car that weighs 2300 kilograms:
import pandas
from sklearn.preprocessing import StandardScaler
scale = StandardScaler()
df = pandas.read_csv("cars2.csv")
y = df['CO2']
scaledX = scale.fit_transform(X)
regr.fit(scaledX, y)
scaled = scale.transform([[2300, 1.3]])
predictedCO2 = regr.predict([scaled[0]])
print(predictedCO2)
Result:
[107.2087328]
Run example »
Machine Learning - Train/Test

Evaluate Your Model
In Machine Learning we create models to predict the outcome of certain events, like in the previous chapter
where we predicted the CO2 emission of a car when we knew the weight and engine size.
To measure if the model is good enough, we can use a method called Train/Test.
What is Train/Test
Train/Test is a method to measure the accuracy of your model.
It is called Train/Test because you split the the data set into two sets: a training set and a testing set.
80% for training, and 20% for testing.
You train the model using the training set.
You test the model using the testing set.
Train the model means create the model.
Test the model means test the accuracy of the model.
Start With a Data Set
Start with a data set you want to test.

Our data set illustrates 100 customers in a shop, and their shopping habits.
Example
import numpy
numpy.random.seed(2)
x = numpy.random.normal(3, 1, 100)
y = numpy.random.normal(150, 40, 100) / x
plt.scatter(x, y)
plt.show()
Result:
The x axis represents the number of minutes before making a purchase.
The y axis represents the amount of money spent on the purchase.
Run example »
Split Into Train/Test
The training set should be a random selection of 80% of the original data.
The testing set should be the remaining 20%.
train_x = x[:80]
train_y = y[:80]
test_x = x[80:]
test_y = y[80:]
Display the Training Set
Display the same scatter plot with the training set:
Example
plt.scatter(train_x, train_y)
plt.show()
Result:
It looks like the original data set, so it seems to be a fair selection:
Run example »
Display the Testing Set
To make sure the testing set is not completely different, we will take a look at the testing set as well.
Example
plt.scatter(test_x, test_y)
plt.show()
Result:
The testing set also looks like the original data set:
Run example »
Fit the Data Set
What does the data set look like? In my opinion I think the best fit would be a polynomial regression, so let
us draw a line of polynomial regression.
To draw a line through the data points, we use the plot() method of the matplotlib module:
Example
Draw a polynomial regression line through the data points:
import numpy
train_x = x[:80]
train_y = y[:80]
test_x = x[80:]
test_y = y[80:]
mymodel = numpy.poly1d(numpy.polyfit(train_x, train_y, 4))
plt.scatter(train_x, train_y)
plt.show()
Result:
Run example »
The result can back my suggestion of the data set fitting a polynomial regression, even though it would give
us some weird results if we try to predict values outside of the data set. Example: the line indicates that a
customer spending 6 minutes in the shop would make a purchase worth 200. That is probably a sign of
overfitting.
But what about the R-squared score? The R-squared score is a good indicator of how well my data set is
fitting the model.
R2
Remember R2, also known as R-squared?
It measures the relationship between the x axis and the y axis, and the value ranges from 0 to 1, where 0
means no relationship, and 1 means totally related.
The sklearn module has a method called r2_score() that will help us find this relationship.
In this case we would like to measure the relationship between the minutes a customer stays in the shop
and how much money they spend.
Example
How well does my training data fit in a polynomial regression?
import numpy
train_x = x[:80]
train_y = y[:80]
test_x = x[80:]
test_y = y[80:]
r2 = r2_score(train_y, mymodel(train_x))
print(r2)
Try it Yourself »
Note: The result 0.799 shows that there is a OK relationship.
Bring in the Testing Set
Now we have made a model that is OK, at least when it comes to training data.
Now we want to test the model with the testing data as well, to see if gives us the same result.
Example
Let us find the R2 score when using testing data:
import numpy
train_x = x[:80]
train_y = y[:80]
test_x = x[80:]
test_y = y[80:]
r2 = r2_score(test_y, mymodel(test_x))
print(r2)
Try it Yourself »
Note: The result 0.809 shows that the model fits the testing set as well, and we are confident that we can
use the model to predict future values.
Predict Values
Now that we have established that our model is OK, we can start predicting new values.
Example
How much money will a buying customer spend, if she or he stays in the shop for 5 minutes?
print(mymodel(5))
Run example »
The example predicted the customer to spend 22.88 dollars, as seems to correspond to the diagram:
Machine Learning - Decision Tree
Decision Tree
In this chapter we will show you how to make a "Decision Tree". A Decision Tree is a Flow Chart, and can
help you make decisions based on previous experience.
In the example, a person will try to decide if he/she should go to a comedy show or not.
Luckily our example person has registered every time there was a comedy show in town, and registered
some information about the comedian, and also registered if he/she went or not.
Age Experience Rank Nationality Go

36 10 9 UK NO
42 12 4 USA NO
23 4 6 N NO
52 4 4 USA NO
43 21 8 USA YES
44 14 5 UK NO
66 3 7 N YES
35 14 9 UK YES
52 13 7 N YES
35 5 9 N YES
24 3 5 USA NO
18 3 7 UK YES
45 9 9 UK YES
Now, based on this data set, Python can create a decision tree that can be used to decide if any new shows
are worth attending to.
How Does it Work?
First, import the modules you need, and read the dataset with pandas:
Example
Read and print the data set:
import pandas
from sklearn import tree
import pydotplus
from sklearn.tree import DecisionTreeClassifier
import matplotlib.image as pltimg
df = pandas.read_csv("shows.csv")
print(df)
Run example »
To make a decision tree, all data has to be numerical.
We have to convert the non numerical columns 'Nationality' and 'Go' into numerical values.
Pandas has a map() method that takes a dictionary with information on how to convert the values.
{'UK': 0, 'USA': 1, 'N': 2}
Means convert the values 'UK' to 0, 'USA' to 1, and 'N' to 2.
Example
Change string values into numerical values:
d = {'UK': 0, 'USA': 1, 'N': 2}

df['Nationality'] = df['Nationality'].map(d)
d = {'YES': 1, 'NO': 0}
df['Go'] = df['Go'].map(d)
print(df)
Run example »
Then we have to separate the feature columns from the target column.
The feature columns are the columns that we try to predict from, and the target column is the column with
the values we try to predict.
Example
X is the feature columns, y is the target column:

features = ['Age', 'Experience', 'Rank', 'Nationality']
X = df[features]
y = df['Go']
print(X)
print(y)
Run example »
Now we can create the actual decision tree, fit it with our details, and save a .png file on the computer:
Example
Create a Decision Tree, save it as an image, and show the image:
dtree = DecisionTreeClassifier()
dtree = dtree.fit(X, y)
data = tree.export_graphviz(dtree, out_file=None, feature_names=features)
graph = pydotplus.graph_from_dot_data(data)
graph.write_png('mydecisiontree.png')
img=pltimg.imread('mydecisiontree.png')
imgplot = plt.imshow(img)
plt.show()
Run example »
Result Explained
The decision tree uses your earlier decisions to calculate the odds for you to wanting to go see a comedian
or not.
Let us read the different aspects of the decision tree:
Rank
Rank <= 6.5 means that every comedian with a rank of 6.5 or lower will follow the True arrow (to the left),
and the rest will follow the False arrow (to the right).
gini = 0.497 refers to the quality of the split, and is always a number between 0.0 and 0.5, where 0.0
would mean all of the samples got the same result, and 0.5 would mean that the split is done exactly in the
middle.
samples = 13 means that there are 13 comedians left at this point in the decision, which is all of them since
this is the first step.
value = [6, 7] means that of these 13 comedians, 6 will get a "NO", and 7 will get a "GO".
Gini
There are many ways to split the samples, we use the GINI method in this tutorial.
The Gini method uses this formula:
Gini = 1 - (x/n)2 - (y/n)2
Where x is the number of positive answers("GO"), n is the number of samples, and y is the number of
negative answers ("NO"), which gives us this calculation:
1 - (7 / 13)2 - (6 / 13)2 = 0.497
The next step contains two boxes, one box for the comedians with a 'Rank' of 6.5 or lower, and one box with
the rest.
True - 5 Comedians End Here:
gini = 0.0 means all of the samples got the same result.
samples = 5 means that there are 5 comedians left in this branch (5 comedian with a Rank of 6.5 or lower).
value = [5, 0] means that 5 will get a "NO" and 0 will get a "GO".
False - 8 Comedians Continue:
Nationality
Nationality <= 0.5 means that the comedians with a nationality value of less than 0.5 will follow the arrow
to the left (which means everyone from the UK, ), and the rest will follow the arrow to the right.
gini = 0.219 means that about 22% of the samples would go in one direction.
samples = 8 means that there are 8 comedians left in this branch (8 comedian with a Rank higher than
6.5).
value = [1, 7] means that of these 8 comedians, 1 will get a "NO" and 7 will get a "GO".
True - 4 Comedians Continue:
Age
Age <= 35.5 means that comedians at the age of 35.5 or younger will follow the arrow to the left, and the
rest will follow the arrow to the right.
gini = 0.375 means that about 37,5% of the samples would go in one direction.
samples = 4 means that there are 4 comedians left in this branch (4 comedians from the UK).
False - 4 Comedians End Here:
samples = 4 means that there are 4 comedians left in this branch (4 comedians not from the UK).
True - 2 Comedians End Here:
samples = 2 means that there are 2 comedians left in this branch (2 comedians at the age 35.5 or
younger).
False - 2 Comedians Continue:
Experience
Experience <= 9.5 means that comedians with 9.5 years of experience, or less, will follow the arrow to the
left, and the rest will follow the arrow to the right.
gini = 0.5 means that 50% of the samples would go in one direction.
samples = 2 means that there are 2 comedians left in this branch (2 comedians older than 35.5).
True - 1 Comedian Ends Here:
samples = 1 means that there is 1 comedian left in this branch (1 comedian with 9.5 years of experience or
less).
False - 1 Comedian Ends Here:
samples = 1 means that there is 1 comedians left in this branch (1 comedian with more than 9.5 years of
experience).
Predict Values
We can use the Decision Tree to predict new values.
Example: Should I go see a show starring a 40 years old American comedian, with 10 years of experience,
and a comedy ranking of 7?
Example
Use predict() method to predict new values:
print(dtree.predict([[40, 10, 7, 1]]))
Run example »
Example
What would the answer be if the comedy rank was 6?
print(dtree.predict([[40, 10, 6, 1]]))
Run example »
Different Results
You will see that the Decision Tree gives you different results if you run it enough times, even if you feed it
with the same data.
That is because the Decision Tree does not give us a 100% certain answer. It is based on the probability of
an outcome, and the answer will vary.
Python How To
How to Remove Duplicates From a Python

List
Learn how to remove duplicates from a List in Python.
Example
Remove any duplicates from a List:
mylist = ["a", "b", "a", "c", "c"]

mylist = list(dict.fromkeys(mylist))
print(mylist)
Try it Yourself »
Example Explained
First we have a List that contains duplicates:
A List with Duplicates

mylist = ["a", "b", "a", "c", "c"]
print(mylist)
Create a dictionary, using the List items as keys. This will automatically remove any duplicates because
dictionaries cannot have duplicate keys.
Create a Dictionary
mylist = ["a", "b", "a", "c", "c"]
mylist = list( dict.fromkeys(mylist) )
print(mylist)
Then, convert the dictionary back into a list:
Convert Into a List

mylist = ["a", "b", "a", "c", "c"]
mylist = list( dict.fromkeys(mylist) )
print(mylist)
Now we have a List without any duplicates, and it has the same order as the original List.
Print the List to demonstrate the result
Print the List

mylist = ["a", "b", "a", "c", "c"]
print(mylist)
Create a Function
If you like to have a function where you can send your lists, and get them back without duplicates, you can
create a function and insert the code from the example above.
Example
def my_function(x):
return list(dict.fromkeys(x))
mylist = my_function(["a", "b", "a", "c", "c"])
print(mylist)
Try it Yourself »
Example Explained
Create a function that takes a List as an argument.
Create a Function
def my_function(x):
print(mylist)
Create a dictionary, using this List items as keys.

Create a Dictionary
def my_function(x):
return list( dict.fromkeys(x) )
print(mylist)
Convert the dictionary into a list.
Convert Into a List

def my_function(x):
return list( dict.fromkeys(x) )
print(mylist)
Return the list
Return List
def my_function(x):
print(mylist)
Call the function, with a list as a parameter:
Call the Function

def my_function(x):
print(mylist)
Print the result:
Print the Result

def my_function(x):
print(mylist)
How to Reverse a String in Python
Learn how to reverse a String in Python.
There is no built-in function to reverse a String in Python.
The fastest (and easiest?) way is to use a slice that steps backwards, -1.
Example
Reverse the string "Hello World":
txt = "Hello World"[::-1]

print(txt)
Try it Yourself »
Example Explained
We have a string, "Hello World", which we want to reverse:
The String to Reverse

txt = "Hello World" [::-1]
print(txt)
Create a slice that starts at the end of the string, and moves backwards.
In this particular example, the slice statement [::-1] means start at the end of the string and end at
position 0, move with the step -1, negative one, which means one step backwards.
Slice the String

txt = "Hello World" [::-1]
print(txt)
Now we have a string txt that reads "Hello World" backwards.
Print the String to demonstrate the result
Print the List

txt = "Hello World"[::-1]
print(txt)
Create a Function
If you like to have a function where you can send your strings, and return them backwards, you can create a
function and insert the code from the example above.
Example
def my_function(x):
return x[::-1]
mytxt = my_function("I wonder how this text looks like backwards")
print(mytxt)
Try it Yourself »
Example Explained
Create a function that takes a String as an argument.
Create a Function
def my_function(x):
return x[::-1]
print(mytxt)
Slice the string starting at the end of the string and move backwards.
Slice the String

def my_function(x):
return x [::-1]
print(mytxt)
Return the backward String
Return the String

def my_function(x):
return x[::-1]

print(mytxt )
Call the function, with a string as a parameter:
Call the Function

def my_function(x):
return x[::-1]
print(mytxt)
Print the result:
Print the Result

def my_function(x):
return x[::-1]
print(mytxt)
How to Add Two Numbers in Python

Learn how to add two numbers in Python.
Use the + operator to add two numbers:
Example
x = 5
y = 10
print(x + y)
Try it Yourself »
Add Two Numbers with User Input
In this example, the user must input two numbers. Then we print the sum by calculating (adding) the two
numbers:
Example
x = input("Type a number: ")
y = input("Type another number: ")
sum = int(x) + int(y)
print("The sum is: ", sum)
Try it Yourself »
Python Reference
Python Reference
This section contains a Python reference documentation.
Python Reference
Built-in Functions String Methods List Methods Dictionary Methods Tuple
Methods Set Methods File Methods Keywords Exceptions Glossary

Module Reference
Random Module Requests Module Math Module CMath Module
Python Built in Functions

Python has a set of built-in functions.
Function Description
abs() Returns the absolute value of a number
all() Returns True if all items in an iterable object are true
any() Returns True if any item in an iterable object is true
ascii() Returns a readable version of an object. Replaces none-ascii characters with

escape character
bin() Returns the binary version of a number
bool() Returns the boolean value of the specified object
bytearray() Returns an array of bytes
bytes() Returns a bytes object
callable() Returns True if the specified object is callable, otherwise False

chr() Returns a character from the specified Unicode code.
classmethod() Converts a method into a class method
compile() Returns the specified source as an object, ready to be executed
complex() Returns a complex number
delattr() Deletes the specified attribute (property or method) from the specified object
dict() Returns a dictionary (Array)
dir() Returns a list of the specified object's properties and methods
divmod() Returns the quotient and the remainder when argument1 is divided by
argument2
enumerate() Takes a collection (e.g. a tuple) and returns it as an enumerate object
eval() Evaluates and executes an expression
exec() Executes the specified code (or object)
filter() Use a filter function to exclude items in an iterable object
float() Returns a floating point number
format() Formats a specified value
frozenset() Returns a frozenset object

getattr() Returns the value of the specified attribute (property or method)
globals() Returns the current global symbol table as a dictionary
hasattr() Returns True if the specified object has the specified attribute (property/method)
hash() Returns the hash value of a specified object
help() Executes the built-in help system
hex() Converts a number into a hexadecimal value
id() Returns the id of an object
input() Allowing user input
int() Returns an integer number
isinstance() Returns True if a specified object is an instance of a specified object
issubclass() Returns True if a specified class is a subclass of a specified object
iter() Returns an iterator object
len() Returns the length of an object
list() Returns a list
locals() Returns an updated dictionary of the current local symbol table

map() Returns the specified iterator with the specified function applied to each item
max() Returns the largest item in an iterable
memoryview() Returns a memory view object
min() Returns the smallest item in an iterable
next() Returns the next item in an iterable
object() Returns a new object
oct() Converts a number into an octal
open() Opens a file and returns a file object
ord() Convert an integer representing the Unicode of the specified character
pow() Returns the value of x to the power of y
print() Prints to the standard output device
property() Gets, sets, deletes a property
range() Returns a sequence of numbers, starting from 0 and increments by 1 (by

default)
repr() Returns a readable version of an object
reversed() Returns a reversed iterator

round() Rounds a numbers
set() Returns a new set object
setattr() Sets an attribute (property/method) of an object
slice() Returns a slice object
sorted() Returns a sorted list
staticmethod() Converts a method into a static method
str() Returns a string object
sum() Sums the items of an iterator
super() Returns an object that represents the parent class
tuple() Returns a tuple
type() Returns the type of an object
vars() Returns the __dict__ property of an object
zip() Returns an iterator, from two or more iterators

Python String Methods
Method Description
capitalize() Converts the first character to upper case
casefold() Converts string into lower case
center() Returns a centered string
count() Returns the number of times a specified value occurs in a string
encode() Returns an encoded version of the string
endswith() Returns true if the string ends with the specified value
expandtabs() Sets the tab size of the string
find() Searches the string for a specified value and returns the position of where it was
found
format() Formats specified values in a string
format_map() Formats specified values in a string
index() Searches the string for a specified value and returns the position of where it was
found
isalnum() Returns True if all characters in the string are alphanumeric
isalpha() Returns True if all characters in the string are in the alphabet
isascii() Returns True if all characters in the string are ascii characters
isdecimal() Returns True if all characters in the string are decimals
isdigit() Returns True if all characters in the string are digits
isidentifier() Returns True if the string is an identifier
islower() Returns True if all characters in the string are lower case
isnumeric() Returns True if all characters in the string are numeric
isprintable() Returns True if all characters in the string are printable
isspace() Returns True if all characters in the string are whitespaces
istitle() Returns True if the string follows the rules of a title
isupper() Returns True if all characters in the string are upper case
join() Converts the elements of an iterable into a string
ljust() Returns a left justified version of the string
lower() Converts a string into lower case

lstrip() Returns a left trim version of the string
maketrans() Returns a translation table to be used in translations
partition() Returns a tuple where the string is parted into three parts
replace() Returns a string where a specified value is replaced with a specified value
rfind() Searches the string for a specified value and returns the last position of where it
was found
rindex() Searches the string for a specified value and returns the last position of where it
was found
rjust() Returns a right justified version of the string
rpartition() Returns a tuple where the string is parted into three parts
rsplit() Splits the string at the specified separator, and returns a list
rstrip() Returns a right trim version of the string
split() Splits the string at the specified separator, and returns a list
splitlines() Splits the string at line breaks and returns a list
startswith() Returns true if the string starts with the specified value
strip() Returns a trimmed version of the string

swapcase() Swaps cases, lower case becomes upper case and vice versa
title() Converts the first character of each word to upper case
translate() Returns a translated string
upper() Converts a string into upper case
zfill() Fills the string with a specified number of 0 values at the beginning
Learn more about strings in our Python Strings Tutorial.
Python List/Array Methods

Python has a set of built-in methods that you can use on lists/arrays.
Method Description

remove() Removes the first item with the specified value
Note: Python does not have built-in support for Arrays, but Python Lists can be used instead.
Learn more about lists in our Python Lists Tutorial.
Learn more about arrays in our Python Arrays Tutorial.
Python Dictionary Methods

Python has a set of built-in methods that you can use on dictionaries.
Method Description
clear() Removes all the elements from the dictionary
copy() Returns a copy of the dictionary

fromkeys() Returns a dictionary with the specified keys and value
get() Returns the value of the specified key
items() Returns a list containing a tuple for each key value pair
keys() Returns a list containing the dictionary's keys
pop() Removes the element with the specified key
popitem() Removes the last inserted key-value pair
setdefault() Returns the value of the specified key. If the key does not exist: insert the key, with
the specified value
update() Updates the dictionary with the specified key-value pairs
values() Returns a list of all the values in the dictionary
Learn more about dictionaries in our Python Dictionaries Tutorial.
Python Tuple Methods

Python has two built-in methods that you can use on tuples.
Method Description
count() Returns the number of times a specified value occurs in a tuple

index() Searches the tuple for a specified value and returns the position of where it
was found
Learn more about tuples in our Python Tuples Tutorial.
Python Set Methods

Python has a set of built-in methods that you can use on sets.
Method Description
add() Adds an element to the set
clear() Removes all the elements from the set
copy() Returns a copy of the set
difference() Returns a set containing the difference between two or more

sets
difference_update() Removes the items in this set that are also included in another,
specified set
discard() Remove the specified item
intersection() Returns a set, that is the intersection of two or more sets
intersection_update() Removes the items in this set that are not present in other,
specified set(s)
isdisjoint() Returns whether two sets have a intersection or not
issubset() Returns whether another set contains this set or not
issuperset() Returns whether this set contains another set or not
pop() Removes an element from the set
remove() Removes the specified element
symmetric_difference() Returns a set with the symmetric differences of two sets
symmetric_difference_update() inserts the symmetric differences from this set and another
union() Return a set containing the union of sets
update() Update the set with another set, or any other iterable
Learn more about sets in our Python Sets Tutorial.
Python File Methods

Python has a set of methods available for the file object.
Method Description
close() Closes the file
detach() Returns the separated raw stream from the buffer

fileno() Returns a number that represents the stream, from the operating system's
perspective
flush() Flushes the internal buffer
isatty() Returns whether the file stream is interactive or not
read() Returns the file content
readable() Returns whether the file stream can be read or not
readline() Returns one line from the file
readlines() Returns a list of lines from the file
seek() Change the file position
seekable() Returns whether the file allows us to change the file position
tell() Returns the current file position
truncate() Resizes the file to a specified size
writable() Returns whether the file can be written to or not
write() Writes the specified string to the file
writelines() Writes a list of strings to the file

Learn more about the file object in our Python File Handling Tutorial.
Python Keywords
Python has a set of keywords that are reserved words that cannot be used as variable names, function
names, or any other identifiers:
Keyword Description
and A logical operator
as To create an alias
assert For debugging
break To break out of a loop
class To define a class
continue To continue to the next iteration of a loop
def To define a function
del To delete an object
elif Used in conditional statements, same as else if
else Used in conditional statements

except Used with exceptions, what to do when an exception occurs
False Boolean value, result of comparison operations
finally Used with exceptions, a block of code that will be executed no matter if
there is an exception or not
for To create a for loop
from To import specific parts of a module
global To declare a global variable
if To make a conditional statement
import To import a module
in To check if a value is present in a list, tuple, etc.
is To test if two variables are equal
lambda To create an anonymous function
None Represents a null value
nonlocal To declare a non-local variable
not A logical operator
or A logical operator
pass A null statement, a statement that will do nothing
raise To raise an exception
return To exit a function and return a value
True Boolean value, result of comparison operations
try To make a try...except statement
while To create a while loop
with Used to simplify exception handling
yield To end a function, returns a generator
Python Built-in Exceptions

Built-in Exceptions
The table below shows built-in exceptions that are usually raised in Python:
Exception Description
ArithmeticError Raised when an error occurs in numeric calculations
AssertionError Raised when an assert statement fails

AttributeError Raised when attribute reference or assignment fails
Exception Base class for all exceptions
EOFError Raised when the input() method hits an "end of file" condition (EOF)
FloatingPointError Raised when a floating point calculation fails
GeneratorExit Raised when a generator is closed (with the close() method)
ImportError Raised when an imported module does not exist
IndentationError Raised when indendation is not correct
IndexError Raised when an index of a sequence does not exist
KeyError Raised when a key does not exist in a dictionary
KeyboardInterrupt Raised when the user presses Ctrl+c, Ctrl+z or Delete
LookupError Raised when errors raised cant be found
MemoryError Raised when a program runs out of memory
NameError Raised when a variable does not exist
NotImplementedError Raised when an abstract method requires an inherited class to override

the method
OSError Raised when a system related operation causes an error
OverflowError Raised when the result of a numeric calculation is too large
ReferenceError Raised when a weak reference object does not exist
RuntimeError Raised when an error occurs that do not belong to any specific expections
StopIteration Raised when the next() method of an iterator has no further values
SyntaxError Raised when a syntax error occurs

TabError Raised when indentation consists of tabs or spaces
SystemError Raised when a system error occurs
SystemExit Raised when the sys.exit() function is called
TypeError Raised when two different types are combined
UnboundLocalError Raised when a local variable is referenced before assignment
UnicodeError Raised when a unicode problem occurs
UnicodeEncodeError Raised when a unicode encoding problem occurs
UnicodeDecodeError Raised when a unicode decoding problem occurs
UnicodeTranslateError Raised when a unicode translation problem occurs
ValueError Raised when there is a wrong value in a specified data type
ZeroDivisionError Raised when the second operator in a division is zero
Python Glossary
Feature Description
Indentation Indentation refers to the spaces at the beginning of a code

line
Comments Comments are code lines that will not be executed

Multi Line Comments How to insert comments on multiple lines
Creating Variables Variables are containers for storing data values
Variable Names How to name your variables
Assign Values to Multiple Variables How to assign values to multiple variables
Output Variables Use the print statement to output variables
String Concatenation How to combine strings
Global Variables Global variables are variables that belongs to the global
scope
Built-In Data Types Python has a set of built-in data types
Getting Data Type How to get the data type of an object
Setting Data Type How to set the data type of an object
Numbers There are three numeric types in Python
Int The integer number type
Float The floating number type
Complex The complex number type
Type Conversion How to convert from one number type to another

Random Number How to create a random number
Specify a Variable Type How to specify a certain data type for a variable
String Literals How to create string literals
Assigning a String to a Variable How to assign a string value to a variable
Multiline Strings How to create a multi line string
Strings are Arrays Strings in Python are arrays of bytes representing Unicode
characters
Slicing a String How to slice a string
Negative Indexing on a String How to use negative indexing when accessing a string
String Length How to get the length of a string
Check In String How to check if a string contains a specified phrase
Format String How to combine two strings
Escape Characters How to use escape characters
Boolean Values True or False
Evaluate Booleans Evaluate a value or statement and return either True or False
Return Boolean Value Functions that return a Boolean value

Operators Use operator to perform operations in Python
Arithmetic Operators Arithmetic operator are used to perform common

mathematical operations
Assignment Operators Assignment operators are use to assign values to variables
Comparison Operators Comparison operators are used to compare two values
Logical Operators Logical operators are used to combine conditional statements
Identity Operators Identity operators are used to see if two objects are in fact
the same object
Membership Operators Membership operators are used to test is a sequence is

present in an object
Bitwise Operators Bitwise operators are used to compare (binary) numbers
Lists A list is an ordered, and changeable, collection
Access List Items How to access items in a list
Change List Item How to change the value of a list item
Loop Through List Items How to loop through the items in a list
List Comprehension How use a list comprehensive
Check if List Item Exists How to check if a specified item is present in a list
List Length How to determine the length of a list
Add List Items How to add items to a list
Remove List Items How to remove list items
Copy a List How to copy a list
Join Two Lists How to join two lists
Tuple A tuple is an ordered, and unchangeable, collection
Access Tuple Items How to access items in a tuple
Change Tuple Item How to change the value of a tuple item
Loop List Items How to loop through the items in a tuple
Check if Tuple Item Exists How to check if a specified item is present in a tuple
Tuple Length How to determine the length of a tuple
Tuple With One Item How to create a tuple with only one item
Remove Tuple Items How to remove tuple items
Join Two Tuples How to join two tuples
Set A set is an unordered, and unchangeable, collection

Access Set Items How to access items in a set
Add Set Items How to add items to a set
Loop Set Items DETTE KAPITTELET MANGLER
Check if Set Item Exists DETTE KAPITTELET MANGLER
Set Length How to determine the length of a set
Remove Set Items How to remove set items
Join Two Sets How to join two sets
Dictionary A dictionary is an unordered, and changeable, collection
Access Dictionary Items How to access items in a dictionary
Change Dictionary Item How to change the value of a dictionary item
Loop Dictionary Items How to loop through the items in a tuple
Check if Dictionary Item Exists How to check if a specified item is present in a dictionary
Dictionary Length How to determine the length of a dictionary
Add Dictionary Item How to add an item to a dictionary
Remove Dictionary Items How to remove dictionary items

Copy Dictionary How to copy a dictionary
Nested Dictionaries A dictionary within a dictionary
If Statement How to write an if statement
If Indentation If statemnts in Python relies on indentation (whitespace at

the beginning of a line)
Elif elif is the same as "else if" in other programming languages
Else How to write an if...else statement
Shorthand If How to write an if statement in one line
Shorthand If Else How to write an if...else statement in one line
If AND Use the and keyword to combine if statements
If OR Use the or keyword to combine if statements
Nested If How to write an if statement inside an if statement
The pass Keyword in If Use the pass keyword inside empty if statements
While How to write a while loop
While Break How to break a while loop
While Continue How to stop the current iteration and continue wit the next
While Else How to use an else statement in a while loop
For How to write a for loop
Loop Through a String How to loop through a string
For Break How to break a for loop
For Continue How to stop the current iteration and continue wit the next
Looping Through a rangee How to loop through a range of values
For Else How to use an else statement in a for loop
Nested Loops How to write a loop inside a loop
For pass Use the pass keyword inside empty for loops
Function How to create a function in Python
Call a Function How to call a function in Python
Function Arguments How to use arguments in a function
*args To deal with an unknown number of arguments in a function,

use the * symbol before the parameter name
Keyword Arguments How to use keyword arguments in a function
*kwargs To deal with an unknown number of keyword arguments in a

function, use the * symbol before the parameter name
Default Parameter Value How to use a default parameter value
Passing a List as an Argument How to pass a list as an argument
Function Return Value How to return a value from a function
The pass Statement i Functions Use the pass statement in empty functions
Function Recursion Functions that can call itself is called recursive functions
Lambda Function How to create anonymous functions in Python
Why Use Lambda Functions Learn when to use a lambda function or not
Array Lists can be used as Arrays
What is an Array Arrays are variables that can hold more than one value
Access Arrays How to access array items
Array Length How to get the length of an array
Looping Array Elements How to loop through array elements
Add Array Element How to add elements from an array
Remove Array Element How to remove elements from an array

Array Methods Python has a set of Array/Lists methods
Class A class is like an object constructor
Create Class How to create a class
The Class __init__() Function The __init__() function is executed when the class is initiated
Object Methods Methods in objects are functions that belongs to the object
self The self parameter refers to the current instance of the class
Modify Object Properties How to modify properties of an object
Delete Object Properties How to modify properties of an object
Delete Object How to delete an object
Class pass Statement Use the pass statement in empty classes
Create Parent Class How to create a parent class
Create Child Class How to create a child class
Create the __init__() Function How to create the __init__() function
super Function The super() function make the child class inherit the parent
class
Add Class Properties How to add a property to a class

Add Class Methods How to add a method to a class
Iterators An iterator is an object that contains a countable number of

values
Iterator vs Iterable What is the difference between an iterator and an iterable
Loop Through an Iterator How to loop through the elements of an iterator
Create an Iterator How to create an iterator
StopIteration How to stop an iterator
Global Scope When does a variable belong to the global scope?
Global Keyword The global keyword makes the variable global
Create a Module How to create a module
Variables in Modules How to use variables in a module
Renaming a Module How to rename a module
Built-in Modules How to import built-in modules
Using the dir() Function List all variable names and function names in a module
Import From Module How to import only parts from a module
Datetime Module How to work with dates in Python

Date Output How to output a date
Create a Date Object How to create a date object
The strftime Method How to format a date object into a readable string
Date Format Codes The datetime module has a set of legal format codes
JSON How to work with JSON in Python
Parse JSON How to parse JSON code in Python
Convert into JSON How to convert a Python object in to JSON
Format JSON How to format JSON output with indentations and line breaks
Sort JSON How to sort JSON
RegEx Module How to import the regex module
RegEx Functions The re module has a set of functions
Metacharacters in RegEx Metacharacters are characters with a special meaning
RegEx Special Sequences A backslash followed by a a character has a special meaning
RegEx Sets A set is a set of characters inside a pair of square brackets

with a special meaning
RegEx Match Object The Match Object is an object containing information about
the search and the result
Install PIP How to install PIP
PIP Packages How to download and install a package with PIP
PIP Remove Package How to remove a package with PIP
Error Handling How to handle errors in Python
Handle Many Exceptions How to handle more than one exception
Try Else How to use the else keyword in a try statement
Try Finally How to use the finally keyword in a try statement
raise How to raise an exception in Python

Python

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Python Introduction

 web development (server-side),

What can Python do?

Python Getting Started

C:\Users\Your Name>python --version

C:\Users\Your Name>python helloworld.py

Where "helloworld.py" is the name of your python file.

C:\Users\Your Name>python helloworld.py

The output should read:

The Python Command Line

Type the following on the Windows, Mac or Linux command line:

Which will write "Hello, World!" in the command line:

Execute Python Syntax

>>> print("Hello, World!")

Execute Python SyntaxPython IndentationPython VariablesPython CommentsExercises

C:\Users\Your Name>python myfile.py

Python uses indentation to indicate a block of code.

Python will give you an error if you skip the indentation:

The number of spaces is up to you as a programmer, but it has to be at least one.

Python has no command for declaring a variable.

Test Yourself With Exercises

Start the Exercise

Comments can be used to make the code more readable.

Multi Line Comments

To add a multiline comment you could insert a # for each line:

Or, not quite as intended, you can use a multiline string.

Test Yourself With Exercises

Start the Exercise

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

Get the Type

Single or Double Quotes?

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

Remember that variable names are case-sensitive

Multi Words Variable Names

Assign Multiple Values

One Value to Multiple Variables

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

Learn more about unpacking in our Unpack Tuples Chapter.

To combine both text and a variable, Python uses the + character:

For numbers, the + character works as a mathematical operator:

The global Keyword

Are you ready for a test?

Python Variable Exercises

Python Data Types

Text Type: Str

Numeric Types: int, float, complex

Sequence Types: list, tuple, range

Mapping Type: Dict

Set Types: set, frozenset

Boolean Type: Bool

Binary Types: bytes, bytearray, memoryview

Setting the Data Type

Example Data Type Try it

x = "Hello World" str Try it »

x = 20.5 float Try it »

x = ("apple", "banana", "cherry") tuple Try it »

x = range(6) range Try it »

x = {"name" : "John", "age" : 36} dict Try it »

x = {"apple", "banana", "cherry"} set Try it »

x = frozenset({"apple", "banana", "cherry"}) frozenset Try it »

x = True bool Try it »

x = b"Hello" bytes Try it »

x = bytearray(5) bytearray Try it »

x = memoryview(bytes(5)) memoryview Try it »

Example Data Type Try it

x = str("Hello World") str Try it »

x = int(20) int Try it »

x = float(20.5) float Try it »

x = complex(1j) complex Try it »

x = list(("apple", "banana", "cherry")) list Try it »

x = tuple(("apple", "banana", "cherry")) tuple Try it »

x = range(6) range Try it »

x = dict(name="John", age=36) dict Try it »

x = set(("apple", "banana", "cherry")) set Try it »

x = bool(5) bool Try it »

x = bytes(5) bytes Try it »