Introduction to Python

Python is a popular high-level programming language for developing web-based

applications, data science, and machine learning program.

Features of Python
Python is a simple and high-level programming language that has multiple features, like:

 Easy to learn
 Free and Open Source
 Object-oriented Language
 Cross-platform compatibility


Write a simple “hello world” program

Let’s see how we can write a simple Python program.

print("Hello, World!")

Python character set

The character set refers to the valid characters that are used in Python.

 Letters: a-z, A-Z

 Digits: 0-9
 Special Characters: +, -, *, /, =, <, >, etc.
 Whitespace: Space, tab, and newline (\n)
 Unicode Characters: Python supports Unicode from various languages.

Token in Python
The smallest unit in a Python program is called a token. In python all the instructions and
statements in a program are built with tokens. Different type of tokens in python are
keywords, identifier, Literals/values, operators and punctuators –

 Keywords: Words with a special meaning in a programming language are

known as keywords. There are 33 keywords in Python True, False, class,
break, continue, and, as, try, while, for, or, not, if, elif, print, etc.
 Identifiers: Identifier is a user-defined name given to a variable, function,
class, module, etc. Python has certain guidelines for naming identifiers, follow
these guidelines:
 Code in python is case – sensitive
 Always identifier starts with capital letter(A – Z), small letter (a – z) or
an underscore( _ ).
 Digits are not allowed to define in first character, but you can use
between.
 No whitespace or special characters are allowed.
  No keyword is allowed to define identifier.
 Literals: Literals are the raw data that is assigned to variables or constants
during programming. There are five different types of literals string literals,
numeric literals, Boolean literals and special literals none.
 String literals: The string literals in Python are represented by text
enclosed in single, double, or triple quotations. Examples include
“Computer Science,” ‘Computer Science’, ”’Computer Science”’ etc.
 Numeric Literals: Literals that have been used to storing numbers
is known is Numeric Literals. There are basically three numerical
literals – Integer, Float and Complex.
 Boolean Literal: Boolean literals have only two values True of
False.
 Special literals none: The special literal “None” in Python used to
signify no values, the absence of values, or nothingness.

 Operators: Operators are specialized symbols that perform arithmetic or
logical operations. The operation in the variable is applied using operands.
The operators can be:
 Arithmetic operators (+, -, * /, %, **, //)
 Bitwise operators (&, ^, |)
 Shift operators (<<, >>)
 Identity operators (is, is not)
 Relational operators (>, <, >=, <=, ==, !=)
 Logical operators (and, or)
 Assignment operator ( = )
 Membership operators (in, not in)
 Arithmetic-assignment operators (/=, +=, -=, %=, **=, //=).
 Punctuators: The structures, statements, and expressions in Python are
organized using these symbols known as punctuators. Several punctuators
are in python [ ] { } ( ) @ -= += *= //= **== = , etc.
What is variable?
A variable is just like a container which helps to contain the values. It serves as an object
or element that uses memory space, which can contain a value, variable number,
alphanumeric or both. Example, name = “Python”

Use of comments in python

The statement ignored by the Python interpreter during the execution is known as a
comment. The comment starts with a hash symbol (#) in Python. It helps to add remarks in
the source code.

Data types in Python

In Python, data types define the type of data that a variable can store. The following chart
shows the different types of data types in Python.
Operators in python
An operator is used to perform a specific mathematical or logical operation on values. The
values that the operators work on are called operands. For example, in the expression 10
+ num, the 10 is a value, the num is a variable, and the + (plus) sign is an operator.

 Arithmetic operators (+, -, * /, %, **, //)

 Bitwise operators (&, ^, |)
 Shift operators (<<, >>)
 Identity operators (is, is not)
 Relational operators (>, <, >=, <=, ==, !=)
 Logical operators (and, or)
 Assignment operator ( = )
 Membership operators (in, not in)
 Arithmetic-assignment operators (/=, +=, -=, %=, **=, //=).

Expressions in Python
Expressions are representations of value, An expression is defined as a combination of
constants, variables, and operators. A value or a standalone variable is also considered as
an expression but a standalone operator is not an expression. Some examples of valid
expressions are:

Expressions Expressions

100 3.0 + 3.14

num 23/3 -5 * 7(14 -2)

num – 20.4 “Global” + “Citizen”

Precedence of Operators
When an expression contains different kinds of operators, precedence determines which
operator should be applied first. Higher precedence operator is evaluated before the lower
precedence operator.

Precedence of all operators in Python

Precedence Operators Description

1 ** Exponentiation (raise to the power

2 ~ ,+, – Complement, unary plus and unary minus

3 , / , % , // Multiply, divide, modulo and floor division

4 +,– Addition and subtraction

5 <= , < , > , >=, == , != Relational and Comparison operators

6 =, %=, /=, //=, -=, +=,*=, **= Assignment operators

7 is, is not Identity operators

8 in, not in Membership operators

9 not Logical operators

10 and Logical operators

11 or Logical operators

Statement in Python
In Python, a statement is a unit of code that the Python interpreter can execute.
>>> x = 4 #assignment statement

>>> cube = x ** 3 #assignment statement

>>> print (x, cube) #print statement

4 64

Input and output in Python

The Python program needs to interact with the user to get some input data or information.
This is done by using the input() function, and the print() function helps to give output on
the screen.

a. Input Function
fname = input("Enter your first name: ")

Enter your first name: Arnab

b. Output Function
fname = input("Enter your first name: ")

print(fname)

Enter your first name: Arnab

Arnab

Some more examples of Output function

Statement Output

print(“Hello”) Hello

print(10 * 2.5) 25.0

 Statement Output

print(“I” + “love” + “my” + “country”) Ilovemycountry

print(“I’m”, 16, “years old”) I’m 16 years old

Type-conversion (explicit and implicit conversion)

Type conversion refers to converting one type of data to another type, and this data
conversion can be done using two different ways:

 Explicit conversion: Explicit conversion done by the programmer manually

using the cast operator.
 Implicit conversion: Implicit conversion is done automatically by the
compiler; it is also known as coercion.

a. Explicit conversion example

num1 = 11

num2 = 2

print(num1/num2) #output: 5.5

Function Description

int(x) Converts x to an integer

float(x) Converts x to a floating-point number

str(x) Converts x to a string representation

 print(int(num1/num2))
chr(x) Converts ASCII value of x to character #output: 5

ord(x) returns the character associated with the ASCII code x num1 = 11

num2 = 2

print(num1/num2) #output: 5.5

print(int(num1/num2)) #output: 5

Implicit conversion example

num1 = 10 #num1 is an integer

num2 = 20.0 #num2 is a float

sum1 = num1 + num2 #sum1 is sum of a float and an integer

print(sum1)

print(type(sum1))

Function Description

int(x) Converts x to an integer

Converts x to a floating-point
float(x)
number

str(x) Converts x to a string representation

Converts ASCII value of x to

chr(x)
character
 Function Description

returns the character associated with

ord(x)
the ASCII code x

Debugging in Python
A programmer can make mistakes while writing a program; the process of debugging,
which helps to identify and remove mistakes, it is also known as bugs or errors. Errors are
categorized as:

 Syntax errors: Every program has its own rules, and if a mistake is made in
the program like missing any punctuation, incorrect command, or mismatched
parentheses or braces, it can generate a syntax error.
 Logical errors: A logical error occurs when a program runs without errors but
generates incorrect output, for example, assigning a value to the wrong
variable, etc.
 Runtime errors: A runtime error occurs during the execution of a program or
after the code is compiled or interpreted. For example, subtraction of two
variables that hold string values, etc

Statement Flow Control

Control flow refers to the sequence in which a program’s code is executed. Control flow
statements manage the order in which code is executed and help to create a dynamic and
flexible program.

Python has three types of control structures –

 Sequential – By default mode

 Selection – Used in decision making like if, switch etc.
 Repetition – It is used in looping or repeating a code multiple time

Conditional statements

The IF & IF-ELSE conditionals

The “IF-ELSE” conditionals help to check whether a condition is true or false; it is also
known as a conditional statement. An “IF” statement executes a block of code only if the
condition is true, while an “IF-ELSE” statement executes a block of code in both conditions,
if the condition is true or false.

Syntax of IF condition –

if <conditional expression>:

[statement 1]

[statement 2]

Syntax of IF-ELSE condition –

if <conditional expression>:

[statement 1]

[statement 2]

else:

[statement 1]

[statement 2]

Nested IF statement
Nested if statements in Python allow the placing of one if statement inside another. Nested
If is a powerful tool for building complex decision-making logic in your programs.

Syntax of Nested IF statement

if condition:

if condition:

[Statement]

else:

[Statement]

Looping Statement
In Python, looping statements are used to run a block of statements or code continuously
for as many times as the user specifies. Python offers us two different forms of loops for
loop and while loop.

The For loop

A “for” loop allows a block of code to be executed repeatedly until a condition is met. A for
loop is used when you want to execute code multiple times or used for iterating over
sequences like lists and arrays.

Syntax of FOR loop –

for <variable> in <sequence> :

statements_to_repeat

The range() based for loop

The range() function allows you to generate a sequence of numbers, which can be used in
a for loop to iterate a specific number of times. It helps to control the flow of loops and can
be used in several ways. By default range() function starts from 0.

Syntax –

range(stop)

range(start, stop)

range(start, stop, step)

The While loop

A while loop is a conditional loop that will repeat the instructions within itself as long as a
conditional remain true.

Syntax –

while <logical expression> :

loop-body

Jump Statemement (break and condinue)

Python offers two jump statement – break and continue – to be used within loops to jump
out of loop-iterations.

a. The break Statement

A break statement is used to terminate the loop based on the condition; a break loop is
generally associated with an if statement. This loop termination can be used in a for loop, a
do loop or a while loop.

Example:

a=b=c=0

for i in range(1, 11) :

a = int(input("Enter number 1 :"))

b = int(input("Enter number 2 :))

if b == 0 :

print("Division by zero error! Aborting")

break

else

c=a/b

print("Quotient = ", c)

print("program over!")

b. The continue statement

Unlike break statement, the continue statement forces the next iteration of the loop to take
place, skipping any code in between.

Syntax –

continue

Loop else statement

Python supports combining the else keyword with both the for and while loops. In a loop
else statement, the else statement is used after the loop. The loop else statement will be
executed once when the loop is completed without encountering a break statement
Example,

for i in range(5):

print(i)

if i == 3:

break

else:

print("Loop completed without breaking.")

Nested Loops
A loop may contain another loop in its body. This form of a loop is called nested loop. But
in a nested loop, the inner loop must terminate before the outer loop.

The following is an example of a nested loop :

for i in range(1,6) :

for j in range(1, i) :

print("*", end =' ')

print()

String in Python
The combination of characters is known as a string. A string is a fundamental data type in
Python; it is immutable. Immutable means once a string is created, its value cannot be
changed. Strings are enclosed in either single quotes (‘ ‘), double quotes (” “), or triple
quotes (“”” “””). Triple quotes are basically used for multiple lines.

Operation/
Description Example
Method

Returns length of the

len() len(“Hello”) (Output: 5)
string
 Operation/
Description Example
Method

capitalize() Capitalizes first character “hello”.capitalize() (Output: Hello)

Capitalizes first letter of “hello world”.title() (Output: Hello

title()
each word World)

Converts to
lower() and upper() “Hello”.lower() (Output: hello)
lowercase/uppercase

Counts occurrences of a
count(substring) “banana”.count(“a”) (Output: 3)
substring

Finds the first occurrence

find(substring) “banana”.find(“na”) (Output: 2)
of substring

Like find() but raises error

index(substring) “banana”.index(“na”) (Output: 2)
if not found

startswith()/ Checks if string starts/ “[Link]”.endswith(“.txt”)

endswith() ends with a substring (Output: True)

Checks if string is
isalnum() “Python123”.isalnum() → True
alphanumeric

Checks if string is
isalpha() “Python”.isalpha() → True
alphabetic

isdigit() Checks if string is numeric “12345”.isdigit() → True

Checks if string is
islower()/ isupper() “python”.islower() → True
lowercase/ uppercase

Checks if string contains

isspace() ” “.isspace() → True
only whitespace

strip()/ lstrip()/
Removes whitespace ” Hello “.strip() → Hello
rstrip()
 Operation/
Description Example
Method

Replaces occurrences of
replace(old, new) “I like Java”.replace(“Java”, “Python”)
a substring

Joins elements of an
join(iterable) “, “.join([“a”, “b”]) → a, b
iterable into a string

Splits into three parts

partition(separator) “hello”.partition(“l”) → (‘he’, ‘l’, ‘lo’)
(before, separator, after)

Splits string into a list of

split(separator) “a,b,c”.split(“,”) → [‘a’, ‘b’, ‘c’]
substrings

Basic Operation

Operation/ Method Description Example

“Hello ” + “World” (Output: Hello

Concatenation Combine strings using + operator
World)

Repetition Repeat strings using * operator “Hi ” * 3 (Output: Hi Hi Hi)

Check substring presence using in or

Membership “a” in “apple” (Output: True)
not in

Extract parts of the string using index

Slicing “Hello”[0:4] (Output: Hell)
ranges

String Method
List in Python
In Python, Multiple values (example, Number, Character, Date etc.) can be stored in a
single variable by using lists., a list is an ordered sequence of elements that can be
changed or modified. A list’s items are any elements or values that are contained within it.
Lists are defined by having values inside square brackets [] just as strings are defined by
characters inside quotations.

Example 1,

>>> list1 = [2,4,6,8,10,12]

>>> print(list1)

[2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12]

Example 2,

>>> list2 = ['a','e','i','o','u']

>>> print(list2)

['a', 'e', 'i', 'o', 'u']

Example 3,

>>> list3 = [100,23.5,'Hello']

>>> print(list3)

[100, 23.5, 'Hello']

Tuples in Python
An ordered collection of components of various data kinds, such as integer, float, string,
list, is known as a tuple. A tuple’s components are denoted by parenthesis (round
brackets) and commas. A tuple’s elements can be retrieved using index values beginning
at 0 just like list and string members can.

Example 1,

>>> tuple1 = (1,2,3,4,5)

>>> tuple1

(1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

Example 2,
>>> tuple2 =('Economics',87,'Accountancy',89.6)

>>> tuple2

('Economics', 87, 'Accountancy', 89.6)

Example 3,

>>> tuple3 = (10,20,30,[40,50])

>>> tuple3

(10, 20, 30, [40, 50])

Example 4,

>>> tuple4 = (1,2,3,4,5,(10,20))

>>> tuple4

(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, (10, 20))

Dictionary in Python
Maps include the data type dictionary. A collection of keys and a set of values are mapped
in this situation. Items are keys and values pairs. Consecutive entries are separated by
commas, and a colon (:) separates a key from its value. Dictionary entries are unordered,
thus we might not receive the data in the same order that we entered it when we first
placed it in the dictionary.

Example,

>>> dict3 = {'Mohan':95,'Ram':89,'Suhel':92,'Sangeeta':85}

>>> dict3

{'Mohan': 95, 'Ram': 89, 'Suhel': 92,'Sangeeta': 85}