Developed by Guido van Rossum

Python is the language of the Python Interpreter

and those who can converse with it. An
individual who can speak Python is known as a
Pythonista. It is a very uncommon skill, and
may be hereditary. Nearly all known
Pythonistas use software initially developed
by Guido van Rossum.
 Part- I
Installation
• Install Python - Windows 8
• Using Python - Macintosh
• Using Python on a Raspberry Pi/Linux/Ubuntu
 Install Python - Windows 8
• First download and install a program editor
– Nodepad++
• Download Python suitable to your machine
architecture from
https://www.python.org/downloads/
– You can choose Python 2 or 3. (Slightly different)
– For this classes I will use Python 2.7.6 to
demonstrate examples.
 Using Python- Windows 8
• Write a Python Script using Nodepad++

• Running Python Script

– by clicking on Hello.py Script.
– open the command prompt and change to the directory of
Hello.py
– type Hello.py and press Enter .
 Using Python - Macintosh
• Download TextWrangler from
http://www.barebones.com/products/textwra
ngler/
• Drag the TextWrangler into Applications
• Run TextWrangler and write
Python code.
 Using Python - Macintosh
• Run Python Script, now there’s couple of way
to do it.
– Built-in a way in TextWrangler

– Running from Terminal, open the terminal and

change to the directory of Python Script.
– Write “python ScriptName.py” in the Terminal.
 Using Python on a Raspberry
Pi/Linux/Ubuntu
• All needed things are already there no need to
download and install anything.
• Open editor and write a Python Script.

• Run the Python Script.

– Run from terminal

• Open the terminal and change to python script directory and type
“python scriptname.py”
 Part-II
Let Us Start Python
• Computers are built for one purpose - to do things for us.
• Computers can be given sets of instructions in human readable
languages that can be translated into the computer's native binary
language.
• Computers do not execute source code, which is made up of
language human programmers can understand.
• Python is one of those languages. Python is a way of giving a sets of
instructions to Python Interpreter in order to solve a problem.
• Python Interpreter translates a Python code into the computer’s
native binary language.
• Python was developed by Guido van Rossum, who was inspired by 
The Monty Python's Flying Circus skits for the name.
 Talking to Python
• We can talk to Python Interpreter in two ways
– Interactive mode
• You type directly to Python one line at a time and it responds
•  to test short snippets of code ( Can use bundled development environment called IDLE.)
– Write Python Scripts and run them
• You enter a sequence of statements (lines) into a file using a text editor and tell Python to
execute the statements in the file

• Use quit() to end the interactive session.

 Elements of Python
• Vocabulary / Words – Variables and Reserved
words
• Sentence structure - valid syntax patterns
• Story structure - constructing a program for a
purpose
 Constants
• Fixed values such as numbers, letters, and
strings are called constants because their
value does not change
• Numeric constants are used as you expect
• String contants use single quotes (‘) or double quotes
(“)
 Variables
• A variable is name given to a memory location
where a programmer can store the data and
later retrieve the data using the variable
name.
• Programmers get to choose the names of the
variables.
• Programmer can change the contents of a
variable in a later statement.
 Python Variable Name Rules
• Must start with a letter or underscore (_)
• May consists of letters, numbers, and
underscores
• Case Sensitive
• Should use Mnemonic Variable Names
– We name variables to help us remember what we
intend to store in them
Good: spam eggs spam23 _speed
Bad: 23spam #sign var.12
Different: spam Spam SPAM
 Reserved Words/Keywords
• Cannot be used as a variable names.
• 33 keywords.
• All the keywords except True, False and None
are in lowercase and they must be written as it
is.
 Sentences or Lines or Statements
>>> x = 4 (Assignment statement)
>>> x = x + 2 (Assignment statement with an
expression)
>>> print x (Print Statement)

Variable Operator Constant Reserved Word

 Assignment Statements
• We assign a value to a variable using the
assignment statement (=)
• An assignment statement consists of an
expression on the right-hand side and a
variable to store the result
>>> x = 45 * x * (1-x)
variable expression
Numeric Expressions
 Order of Evaluation
• When we string operators together - Python must
know which one to do first
– Parenthesis are always respected
– Exponentiation (raise to a power)
– Multiplication, Division, and Remainder
– addition and Subtraction
– Left to right (equal precedence)
• When writing code - use parenthesis
• When writing code - keep mathematical expressions
simple enough that they are easy to understand
 Python Integer Division is Weird!
• Integer division truncates
• Floating point division produces floating point
numbers

• This changes in Python 3.0

 Mixing Integer and Floating
• The integer is converted to a floating point
before the operation
 Other Operators
• Comparison Operators (<> not equal to)
• Assignment Operators
• Bitwise Operators
• Logical Operators
– (a and b)
– (a or b)
– not(a and b)
•
 Other Operators
• Membership Operators
– in
• Evaluates to true if it finds a variable in the specified sequence and false otherwise.
– not in
• Evaluates to true if it does not finds a variable in the specified sequence and false
otherwise.
>>>a=20
>>>list = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ];
>>> if ( a in list ):
print "Line 1 - a is available in the given list“
>>> else:
print "Line 1 - a is not available in the given list“
Output: Line 1 - a is not available in the given list
 Other Operators
• Identity Operators
– Identity operators compare the memory locations
of two objects. There are two Identity operators as
explained below
– is
• Evaluates to true if the variables on either side of the
operator point to the same object and false otherwise.
– is not
• Evaluates to false if the variables on either side of the
operator point to the same object and true otherwise.
Identity Operators
 What does “Type” Mean?
• In Python variables, literals and constants have
a “type”
• Python knows the difference between an
integer number and a string
• For example “+” means “addition” if
something is a number and “concatenate” if
something is a string
 Type Matters
• Python knows what “type” everything is
• Some operations are prohibited
• You cannot “add 1” to a string
• We can ask Python what type something is by
using the type() function
 Type Conversions
• When you put an integer and floating point in
an expression, the integer is implicitly
converted to a float
• You can control this with the built-in functions
int() and float()
 String
Conversions
• You can also use int() • You will get an error
and float() to convert if the string does not
between strings and contain numeric
integers characters
 User Input
• We can instruct • The raw_input()
Python to pause and function returns a
read data from the string
user using the
raw_input() function
 Converting User Input
• If we want to read a • Later we will deal
number from the with bad input data
user, we must
convert it from a
string to a number
using a type
conversion function
 Comments in Python
• Anything after a # is ignored by Python
• Why comment?
– Describe what is going to happen in a sequence of
code
– Document who wrote the code or other ancillary
information
– Turn off a line of code - perhaps temporarily
 String Operations
• Some operators apply to strings
– + implies “concatenation”
– * implies “multiple concatenation”
• Python knows when it is dealing with a string
or a number and behaves appropriately
 Program Steps or Program Flow
• Like a recipe, a program is a sequence of steps to
be done in order.
• Some steps are conditional - they may be
skipped.
• Sometimes a step or group of steps are to be
repeated. (loops)
• Sometimes we store a set of steps to be used
over and over as needed several places
throughout the program (functions)
Sequential Steps
Conditional Steps
 Indentation
• Increase indent after an if statement or for
statement (after : )
• Maintain indent to indicate the scope of the
block (which lines are affected by the if/for)
• Decrease to indicate end of block
• Blank lines and comments are ignored - they
do not affect indentation
 Warning: Turn Off Tabs!!
• Most text editors can turn tabs into spaces -
make sure to enable this feature
– NotePad++: Settings -> Preferences -> Language
Menu/Tab Settings
– TextWrangler: TextWrangler -> Preferences -> Editor
Defaults
• Python cares a *lot* about how far a line is
indented. If you mix tabs and spaces, you may get
“indentation errors” even if everything looks fine
Warning: Turn Off Tabs!!
 Comparison Operators
• Boolean expressions using comparison
operators evaluate to - True / False - Yes / No
 Nested Decisions
>>>x = 42
>>>if x > 1 :
print 'More than one'
if x < 100 :
print 'Less than 100'
>>>print 'All done'
One vs. Two vs. Multi way decisions
 The try / except Structure
• Surround a dangerous section of code with try
and except
– If the code in the try works - the except is skipped
– If the code in the try fails - it jumps to the except
section
>>>astr = 'Hello Bob'
>>>try:
istr = int(astr)
>>>except:
istr = -1
 Loops

• Iterate until a condition evaluates to False.

• Iterate through a list of values
Break
Continue
Loop Examples
Loop Examples
Loop Examples
Loop Examples
Loop Examples
 Functions
• Built-in functions- input(), type(), int().
• User defined functions.
• In Python a function is some reusable code that takes argument(s)
as input does some computation and then return a result(s).
• We define function using def keyword.
• We call/invoke function by using the function name, parenthesis
and arguments in an expression.

>>>big =max(‘Hello World’);

>>> print big
‘w’
Functions
Parameters and return values
Python List
 Basic List Operations

Python Expression Results Description

len([1, 2, 3]) 3 Length
[1, 2, 3] + [4, 5, 6] [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] Concatenation
['Hi!'] * 4 ['Hi!', 'Hi!', 'Hi!', Repetition
'Hi!']
3 in [1, 2, 3] True Membership
for x in [1, 2, 3]: 123 Iteration
print x,