Scribd
Upload
62 views

1B-Introduction To Python

Uploaded by

Sudesh Kumar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
62 views

1B-Introduction To Python

Uploaded by

Sudesh Kumar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 22

Introduction to Python

Genome 559: Introduction to Statistical


and Computational Genomics
Prof. James H. Thomas
If you have your own PC, download and install a
syntax-highlighting text editor and Python 2.6.6:

http://www.flos-freeware.ch/notepad2.html
http://www.python.org/download/releases/2.6.6/

If you have your own Mac, download Python


(same site) and TextWrangler:

http://www.barebones.com/products/TextWrangler/download.html
Why Python?
• Python is • C is much faster but
– easy to learn much harder to learn
– fast enough and use.
– object-oriented • Java is somewhat
– widely used faster but harder to
– fairly portable learn and use.
• Perl is a little slower
and a little harder to
learn.
Getting started on the Mac
• Start a terminal session
• Type “python”
• This should start the Python interpreter
(often called “IDLE”)
• Print "Hello, world!" as below if your line starts
with '>>>' you are in
> python the interpreter
Python 2.6.4 (something something)
details something something
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license"
for more information.
>>> print "Hello, world!"
Hello, world!
The interpreter
• Try printing various things (in your spare time)
– Leave off the quotation marks.
– Print numbers, letters and combinations.
– Print two things, with a comma between them.
– Enter a mathematical formula.
– Leave off the word “print”.

• Use the interpreter to test syntax, or to try


commands that you’re not sure will work when
you run your program. You don't write
programs in the interpreter.
Your first program
• In your terminal, Ctrl-D out of the python interpreter.
• Type “pwd” to find your present working directory.
• Open TextWrangler.
• Create a file containing one line:
print “Hello, world!”
• Be sure that you end the line with enter.
• Save the file as “hello.py” in your present working
directory.
• In your terminal, type “python hello.py”
Notice that, once you
> python hello.py save the file with
“.py” as the
Hello, world! extension,
WordWrangler
(This tells the computer "use python to run the program hello.py".
automatically colors
the text according to
Yes, the result is somewhat anticlimactic.) the syntax.
Objects and types
• We use the term object to refer to any entity in a python program.
• Every object has an associated type, which determines the properties
of the object.
• Python defines six main types of built-in objects: notice the different
symbols used to
Number 10 or 2.71828 define types - quote,
bracket, parenthesis,
String “hello”
curly brace
List [1, 17, 44] or [“pickle”, “apple”, “scallop”]
Tuple (4, 5) or (“homework”, “exam”)
Dictionary {“food” : “something you eat”, “lobster” : “an edible arthropod”}
File we'll talk about this one later…

• Each type of object has its own properties, which we will learn about in
the next few weeks.
• It is also possible to define your own type of object, comprised of
combinations of the six base types.

a list of numbers a list of strings


Literals and variables
• A variable is simply a name in your program for an object.
• For example, we can assign the name “pi” to the Number
object 3.14159, as follows:

>>> pi = 3.14159 notice we are


back in the
>>> print pi interpreter
here
3.14159

• When we write out the object directly, it is a literal, as


opposed to when we refer to it by its variable name.
Above, 3.14159 is a literal, pi is a variable.
Assignment operator
>>> pi = 3.14159

The '=' means assign the value 3.14159 to the variable


pi. (it does NOT assert that pi equals 3.14159)

>>> pi = 3.14159
>>> print pi
3.14159
>>> pi = -7.2
>>> print pi you can see where
-7.2 "variable" comes from:
pi can be changed
The import command
Many python functions are available only via packages that must be
imported (other functions are always available - called built-in).
For example, the log function is in the math package:

>>> print log(10) foo and bar mean


Traceback (most recent call last): something-or-
File foo, line 1, in bar other-goes-here
NameError: name 'log' is not defined
>>> import math import the math package
>>> print math.log(10)
2.30258509299 use the log function in
the math package
>>> print log(10)
Traceback (most recent call last): for now don't worry about
File foo, line 1, in bar the details of the error
print log(10) message - just be aware that
this means there is an error
NameError: name 'log' is not defined in your program.
The command line
• To get information into a program, we can use the
command line.
• The command line is the text you enter after the
word “python” when you run a program.

python my-program.py 17

• The zeroth argument is the name of the program file.


• Arguments larger than zero are subsequent elements
of the command line, separated by spaces.

zeroth first
argument argument
Reading command line arguments
Access in your program like this:
import sys zeroth
print sys.argv[0] argument
print sys.argv[1] first
argument
> python my-program.py 17
my-program.py
17

There can be any number of arguments, accessed


by sequential numbers (sys.argv[2] etc).
Sample problem #1
• Write a program called “print-two-args.py” that reads
the first two command line arguments after the
program name, stores their values as variables, and
then prints them on the same line with a colon
between.
• Use the python interpreter for quick syntax tests if
you want.

> python print-two-args.py hello world


hello : world
Hint – to print multiple things on one line, separate them by commas:
>>> print 7, "pickles"
7 pickles
Solution #1
import sys
assign the first
arg1 = sys.argv[1] command line argument
to the variable arg1
arg2 = sys.argv[2]
print arg1, ":", arg2

print the value of print the literal


this variable string
Alternative solution #1

import sys
print sys.argv[1], ":", sys.argv[2]
Sample problem #2
• Write a program called “add-two-args.py”
that reads the first two command line
arguments after the program name, stores
their values as number variables, and then
prints their sum.
> python add-two-args.py 1 2
3.0
Hint - to read an argument as a decimal number, use the syntax:
foo = float(sys.argv[1]) The technical name for this is "casting" -
or for an integer number: the argument starts as a string object
and is cast to a float or int object (two
bar = int(sys.argv[1]) kinds of Number objects in Python).

Command line arguments always start as String objects


Solution #2
import sys
arg1 = float(sys.argv[1])
arg2 = float(sys.argv[2])
print arg1 + arg2

notice that this


expression gets evaluated
first, then printed
Alternative solution #2

import sys
arg1 = float(sys.argv[1])
arg2 = float(sys.argv[2])
argSum = arg1 + arg2
print argSum
Challenge problems
Write a program called “circle-area.py” that reads the
first command line argument as the radius of a circle
and prints the area of the circle.
> python circle-area.py 15.7
774.371173183

Do the same thing but read a second argument as the


unit type and include the units in your output.
> python circle-area2.py 3.721 cm
43.4979923683 square cm
Challenge solutions
import sys
radius = float(sys.argv[1])
print 3.1415 * radius * radius

(or slightly better)


the math package
import sys contains most simple
import math math constants and
radius = float(sys.argv[1]) functions that are
print math.pi * radius * radius not built in

the math constant pi


import sys
import math a literal string
radius = float(sys.argv[1])
units = sys.argv[2]
print math.pi * radius * radius, "square", units
Reading

• Chapter 1 of Think Python by Downey.


• Legal free PDF linked on web site.

You might also like