PYTHON:

THE NO-NONSENSE GUIDE

 
 
 

Learn Python Programming Within 12

Hours!
 
Cyberpunk University
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Hour 1: Getting Started with Python
1.1 What is Python?
1.2 Top Benefits of Learning Python Programming
1.3 Who is this book meant for?
1.4 Installing Python and Text Editor
1.4.1 Alternative Text Editors
1.5 Hello World! Your First Program
1.6 Running saved .py files
Hour 2: Variables, Strings and Basic Data Types
2.1 Variables
2.1.1 How to assign values to variables
2.1.2 Multiple variable assignments
2.2 Standard Data Types
2.2.1 Numbers
2.2.2 Strings
2.2.3 Lists
2.2.4 Tuples
2.2.5 Dictionaries
2.2.6 Comments
Hour 3: User Input, Basic Math, and Output
3.1 input ()
3.2 More Numbers
3.2.1 Number Type Conversion
3.2.2 Basic Math Operators
 3.2.3 Comparison Operators
3.2.4 Order of Operations
3.3 Output: Printing to the screen
Hour 4: If-Statements
4.1 Decision making
4.2 Single IF Statement
4.3 If… Else
4.4 Elif
4.5 Nested IF Statements
Hour 5: Loops
5.1 The while loop
5.1.1 Else Statement with While
5.2 The for loop
5.2.1 Else Statement with For Loop
5.4 Loop Control Statements
5.4.1 Pass statement
5.4.2 Break statement
5.4.3 Continue statement
5.5 Indentation
Hour 6: Functions
6.1 Defining a Function
6.2 Calling a Function
6.3 Time-saving functions
6.4 Pass by reference vs. value
6.5 Function Arguments
6.5.1 Required arguments
6.5.2 Keyword arguments
6.5.3 Default arguments
 6.5.4 Variable-length arguments
6.6 The return Statement
Hour 7: Dictionaries
7.1 Keys and Values of the Dictionary
7.2 Accessing Values in Dictionary
7.3 Updating the Dictionary
7.3.1 Modifying Dictionary Elements
7.3.2 Deleting Dictionary Elements
7.4 Properties of Dictionary Keys
7.5 Built-in Dictionary Functions and Methods
Hour 8: Classes
8.1 Overview of Terminologies used in OOP
8.2 Creating Classes
8.3 Creating Instance Objects
8.4 Accessing and Working with Attributes
8.5 Built-In Class Attributes
8.6 Class Inheritance
8.7 Overriding Methods
8.8 Overloading Operators
Hour 9: Files and Exceptions
9.1 Reading and Writing Files
9.1.1 The read() Method
9.1.2 The write() Method
9.2 File Positions
9.3 Renaming and Deleting Files
9.3.1 Renaming files using the rename() method
9.3.2 Deleting files using the remove() method
9.4 File and Directory Related Methods
Hour 10: Errors and Exceptions
10.1 Exception Handling
10.1.1 Table of Standard Exceptions
10.1.2 Exception Handling Syntax
10.2 Assertions
10.2.1 The asset statement
Hour 11: Testing Your Code
11.1 General rules of testing Python code
11.2 unittest
11.3 Doctest
11.4 Tools
11.4.1 py.test
11.4.2 Nose
11.4.3 tox
11.4.4 Unittest2
11.4.5 mock
Hour 12: Conclusion & Further Reading
Links
Tools
Course
Websites and Tutorials
Interactive Tools and Lessons
Introduction
You have made the right first stride towards becoming a
hobbyist or a professional programmer using Python, one of
the most widely used programming language on computers
today. First off, welcome to a presentation of Cyberpunk
University. Thank you for investing in this eBook, and we
hope you will follow through it to learn how to develop your
coding skills and become a Python programmer with ease
within just days.
This eBook is structured into 12 practical chapters that take
roughly an hour to do. We have designed the content of the
book to be easy to follow for both complete beginners to
programming and those with knowledge of other
programming languages or have been introduced to Python
partially before. The over 50 exercises distributed over the
12 hours of the course duration are an excellent way to get
started learning to master all the essentials about Python.
Cyberpunk University is committed to producing content
that helps learners discover their coding skills and to learn
processes that make it easy for them to think of solutions to
daily human problems. Many other programming books are
coming in the future so be sure to check our catalog and get
the chance to learn even more ways to write programs in
different languages that computers can understand.
To help you get the most out of this book we have created
the FREE “Cyberpunk Python Whizz Kit”. The Kit contains an
awesome cheat sheet to help you program as fast as
possible and we’ve also included ALL the exercises from this
book in python files. You can use them however you want.
  
DOWNLOAD THE FREE WHIZZ KIT
HERE:
CYBERPUNK PYTHON WHIZZ KIT
Hour 1: Getting Started with Python
Whether this is your initial foray into the world of
programming, or you are learning Python to expand your
programming skills set with a new language, you have come
to the right place.
Every programmer has a story about they got into
programming and what the first program they wrote was.
This book is intended for complete beginners in the world of
programming and Python in particular. We hope it will be
useful enough for you to remember it when you tell the
story of your path to being a successful professional or
hobbyist programmer in the future.
This book focuses more on the practical aspects of writing
code in Python. You do not need external resources to
master the basics of Python programming, although some
people find extensive researching even more useful. If you
are a beginner in programming, I would recommend that
you follow this guide exactly as instructed and only venture
to wider research and practice after you understand the
concepts each exercise it teaches. This will help prevent the
confusion that arises from taking instructions from different
sources.
This book is structured to guide you learn the essential
basics of Python programming in 12 hours, each chapter
representing an hour of code.
1.1 What is Python?
Everyone today knows what a computer is and understand
why programmers are responsible for computers (including
machines, Smartphone, cars, planes, etc.) doing what we
‘command’ them to. By learning to program computers, you
have chosen to join the millions of programmers who strive
to make life easier by writing programs in a computer
language that instruct machines what to do. Python is one
of these programs.
We can define Python as a very popular high-level, general-
purpose, interpreted, and dynamic programming language
that is very easy to learn. The design philosophy of Python
focuses on code readability, and its syntax makes it easy for
programmers to express the concepts in a computer
program in fewer lines of code compared to other popular
languages such as Java and C++.
1.2 Top Benefits of Learning Python
Programming
Python is a general-purpose programming language. This
means when you become a Python programmer, you can
build just about anything from website back-end and
artificial intelligence systems to desktop apps and robotic
programs.
Because of its code readability, Python is a very easy to
understand language and can be a perfect Launch pad for
individuals hoping to go ahead and learn other more
advanced languages. The language is governed by flexible
rules, it offers limitless career opportunities to those who
master it as a skill, and to put it simply, Python is the
programming language of the future.
There is also a very vibrant and active support community
with ready answers to all questions and concerns you may
have during and after learning the basics. StackOverflow
and Github are the best examples. The Python community is
always willing to share meaning that most tools and libraries
you will need to make your work easy will be just a simple
search away.
1.3 Who is this book meant for?
To make use of this book, you must meet a few
requirements:
1. Python is a cross-platform language. You must have
a computer running Windows, Mac, or Linux
operating system.
2. You must pay attention to detail. What typically
separates good programs from bad ones is how
meticulous they are in recognizing every element in
the code, from a comma to space, and making sure
every character is in its place.
3. You must have basic computer skills. This means
you should be able to download and install a
program, type, manipulate files on your computer,
and know how to read and write (duh!).
1.4 Installing Python and Text Editor
Installing Python is simple. The most recent version of
Python (Python 3.5 at the time of publication of this guide)
is often included in many UNIX and Linux distributions.
Step 1: On your browser, go to www.python.org.  Hover
your pointer over the Download button and click Python
3.5.2 to download for your operating system. You will also
need to know whether your operating system is 32-bit or 64-
bit to download the correct version.

Fig 1.1 Downloading Python

If you need assistance at this point there is an invaluable

resource for beginners here:
https://wiki.python.org/moin/BeginnersGuide.
You will also notice there are two versions of Python
available for download: an older version 2.7.12 and the
newer version 3.5. You can download and use either but in
this book, we will be using Python 3.5.2. The beginner's
guide above explains the difference between the two.
Step 2: Wait for the download to complete then run the
installation.
 Fig 1.2: Installing Python

By default, Python installs to a directory on root with a name

with version number embedded. For instance, if you are
using Windows, your program should install in C:\Python35-
32\. You can change install location by clicking ‘Customize
installation’.
Step 3: Check the ‘Add Python 3.5 to PATH’ option and
complete the installation. Leave all other options as they
are.
Once an installation is complete, you will be able to write
Python code as instructed in this book and run the code
using an interactive interpreter that it is bundled with your
installation. With the interpreter, you will be able to type
commands line by line and see it run when you press enter.
You can start the Python Shell by clicking on the Python IDLE
shortcut. It should be placed on the desktop, dock or start
menu. You should see something like this:
 Fig 1.3 Python Shell

Step 4: Create a folder inside the Python installation

location to save your Python programs and name it ‘Exfiles.'
If you followed the instructions during setup and installed
Python in C:\Python35-32\, then your practice files will be
saved in C:\Python35-32\Exfiles\. It is very important you
note the path of this folder because we will be using it a lot
in executing scripts in the course of the book

1.4.1 Alternative Text Editors

A good text editor is a must-have accessory if you look
forward to being a good developer. Most text editors
available on the internet have all the necessary tools you
need to create and manage code, write down notes or just
enjoy a distraction-free coding. You cannot use word
processors such as MS Word to write your code. The top 5
text editors with a free version that you can download and
try are:
Sublime Text (My favorite)
Notepad++
Vim (and its variations)
Atom
Text Wrangler (for Mac).
Personally, I prefer Sublime Text. For this course, you can
use Notepad++ if you want a simple but powerful editor
that you can get used to.
1.5 Hello World! Your First Program
To write your first program:
1. Start Python Shell or switch to the Python IDLE you
started in step 3 above.
2. Type the following exactly as it appears, including,
and especially, the text case:
print (“Hello World!”)

Fig 1.4 Hello World!

Press Enter.
This is what you should see:
 
 Fig 1.5 Hello World!

Save the file as HelloWorld.py in the ‘ExFiles’ directory you

created during setup. Save the file by clicking ‘File’ then
‘Save As.' Remember to enter the filename including the
‘.py.' extension each time. In this case, name your file
“helloworld.py” then click ‘Save.'
Congratulations! You are now a Python Programmer!
1.6 Running saved .py files
As I mentioned in Exercise 1, Python scripts are stored with
an extension .py. Throughout this book, you will follow
coding instructions and save files in a text editor before you
can run them, unlike in exercise 1 where we used IDLE. In
this section, I will show you how to run the Hello World!
program you saved to show you what to do in every other
exercise in this book.
To run the python scripts you will create during this course,
and you will need to learn a few things about the command
line. The instructions are pretty much the same for all
platforms – Windows Power Shell and Linux and Mac
Terminals.
Step 1: Start the command terminal (Powershell/Terminal)
and type Python. On Mac, place a shortcut to your terminal
on the dock for easier access.
In Windows, the Command Prompt should look like this:

Fig 1.6: Windows Command Prompt

Step 2: You can run Python by typing the word Python on
your command line. Try it.
To quit python and return to the terminal program, press
Ctrl+Z (^Z) or type the command exit().
Step 3: To run a Python script you saved in ExFiles folder,
you will learn to go to the directory on the command line.
First, quit python by pressing Ctrl+Z or using the exit()
command then type “cd..” and press to move a level up and
again till you are on the root of your drive.
Step 4: Change directory to ExFiles by typing “cd
C:\Python35-32\ExFiles\”
Step 5: To run the helloworld.py script you saved in ExFiles,
while on the terminal, type:
Python helloworld.py
You will be using this process to execute the Python exercise
scripts you will write while we progress with this course. Do
not worry if it looks complicated, you will get used to these
steps.
Hour 2: Variables, Strings and Basic
Data Types
This hour, we will learn the basics of what makes up a
program script.
2.1 Variables
Variables are reserved memory spaces that store values.
Simply put, when you create a variable, you reserve some
memory space to store certain data when the program is
executed.
The Python interpreter determines the memory be allocated
and the data to be stored in it depending on the values you
assign the variables. By assigning different data types to the
variables, the interpreter reserves spaces for integers,
numbers with decimals, or text characters.

2.1.1 How to assign values to variables

Variables are automatically declared when you assign a
value to a variable using the equal sign (=) such that
variable = value. For instance, in my_age=22, the variable
called “my_age” has a value of 22.
Ex1
Start your editor and enter the following Python code. Be
careful not to miss the commas or misspell the variable
names.
#Ex1

product_ID = 10 #Integer variable assignment

product_price = 2.5 #float variable assignment

product_name = “Soda” #String variable assignment

 

print (product_ID)

print (product_price)

print (product_name)
 
In this exercise, you assigned the variables product_ID,
product_price, and product_name different values then
commanded the interpreter to display those values using
print. If you get an error, check and re-check your spelling
and commas and ensure everything is EXACTLY as it
appears. The result should look like this when you run
Ex1.py script:

Do not worry about the types of assignments. We will

discuss them later in the book.

2.1.2 Multiple variable assignments

When dealing with several related variables, you can assign
one value to several variables simultaneously e.g.
x=y=z=2
 
In this example, the integer value 2 is created and the
variables x, y and z memory locations are assigned to the
integer value. You can also assign multiple variables
different values at a go. For example, in Ex1, we could have
easily assigned the variables as follows:
product_ID, product_price, product_name = 10, 2.5, “Soda”

 
The variables product_ID, product_price, and product_name
are assigned values 10, 2.5, and “Soda” respectively.
Edit the code in Ex1 to assign the variables values as shown
above then save the .py file and run it on the terminal. Does
the program behave the same?
2.2 Standard Data Types
Python has five standard types of data that define
operations that can be carried out on them as well as how
they are stored in memory. They five data types we will
cover in this section are:
Numbers
Strings
Lists
Tuples
Dictionary
Comments

2.2.1 Numbers
Numbers are essentially numeric values that are created
when a value is assigned to them. For instance, when you
create a variable my_age and assign it a value of 22, the
number 22 is created. There are three different types of
numbers you will be working with:
Integers (int) – These are long integers e.g. 1, -12, 02.00,
372, 18374, -1862, -0x260, 100000,
Floats (float) – These are numbers with decimal points e.g.
1.0, 0.5, -734.2, 13.90201, 32.3+e18, -32.54e100, 0490
Complex – These are numbers with ordered pairs of real
floating-point numbers written x + yj where j is an
imaginary unit. How complex do 3.14j, 45.j, 9.322e-36j,
876j, -.6545+0J, 3e+26J, 4.53e-7j look?
In the next chapter, we will dive deeper into numbers and
even use various operators to manipulate them.
2.2.2 Strings
Think of these as plain characters within single or double
quotation marks. A string is created by enclosing text and
numbers in either single or double quotes and can be
declared with a star. You will get to use strings a lot.
Ex2
#Ex2

str1 = "Hello World!"

print (str1) #Displays the entire string contents

print (str1[0]) #Displays the first character in a string

print (str1[2:]) #Displays from the 3rd character in a string

print (str1*3) #Displays the string content 3 times

print (str1[1:3]) #Displays characters 2 to 4 in a string

print ("Testing", str1) #Displays a concatenated string.

 
Start Python Shell and enter the following string operations
to see what they do:
Here is what you should see when you run the script.
Hello World!
H
llo World!

Hello World!Hello World!Hello World!

el

Testing Hello World!

2.2.3 Lists
A list contains separate items enclosed within square
brackets [ ] and are separated by commas. The values on a
list can be accessed using the same slice operators [ ] and
[:] just like with strings. Also, just as with strings, the + sign
is the concatenation while the * is the repletion operation
symbol.
Ex3
Start your code editor and enter the following code as it
appears:
#Ex3

fruits_list = ["oranges", "bananas", "peaches", "mangoes"]

vegs_list = ["kales", "cabbages"]

 
print (fruits_list) #Displays the entire fruits_list list
print (fruits_list[0]) #Displays the first item in the list

print (fruits_list[2:4]) #Displays items 3 through 5 in the list

print (vegs_list * 3) #Displays the list three times

print (fruits_list[1:]) #Displays item 2 onwards

print (fruits_list[:2]) #Displays all items to the third

print (vegs_list + fruits_list) #Displays concatenated lists

 
When you run the script above, the result should look like
this:
2.2.4 Tuples
Tuples are a lot like lists in that they are a collection of
sequential data. A tuple is made up of values separated by
commas and enclosed in parentheses (). The main
difference between lists and tuples (besides one using
square brackets and the other parentheses) is that the
items defined in a list can be changed (updated) while those
in tuples cannot. Most operations on tuples are similar to
those of lists.
Ex4
#Ex4

tup_1 = (‘London’, 2017, ‘$20.00’, 5.2, “x”)

tup_2 = (60,”magic”,2017,”5.0”)

print (tup_1[0], tup_2)

print (tup_2, tup1[1:3])

print (tup_2*2)

 
Like strings and lists, tuple indexes start at 0 and can be
concatenated, sliced, and so on.
2.2.5 Dictionaries
In Python, a dictionary is a kind of hash table type that
works like associative arrays with key-value pairs enclosed
in curly braces { }. A dictionary can have almost any type of
data but typically it contains numbers and strings. Values
are often any arbitrary Python objects.
Ex5
Dictionaries
#Ex5
foods = {"fruit" : "apple", "vegetable" : "kale", "meat" : "beef", "carb" :
"cereal"}

print (foods)

print (foods["vegetable"])

 
Dictionaries do not have any concept of order when it
comes to elements and can be said to be “out of order” or
simply “unordered”. In hour 7, we will look at dictionaries
more exhaustively.

2.2.6 Comments
Comments are not particularly a data type, but every
programming language needs them because they are
essential to human developers. Comments, denoted with
the hash character (#), are used to tell the human reader
what a particular code means or does in plain language.
They are also used to disable parts of the program when
you need to remove them temporarily. The best example of
using comments is demonstrated in Ex3. Note that Python
ignores everything in a line of code beginning with the #. In
fact, your text editor should color comments differently to
show you what the interpreter will ignore.
Hour 3: User Input, Basic Math, and
Output
Every computer program is written to solve a problem, and
as such, it must accept some form of input from the user. In
most cases, the input is through the keyboard. For this
purpose, Python provides the input() function to enter data.
The prompt string is an optional input parameter you will
learn about later.
3.1 input ()
When you use input(), the program flow will stop until the
user enters the expected data and press enter when the
input function is called. The input text will be displayed on
the screen.
The input the user enters is returned as a string without
modification. Other functions such as casting and eval that
you will learn later are used to transform the data into a
different depending on the purpose of the program and
variables declared.
Ex6
Input
Write the following code:
#Ex6

name = input("What is your name: ")

age = input("How old are you?: ")

location = input("Where do you live?: ")

print ("You are ", name, "from", location, "and you are", age, "years old.")

 
Save the script in your practice files folder and run it. This is
what you should see:
name = input("What is your name: ")

What is your name: John

age = input("How old are you?: ")

How old are you?: 22

location = input("Where do you live?: ")

Where do you live?: London

print ("You are ", name, "from", location, "and you are", age, "years old.")

You are John from London and you are 22 years old.
3.2 More Numbers
Considering that numbers are immutable data types,
changing the value of an assigned number data type will
result in a newly allocated object. This also means that
when assign a value to a number object, a new one is
created. For instance:
distance = 100
time = x = 6

x = int(input (“Time in seconds: ”))

speed = distance / time

 
Example 3.2
In the above example, the value that the user enters will
replace the value of x which is 6.
 

3.2.1 Number Type Conversion

Before you can begin working with the different types of
numbers you are already familiar with, you must know how
to convert from one type to another. The most typical
conversion is converting strings to integers and floats and
converting between floats and integers. These are what you
need to know now.
In example 3.2, because the user input is a string by
default, we used int() to convert it to an integer before we
can use it to calculate speed. Python converts expressions
with mixed data types internally. The expressions employed
in the conversion are:
To convert x to a plain integer type int(x)
To convert x to a floating-point number type
float(x)
To convert x to a complex number with real part
x type complex(x)

3.2.2 Basic Math Operators

Every programming language needs to have a way of
calculating numbers and math to make it useful. This
section deals a lot about symbols. You are probably already
familiar with the operation symbols you will use to carry out
comparisons and calculations because they are standard:
+ plus (add)
- minus (subtract)
/ slash (divide)
* asterisk (multiply)
< less than
> greater than
<= less than or equal
>= greater than or equal
% percent
Ex7
Let us use these symbols in this exercise. Code the following
script
#Ex7
print ("Now I will count my fruits")
 
mangoes = 6 + 8 + 2

apples = 9 / 3 + 1
peaches = 4 * 3 - 2

 
print ("Mangoes", mangoes)
print ("Apples", apples)

print ("Peaches", peaches)

 

print ("How many fruits have I eaten?")

mangoes_left = int(input ("How many mangoes are left?"))

apples_left = int(input ("How many apples are left?"))

peaches_left = int(input ("How many peaches are left?"))
 

#Now let us calculate the number of fruits eaten

mangoes_eaten = mangoes - mangoes_left

apples_eaten = apples - apples_left

peaches_eaten = peaches - peaches_left

 
print ("You have eaten ", mangoes_eaten, "mangoes,", apples_eaten, "apples,
and ", peaches_eaten, "peaches.")

 
In this exercise, first we use random numbers to calculate
how many fruits we have then we display the result. The
program then prompts for input (integers) of the number of
fruits left which it uses to calculate how many we have
eaten. Follow each line of code to understand what it does
and where you could improve fully.
3.2.3 Comparison Operators
So far we have looked at and used mathematical operators.
Python allows you to compare values on either side of an
equation and decides how they relate. Here is a breakdown
of these relational operators:
The condition becomes true if the (x ==
== equal
values of two operands are equal y)
The condition becomes true if the
not
!= values of two operands are not (x != y)
equal
equal
The condition becomes true if the
Greater
> value of the left operand is (x > y)
than
greater than that of the right
The condition becomes true if the
Less
< value of the left operand is less (x < y)
than
than that of the right
Greater The condition becomes true if the
(x >=
>= than or value of the left operand is equal
y)
equal to or greater than of the right
Less The condition becomes true if the
(x <=
<= than or value on the left operand is equal
y)
equal to or less than that of the right
 
Ex8
#Ex8

#Program to determine whether a shape is a rectangle or a square and

calculate its area and perimeter.

height = float(input("Enter the height of the shape: "))

length = float(input("Enter the width of the shape: "))

 

if (height == length):

shape = "square"
else:

shape = "rectangle"

 
area = (height * length)

perimeter = ((length + height)*2)

 
print ("The shape is a", shape, "with an area of ", area, "and perimeter of ",
perimeter)

 
 
Can you change the data types for height and length to
integer and see what answers you get?
Precedence Operation Definition
Highest () Anything in parentheses is
computed first.
  ** Exponentiation
  -x, +x Negation
  *, /, %, // Multiplication, division,
modulo,
  +, - Addition, subtraction
  <, >, <=, relational operators
>=, !=, ==
  not Logical
  and Logical
Lowest or Logical

3.2.4 Order of Operations

It is a good practice always to indicate the order of
operations when writing expressions in Python using
parentheses (). If you do not, Python applies the standard
order of operations you know from Algebra and Geometry in
high school. Mathematical operations are evaluated in this
PEMDAS order:
Ex9
#Ex9
#Example 1

x = 87 / 3 * 2 - 7 + 6

#1. 87 / 3 = 29
#2. 29 * 2 = 58

#3. 58 + 6 = 64

#4. 64 - 7 = 57
print ("89/3*2-4+6=", x)

#Example 2
x=9+5/3*3

#1. 9 / 3 = 3

#2. 3 * 3 = 9

#3. 9 + 5 = 14
print ("9+5/3*3=", x)

#Example 3

x = 12 % 2 + 8 / 2 * 3
#Explain how this operation is carried out and check your answer

print ("12%2+8/2*3=", x)

#Example 4

x = (8 - 12) - 10 * 4
#Explain how this operation is carried out and check your answer

print ("(8-12)-10*4=", x)

#Example 5
x = 21 / 3 % 4 * 2 ** 3

#Explain how this operation is carried out and check your answer
 print ("21/3%4*2**3=", x)

 
3.3 Output: Printing to the screen
The most straightforward way to output information is by
using the print() statement. It passes none to multiple
expressions separated by commas or combined by a plus
sign (+) to display. This statement converts expressions into
a string and displays the result as a standard output like
this:
Ex10
#Ex10
print ("Python is an amazing language, isn't it?")

 
string1 = "yes"

string2 = "it is"

 
print (string1, string2, ".")

print (string1+string2+".")

 
When you run this script, this is what will be displayed on
your terminal screen:
C:\Python35-32\Exfiles>python Ex10.py

Python is an amazing language, isn't it?

yes it is .
yesit is.

 
Have you noticed any difference in how the output is spaced
when you use comma or plus symbol to combine strings of
text?
Hour 4: If-Statements
When you need a program you are writing to do something
20 times, you will not force the user to repeat instructions
20 times, you use iteration.
Iteration is when you write a code that tells the computer to
repeat a task defined between two points until a certain
condition is met.
Ex11
#Ex11
#This is a program to determine which fruits are more based on user input.

oranges = int(input("Enter the number of mangoes: "))

apples = int(input("Enter the number of apples: "))

 

if oranges < apples: #Checks if oranges are fewer than apples

print ("There are more apples than oranges.")

 

if oranges > apples: #Checks if oranges are more than apples

print ("There are more oranges than apples.")

 

if (oranges == apples): #Checks if the number of apples and oranges are

equal

print ("There are as many oranges as apples.")

4.1 Decision making
A computer program is essentially a set of instructions that
guide it from the start to finish. Introducing an IF statement
alters the linear start-to-finish plot of the program, allowing
the program to make decisions and change the way it
works. Here is a graphical representation of how the If
statement affects how your code runs:
 

Fig 4: If decision flow chart

Ex12
Here is a simple exercise to determine whether a number a
user enters is positive or negative.
#Ex12

num = int(input("Enter a positive or negative number: "))

if num > 0:

print ("The number is a positive number!")

if num < 0:
 print ("The number is a negative number!")

 
This if statement includes a Boolean text condition
expression. If the result of the test returns true, the print
block of code is executed. If the test returns a false, the
block is ignored.
4.2 Single IF Statement
If you write a block of code that consists of only one IF
statement, it is acceptable to put the code condition in the
same line as the header statement. For example:
num = 100

if (num == 100): print (“The value of num is 100!”)

4.3 If… Else
We can use If…Else when we need to have a block of code
executed even when the Boolean test returns a negative. In
Exercise 12, you will see how the block of code is executed
as presented in fig 4.
Ex13
#Ex13
#A Program to determine the rate of discount based on price

price = int(input("Enter the price of the item: "))

 
if price < 100:

discount = (price * 0.05)

print ("The discount is ", discount)

else:

discount = (price * 0.1)

print ("The discount is ", discount)

 

print ("You will pay ", price - discount, "in total.")

 
In this exercise, the program asks the user to enter the price
of an item then calculates the discount it qualifies for based
on the price (5% for items worth less than 100 and 10% for
the rest) then displays the discount and the final price of the
item.
4.4 Elif
A step from the If…else statement is the Elif. As you may
have guessed already, Elif is essentially a combination of
Else and If in one statement. This statement allows the
program to check multiple expressions and executes a block
of code when one of the conditions returns TRUE. If all the
conditions are FALSE, the block of code will be ignored.
Unlike If… Else which can only have one statement, Elif
allows an arbitrary number of Elif statements following If.
Ex14
#Ex14

#Program to determine the rate of discount based on price

price = int(input("Enter the price of the item: "))

 

if price < 100:

discount = (price * 0.05)

print ("The discount is ", discount)

elif price < 500:

discount = (price * 0.1)

print ("The discount is ", discount)

 
elif price < 1000:

discount = (price * 0.2)

print ("The discount is ", discount)

else:
discount = (price * 0.25)
 print ("The discount is ", discount)

print ("The final price of the item is ", price - discount)

 
4.5 Nested IF Statements
In situations where you want to write a program that checks
for another condition after a condition is resolved to be True,
you can use a nested IF construct. The nested if has the If…
Elif…. Else construct within other If… Elif… Else constructs.
Ex15
#Ex15
#A program to check if a number is divisible by 3 and 2

num = int(input("Enter a number to check divisibility: "))

 
if num % 2 == 0:

if num % 3 == 0:

print ("Divisible by 2 and 3")

else:

print ("Divisible by 2 not by 3")

else:
if num % 3 == 0:

print ("Divisible by 3 not by 2")

else:
print ("Not divisible by 2 not by 3")

 
Run the code above and leave comments to understand
how this construct works.
Hour 5: Loops
In the last chapter, we saw how the If statement could be an
incredibly useful tool in writing a program with conditions to
check. However, the If statement and its variations have a
problem in that they are one-time operation statements.
As an example, picture a password entry screen. When an If
is used, the user can only enter a correct or incorrect
password without the option to return to the previous screen
if the password is wrong.
Loops have almost the same type of functionality as the If
statements except with the advantage of being able to
repeat a block of code until you break the cycle. In the
example above, with a good loop statement, the user would
be taken back to the password screen when they enter an
incorrect password instead of just ending the program. A
loop can take the user back to the input statement to start a
process over.
 

Fig 5: Loop
5.1 The while loop
A while loop statement repeatedly executes a statement or
a block of indented code as long as a given condition is true.
Let us begin this section with a simple program. Write the
following code and run it, then try to understand what is
happening:
Ex16
#Ex16

x=0
 

while (x < 10):

    x = x + 1

    print (x)

 
You should see a result like this when you run Ex16.py
script:
1

2
3

7
8

10

 
Here is an explanation of what this short code does:
x=0 #x now equals 0

while (x < 10): #As long as the value of x is less than 10, do this:
    x = x + 1 #Add 1 to the value of x

    print (x) #Display the new value of x and return to first indent.

To put it in a simple language you will remember, this is how

you write the While loop:
while [enter the condition that the loop proceeds]:
[what is done in the loop]

[what is done in the loop]

[the code here will not be looped because it is not indented.]

 
Ex17
#Ex17

#Countdown from x to 0

 
x = int(input("Enter a value between 1 and 10: "))

 
while x != 0:

print (x)
x=x-1

print ("The countdown is at ", x)

print ("Countdown ended at 0")

 
Use # comments to explain what each line of the code
above does.
5.1.1 Else Statement with While
The Else that we used with IF statement is also used when
working with loops. When the Else statement is used with
the While loop, the statement after it is excluded when the
statement returns Boolean value false.
In the next exercise, you will use Else with the While
statement to understand how it works.
Ex18
#Ex18
#Countdown from any number greater than 3
x = int(input("Enter a number greater than 3: "))

 
while x > 3:

x=x-1
print ("The count is ", x)

else:
print ("The count is less than 3")

 
It is advisable that you use the while loop sparingly while
developing Python programs. The for loop that we will look
at next is the more preferred loop to use in most situations.
5.2 The for loop
The For loop requires some repeatable objects like a set or
list to execute a sequence of statements and abbreviate the
code that handles the loop variable.
Example:
x = range (0, 10)

for count in x:
    print (count)

 
The output of this code will look a lot like that in Ex14, yet
the program code is very different. The first line introduces
the range function which uses two arguments in the format
range(start, finish) with start and finish being the first and
last numbers in range.
Another way we could have written that code is:
for x in range(10):

    print (x)

 
The range() function allows the program to access a set of
items efficiently. It executes a loop that runs a fixed number
of times when used with the For statement. When the Start
value is not declared, the program index begins at 0.
Ex19
#Ex19

fruits = ["Apples", "Mangoes", "Peaches", "Oranges", "Bananas"]

for fruit in fruits:

 print (fruit)

 
As we saw earlier, the For statement is an iterator based
loop that steps through items in a list, tuples, string, or
dictionary keys and other iterable data structures. In this
case, the program assigns the list in fruits variable indexes
beginning at 0 and follows a sequence of the items in this
syntax:
for <variable> in <sequence>:

<statements>

5.2.1 Else Statement with For Loop

Just like with the while loop, we can use Else with the For
loop. In this case, the else statement is executed when the
For loop has exhausted iterating the list of items. Note that
the else statement in the For loop is only executed when the
For loop terminates normally and not when it encounters a
break (discussed below).
The syntax takes this form:
for <variable> in <sequence>:

<statements>
else:
<statements>

 
Ex20
#Ex20
numbers=[1,3,45,49,48,69,37,21,71,41,31]

 
for num in numbers:
 if num %2 == 0:
print ("The list contains an even number")
break

else:
print ("The list does not contain even numbers")

 
Find out what happens when you edit out the even number
48 in the numbers list above and run the code.
The program should display “The list does not contain even
numbers.”
5.4 Loop Control Statements
When you want to change execution from a normal
sequence in a loop, you use loop control statements. Python
supports pass, break, and continue loop control statements.
Let us explore what purpose each of these statements
serves.

5.4.1 Pass statement

When a statement is required to syntactically change the
execution of a loop without the use of code or command,
the pass statement is what you would use. It is a null
operation, which means that nothing happens when it is
executed. The pass statement is very useful in situations
where the code will eventually run but its condition has not
yet been met.
Ex21
#Ex21

numbers = [3,5,2,7,0,4,3,8,10]

for number in numbers:

if number == 0:

pass

print ("Pass 0")

print ("Current number is: ", number)

print ("Bye!")

5.4.2 Break statement

The break statement terminates the loop and transfers the
next execution to the statement immediately following the
loop. This statement is used for premature termination of a
loop. After the loop is abandoned, the execution of the next
statement is resumed.
Here is a flow diagram showing how the broken syntax
works in Python.

Fig 6: How the break statement works in a loop

The most common use of the break statement us when an

external condition that requires a hasty exit is triggered. The
break statement, used in both For and While loops, also
stops the execution of the innermost loop in a nested loop
and begins executing the next line following the block of
code.
Ex22
#Ex22
age = int(input("How old are you? "))

dob = 2017 - age

counter = 1

 
while age < 0 or age >130:
print ("Attempt {0}: Age not valid.".format(counter))
 age = int(input("How old are you? "))
counter = counter + 1
if counter >=5:

age = 0
break

print ("You used {0} chances to enter your age.".format(counter))

if age == 0:
print ("You have failed to enter a valid age.")

else:
print ("You are aged {0}. You were born in ".format(age), dob )

 
In this exercise, the program expects the user to enter
his/her age in years and only allows five attempts. The age
must be between 0 and 130. The counter records the
number of invalid entries, and when it gets to 5, it sets the
age as 0 and breaks the loop. When the loop is broken, the
very next print statement is executed. If the circuit is not
broken, the block after Else is run.

5.4.3 Continue statement

The continue statement causes the loop to skip the
remaining part of the block of code and immediately retests
the condition before the reiteration.
 
 Fig 7: Chart of the Continue statement in a loop.

This statement can be used in both for and while loops.

Ex23
#Ex23
while True:

num = int(input("Enter a positive number to proceed or 0 to exit: "))

if num < 0:
print ("Please enter a positive number only.")

continue

elif num == 0:
print ("Exiting program...")

break

num_cube = (num ** 3)

print ("The cube of {0} is {1}.".format (num, num_cube))

print ("Operation completed.")

 
This exercise combines the continue and break loop control
expressions, albeit in different blocks of code. Can you
explain what they do?
5.5 Indentation
For a code you write to be executed right, all the conditions
must be met, including proper indentation. This is
particularly important when it comes to loops and iteration.
For instance, to loop five lines of code using the while loop,
all the five lines must be indented by four spaces or one tab
about the beginning of the loop statement.
This is a vital programming practice no matter what
language you use. Python requires that you properly indent
your code, otherwise your program will encounter errors. In
the example below, notice how uniform the indentation is
and try to figure out which lines are related.
Ex24
#Ex24

x = int(input("Enter a number to test: "))

 
while x > 0:

print (x)

if x > 5:

print ("The number is greater than 5.")

elif x % 2 == 0:

print ("This is an even number.")

print ("It is also 5 or smaller.")

else:

print ("This number is greater than 5.")

print ("It is also an odd number.")

x=x-1
print ("The value of x is now less by 1.")
print ("The number is greater than 0!")
Hour 6: Functions
If you are new to software development, you will be
surprised by just how much source code of a program is
general and re-usable. Copy-pasting is a very common
practice in programming because many functions are
similar and instead of re-inventing the wheel each time you
write a program, you can just use what someone else has
invented.
These include verifying that certain numbers or data types
are acceptable if a string fits a particular requirement, or
that a print statement works well with a general data
structure.
In python, the section of code you would copy whole
because it runs independently is called a function. We can
define a function as a block of organized and reusable code
that performs a single distinct but related action. Functions
make your code modular and reusable. Python provides a
built-in function such as print (“”), but you will also learn to
create yours, called user-defined functions.
6.1 Defining a Function
Here are five simple rules you must follow when defining
functions in Python:
1. A function block begins with the keyword def
followed by the name of the function and
parentheses ().
2. The first statement in a function can be an optional
statement such as doc string or the documentation
string of the function.
3. The code block within the function is indented and
begins with a colon (:)
4. Use return [expression] to exit a function, with the
option to pass back the expression to the caller.
5. If the function has arguments or input parameters,
they should be placed within the parentheses.
Parameters can also be defined inside the
parentheses.
 
 
Without specifying functions, your code would be very
repetitive and clumsy. Programmers do not like to
repeat things when they do not have to, and
considering computers were made just to handle
repetitive tasks; it is expected that you use functions to
minimize it.
Syntax
def functionname(parameters):
"function_docstring"

function_suite

return [expression]
 
Parameters have a positional behavior by default and should
be informed in the same order they are defined.
numbers = input("Enter two numbers separated by a comma: ")
list = numbers.split(",")

highest = max (list)

print ("The highest value is ", highest)

 
In the above example, we use an inbuilt function called max
that finds the maximum value from two or more numbers.
This program asks the user to enter several numbers
separated by commas then creates a list out of them. The
max function finds the maximum number and assigns
variable highest before displaying it.
In Ex25, our task is to define our own function to replace
Max above. We will call it MyMax.
Ex25
#Ex25
def MyMax (firstnumber, secondnumber):

if firstnumber > secondnumber:

return firstnumber

else:
return secondnumber

 
numbers = input("Enter two numbers separated by a comma: ")
list = numbers.split(",")

 
firstnumber = list[0]
secondnumber = list[1]
 
result = MyMax(firstnumber, secondnumber)

print (result, "is the greater of the two numbers.")

6.2 Calling a Function
When you define a function, you give it a name and specify
the parameters that are required for the function to run as
well as the structures of its code. After you finalize the basic
structure of the function, you will be able to execute it by
calling it directly from the Python prompt or another
function.
Ex26
#Ex26
def cubed(x):

    y = x ** 3
    return y

a = int(input("Enter a number to cube: "))

result = cubed(a)

print ("The result of ", str(a), " cubed is ", str(result))

 
In Ex26, just after the return statement, the program asks
the user to enter a number to find a cube for. The number a
is ‘cubed‘ as per the cubed function we defined and its
result, which is represented by y in the function, is printed
out as a string.
You can substitute the expression return with any Python
expression and even avoid creating the variable y to
represent the answer to leave on return x ** 3 and the
program will work just the same (try it).
However, it is a good programming practice to use
temporary variables such as y in our defined function to
make it easy to debug the program later. Such temporary
variables are called local variables.
6.3 Time-saving functions
One of the best things about functions is that they make it
possible (and easier) to write an efficient code that you can
reuse over and over. For instance, if you write a function
that verifies data the user enters, you can use it in the
future when you create a program that requires data
verification to work.
Before you create a function, you should first find out what
its inputs and outputs are. In our case, we know that the
user enters an integer as input and gets the output as a
string of the cubed number. If our function was efficient
enough, it would also verify that the right data is entered
(for instance entering alphabetical characters will cause a
ValueError.
When you create a function, the best way to maximize its
value is to make it time-saving. This means you should be
able to tweak the function slightly, if at all, when you want
to fit it in another script in the future.
6.4 Pass by reference vs. value
One thing that makes how Python treats function
parameters different from standard variables is that its
function parameters are passed by value. All parameters
(arguments) in Python are passed by reference, meaning
that when the value of a parameter the function refers to
changes, the change will also be reflected in the calling
function. Function parameters are sacred. When a
parameter refers to an integer, the function provides a copy
of the value of the variable, not access to the variable itself.
Let us look at how this works in Ex27.
Ex27
#Ex27

def listchange(fruits):
"This changes the list to this function."

print ("Parameter values before change: ", fruits)

fruits[2] = "Vegetable"
print ("Parameter values after change: ", fruits)

return

#Now to call the listchange function

 
fruitslist = input("Enter fruit names separated by commas: ")

fruits = fruitslist.split(",")

listchange(fruits)

print ("Values outside function: ", fruits)

 
Here is what you should see when you run Ex26. In this
demo, I used examples Apple, Mango, Peach, and Orange.
C:\Python35-32\Exfiles>python ex27.py

Enter fruit names separated by commas: Apple, Mango, Peach, Orange

Parameter values before change: ['Apple', ' Mango', ' Peach', ' Orange']

Parameter values after change: ['Apple', ' Mango', 'Vegetable', ' Orange']

Values outside function: ['Apple', ' Mango', 'Vegetable', ' Orange']

 
In this demonstration, we have maintained the reference of
the passed object while appending a value in the same
object. You will notice that the function modifies the third
item in the list by replacing it with “Vegetable” value that is
retained outside the function.
Let us do another example where an argument is passed by
reference, and the reference overwritten inside the function.
Ex28
#Ex28

def AgeChanger(ages):
"This changes a passed list to this function"

ages = [18,21,34] # This assigns new references to ages

print ("Values inside the function: ", ages)

return
 

#Now call the AgeChanger function

ages = [10,15,20]
AgeChanger(ages)

print ("Values outside the function: ", ages)

 
When you run this exercise, you should see something like
this:
C:\Python35-32\Exfiles>python Ex28.py
Values inside the function:  [18, 21, 34]
Values outside the function:  [10, 15, 20]

 
The parameter ages is local to the function AgeChanger
function. When you change the ages values within the
function, it does not affect ages outside the function,
therefore producing nothing.
6.5 Function Arguments
There are several ways you can call a function. You can use
the following formal argument types:
Required arguments
Keyword arguments
Default arguments
Variable-length arguments

6.5.1 Required arguments

These are arguments that are passed to a function in their
correct positional order. The number of arguments in the
function call must be an exact match with the function
definition. Here is a good example.
def DisplayMe(str):
    "This prints a passed string into this function"

    print (str)

    return
 

#Now you can call DisplayMe function

DisplayMe()

 
When you run the example above, you will encounter an
error because you have to pass one argument:
TypeError: DisplayMe() missing 1 required positional
argument: 'str'

6.5.2 Keyword arguments

Keyword arguments are closely related to function calls.
When a keyword argument is used in calling a function, the
caller identifies the arguments by the name of the
parameter. This makes it possible for you to place
arguments out of order or skip them because the interpreter
can use the keywords provided to match parameters with
values. For instance, we could call the DisplayMe() function
like this:
Ex29
#Ex29

def DisplayMe(str):
   "This prints a passed string into this function"

   print (str)

   return

# Now call the DisplayMe function

DisplayMe(str = "Display text.")

 
When you run this script you will see this:
Display text.

 
To explain this better, we will do an exercise on the same.
Keep in mind the order of parameters to see if it matters.
Ex30
#Ex30

def showinfo(name, sex):

    "This prints a passed info into the function"

    print ("Name: ", name)

    print ("Sex :", sex)
    return
 
#Now call the showinfo function
showinfo(sex = "male", name = "John" )

 
When the Ex30 code is executed, you should see a result
like this:
C:\Python35-32\Exfiles>python Ex30.py

Name:   John
Sex:  male

 
As you can see, the order of the parameters does not matter
when the keyword is used when calling an argument.

6.5.3 Default arguments

A default argument can be defined as an argument that
assumes the default value when it is not provided in the
function call for the argument. In Ex31, the default age and
name argument values are used if not passed.
Ex31
#Ex31
def showinfo (name = "Null", age = 20):

"This prints a passed information into the function"

print ("Name: ", name)

print ("Age: ", age)

return
 

showinfo(age = 31, name = "Moses")

showinfo(name = "Sarah") #Default age argument will be used

showinfo(age = 26)       #Default name argument will be used

 
Can you identify situations where default arguments are
necessary for Ex31?

6.5.4 Variable-length arguments

A variable-length argument comes in handy when you need
to process a function with more arguments than specified in
the function definition. Unlike the required and default
arguments, the variable-length arguments are not named in
the function definition.
The syntax of a function with one-keyword variable
arguments looks like this:
def function_name([formal_args,] * var_args_tuple):

"function_docstring"

function_suite
return [expression]

 
An asterisk (*) is inserted before the variable name that will
hold the values of the non-keyword variable arguments. The
variable arguments tuple will remain empty if no new
arguments are specified when the function is called.
6.6 The return Statement
The statement return [expression] that we have used
throughout this chapter exits the function. A return
statement that has no arguments is similar to return None.
Ex31 is an example of a function that returns a value.
Ex32
#Ex32
def multiply(arg1, arg2):

"Multiply the parameters and return the product."

product = arg1 * arg2

print ("Inside the function: ", product)

return product

 
x = int(input("Enter the first number: "))

y = int(input("Enter the second number: "))

 
#Nowcall the multiply function

answer = multiply(x, y)

print ("Outside the function : ", answer)

Hour 7: Dictionaries
Think of a traditional dictionary – the book that provides the
definition of English words. The words and their definitions
are indexed together in one document, more like a list. Each
word and its definition make up a string. The idea behind
dictionaries in Python is a lot like this.
On a traditional dictionary, the first word and its definition
“a: The first letter of the alphabet” could be assigned index
0 in Python. When referencing a word in the book dictionary,
we typically search for a word based on an alphabetical
index where instead of searching for index 0 to find the
definition of “a,” we could refer to it as “index a.” Instead of
looking at index 0 in the dictionary to find what we want, we
look for index a. Instead of dictionary[0], we use
dictionary[“a”]. Get it?
7.1 Keys and Values of the Dictionary
The idea behind the dictionary in Python is to retrieve
values based on more meaningful keys rather than just use
a collection of numbers. Dictionaries are in many cases
more useful to use than lists, which use numerical indexes
to provide access to values. Note, though, that both lists
and dictionaries are very helpful in different cases, but you
must know their differences to apply them right.
The key and the value of a dictionary is separated by a
colon (:), the items are separated by commas (,), and the
whole dictionary is enclosed in curly braces ({}). A
dictionary called MyDict would look like this:
MyDict = {'Name': 'Waldo', 'Age': 25, 'Sex': 'Male', 'Location': 'Italy'}

 
You can also create a similar dictionary like this:
MyDict = {
'Name': 'Waldo',

'Age': 25,

'Sex': 'Male',

'Location': 'Italy'

 
In a dictionary, keys must be unique while values may not.
Keys must also be of immutable data types such as
numbers, strings, or tuples but values may not
7.2 Accessing Values in Dictionary
You are already familiar with how to access values in a list
using square brackets enclosing an index value, accessing
dictionary elements should be a piece of cake because they
are pretty much the same thing. Here is a simple example
on how to access values in a dictionary:
Ex33
#Ex33

MyDict = {'Name': 'Waldo', 'Age': 25, 'Sex': 'Male', 'Location': 'Italy',

'Occupation':'Carpenter'}

print ("I am", MyDict['Name'], "a", MyDict['Age'], MyDict['Sex'],

MyDict['Occupation'], "from", MyDict['Location'])

 
Write the above code in your text editor and run it. You
should see something like this:
 
What happens when you try to access a data item using a
key that is not included in the dictionary? Let us try it with
the example above and see what error we get.
#Ex33

MyDict = {'Name': 'Waldo', 'Age': 25, 'Sex': 'Male', 'Location': 'Italy',

'Occupation':'Carpenter'}

print ("I am", MyDict['Name'], "a", MyDict['Age'], MyDict['Sex'],

MyDict['Occupation'], "from", MyDict['Location'], MyDict[‘Continent’])

 
You should get the error KeyError: ‘Continent’ when you run
the code above. This essentially means that the key does
not exist.
7.3 Updating the Dictionary
You can update the dictionary by adding new entries or key-
value pairs or modifying or deleting existing entries. In
Ex33, we will put each of these in practice to understand
how they work.

7.3.1 Modifying Dictionary Elements

Ex34
#Ex34

MyDict = {'Name': 'Waldo', 'Age': 25, 'Sex': 'Male', 'Location': 'Italy'}

 

name = str(input("Enter a new name: "))

age = int(input("Enter your age: "))

location = str(input("Where are you? "))

 
MyDict['Name'] = name

MyDict['Age'] = age

MyDict['Location'] = location

print ("The new user is", MyDict['Name'], "aged", MyDict['age'], "from",

MyDict['Location']+".")

 
This shortcode has a dictionary with four keys with paired
values. It prompts the user for new values stored in
variables called name, age, and location then assigns them
to the 'Name,' 'age,' and 'Location' keys of the MyDict
dictionary.
Can you modify the code to allow the user to enter a new
string and modify the 'Sex' value in the dictionary?

7.3.2 Deleting Dictionary Elements

There are functions that you can use to remove the
elements of a dictionary individually or erase all the
contents at once. You can also use del.dict to delete the
entire dictionary. Note that when you delete the dictionary,
any references to it or its keys and values will return an
exception because the dictionary will no longer exist.
Ex35
#Ex35

MyDict = {'Name': 'Waldo', 'Age': 25, 'Sex': 'Male', 'Location': 'Italy'}

 
print ("List of keys before deletion:",list(MyDict.keys()))

del MyDict['Location']

 
print ("List of keys after deletion:", list(MyDict.keys()))

 
This code will give you a KeyError: 'Location' when you run it
because 'Location' has been removed.
To clear all the entries in the dictionary, dict.clear().
7.4 Properties of Dictionary Keys
There are no restrictions as far as using dictionary values
goes. You can use arbitrary objects including standard and
user-defined objects. However, when it comes to keys, there
are two important rules you must always remember as I
mentioned in the introduction:
1. Keys must be unique. You cannot have more than
one similar keys in a dictionary.
2. Keys are immutable. You cannot use something like
[key] to define a key.
7.5 Built-in Dictionary Functions and
Methods
In this section, I will go through a list of the essential
functions and approaches built into Python that you can use
with dictionaries. I suggest that you study the description of
the different methods and functions and apply them to Ex36
then run the code to see what they do.
Ex36
#Ex36

GradsList = {'StudentID': 200627,'FirstName': 'Alison','LastName':

'Fairbanks','Email': '[email protected]','DOB': 1995,'Sex': 'F','Major':
'Music','Faculty': 'Arts',}

 
For example, to try the len(GradsDict) function, first
understand what it does, find out what the output should
be, then enter this in your Ex36.py code:
#Ex36

GradsDict = {'StudentID': 200627,'FirstName': 'Alison','LastName':

'Fairbanks','Email': '[email protected]','DOB': 1995,'Sex': 'F','Major':
'Music','Faculty': 'Arts',}

print ("len(dict):", len(GradsDict))

 
Function Description
This is the length function which
len(GradsDict) gives the number of items in the
dictionary.
str(GradsDict)
This gives a printable string
representation of the dictionary.
type(variable) Gives the type of the passed
variable. For a dictionary, it
returns dictionary type.
 
Method Description
Removes all the elements in the
GradsDict.clear() dictionary including keys and
values.
Makes a shallow copy of the
GradsDict.copy()
GradsDict dictionary
Creates a new dictionary with the
GradsDict.fromkeys()
GradsDict keys.
For the specified key (e.g.) ‘email’,
GradsDict.get(key,
default=None) returns value. If no value is
assigned, it returns default.
Returns the GradsDict (key, value)
GradsDict.items()
tuple pairs as a list.
GradsDict.keys() Returns a list of the GradsDict keys.
Similar to get() except that it sets
GradsDict.setdefault(key,
default=None) the GradsDict[key] to default if it is
not in the dictionary already
Takes the key-value pairs of
GradsDict.update(GradsDict2)
GradsDict2 and adds them to GradsDict

GradsDict.values()
Returns the values of GradsDict
dictionary.
Hour 8: Classes
In the introduction to this book, we described Python as an
Object Oriented Programming language. This is because
Python lets you structure your code in a way that uses
modules, classes, and objects with ease. This chapter
focuses on helping you master Python’s object-oriented
setup to create a consistent program that can be run in a
‘cleaner’ way. You will find out what objects in programming
are and how modules and classes are used.
If you find it difficult to grasp these full, do not worry
because everyone new to programming struggles at first to
understand the plain weird set up that is OOP. In the
conclusion of this book, you will find a few
recommendations of web resources you can refer to
understand the in-depths of OOP fully.
8.1 Overview of Terminologies used in
OOP
Class: This is a prototype for an object defined by the user
with attributes that characterize an object. The
characteristics, in this case, include data members (instance
and class variables) and methods.
Object: An object is made up of data members including
class variables and instance variables as well as methods
that create a unique instance of a data structure defined by
its class.
Data member: This is an instance variable or a class
variable that stores the data associated with an object and
its class.
Class variable: This is a variable that is shared by all the
instances of a class. It is defined within a class but outside
of any of the class’s methods.
Instance variable: This is a variable defined inside a
method. An instance variable belongs only to the current
class instance.
Instance: An object of a particular class also defined as an
object that belongs to a class Circle.
Instantiation: The process of creating an instance of a
class.
Inheritance: Inheritance is the process of transferring the
characteristics of class to other classes derived from the
parent class.
Method: A special form of the function defined within a
class definition.
Function overloading: This is when you assign more than
one behavior to a function. Function overloading varies with
the types of arguments and objects involved.
Operator overloading: This is when more than one
function is assigned to an operator.
8.2 Creating Classes
To put it in a way that is easy to understand, a class is a
kind of container where you will group all related data and
functions to be able to access using a “.” (dot) operator.
A new class definition is created using the class statement
followed by the name of the class then a colon, like this:
class ClassName:
"class documentation string"

class_suite

 
The class can also have an optional documentation string
right below the definition as shown above and can be
accessed using ClassName._doc_.
 
The class_suite contains all the basic statements that define
the class members, functions, and data attributes.
Ex37
#Ex37
class MyContacts:

"Details of my contacts"

ContCount = 0

 
def __init__(self, name, number):

self.name = name

self.number = number

MyContacts.ContCount += 1
  

def ContactCount(self):

print ("Total contacts:", MyContacts.ContCount)

def ShowContact(self):
print (self.name, "-", self.number)

 
In this exercise, we have created a class called MyContacts.
The ContCountvariable is a class variable. Its
value is shared with all the instances of the
class and can be accessed as
MyContacts.ContCount within and outside the
class.
The _init_() method is a unique method also
called initialization or the class constructor
method. Python calls this method when you
create a new instance of the MyContactsclass
The first argument to each method is self. All
other categories are declared like standard
functions. You do not need to add the self-
argument to the list because Python adds it for
you.
8.3 Creating Instance Objects
To create a new instance of a class, first, you call the class
using the class name then pass in the arguments that
the_init_ method accepts. Let us create an instance object
for the class we set up in Ex36. Modify Ex36 by adding the
following instance objects:
"These create the objects of the MyContacts class"
Contact1 = Mycontacts("Bonny", "0789182733")

Contact2 = MyContacts("Peter", "0739237494")

Contact3 = MyContacts("Janet", "0718297621")

 
Save the new code as Ex38.py. Your exercise code should
look like this:
Ex38
#Ex38
class MyContacts:

"Details of my contacts"

ContCount = 0
 

def __init__(self, name, number):

self.name = name

self.number = number

MyContacts.ContCount += 1
 

def ContactCount(self):

print ("Total contacts:", MyContacts.ContCount)

 
 def ShowContact(self):

print (self.name, "-", self.number)

"These create the objects of the MyContacts class"

Contact1 = Mycontacts("Bonny", "0789182733")

Contact2 = MyContacts("Peter", "0739237494")

Contact3 = MyContacts("Janet", "0718297621")

8.4 Accessing and Working with
Attributes
Attributes are accessed using the dot (.) operator with the
object. A class variable is accessed using the class name
like this: Contact1.ShowContact().
In Ex38, we are going to access the attributes added in
Ex37. Modify the Ex37 code again as shown below and save
it as Ex38.py then execute it from the terminal.
Ex39
#Ex39

class MyContacts:
"Details of my contacts"

ContCount = 0

 
def __init__(self, name, number):

self.name = name

self.number = number
MyContacts.ContCount += 1

def ContactCount(self):

print ("Total contacts:", MyContacts.ContCount)

 
def ShowContact(self):

print (self.name, "-", self.number)

"These create the objects of the MyContacts class"

Contact1 = MyContacts("Bonny", "0789182733")

Contact2 = MyContacts("Peter", "0739237494")

Contact3 = MyContacts("Janet", "0718297621")

Contact1.ShowContact()

Contact2.ShowContact()
Contact3.ShowContact()

print ("Total contacts:", MyContacts.ContCount)

 
If you entered everything right, the result should look
something like this:
C:\Python35-32\Exfiles>Python Ex38.py

Bonny - 0789182733
Peter - 0739237494

Janet - 0718297621

Total contacts: 3

 
In Ex40, we will practice adding and modifying attributes.
If you entered everything right, the result should look
something like this:
Ex40
#Ex40
class MyContacts:
"Details of my contacts"

ContCount = 0
 
def __init__(self, name, number):
self.name = name
self.number = number
MyContacts.ContCount += 1
 
def ContactCount(self):
print ("Total contacts:", MyContacts.ContCount)
 
def ShowContact(self):
print (self.name, "-", self.number)
 
"These create the objects of the MyContacts class"
Contact1 = MyContacts("Bonny", "0789182733")
Contact2 = MyContacts("Peter", "0739237494")
Contact3 = MyContacts("Janet", "0718297621")
 
print ("Original class attributes:")
Contact1.ShowContact()
Contact2.ShowContact()
Contact3.ShowContact()
print ("Total contacts:", MyContacts.ContCount)
 
Contact1.name = "Boniface"
Contact2.name = "Nancy"
Contact3.number = "0779204852"
 
print ("Updated class attributes:")
print ("Total contacts:", MyContacts.ContCount)
Contact1.ShowContact()
Contact2.ShowContact()
Contact3.ShowContact()

 
Here are the functions you can use to add, modify, and
delete attributes:
getattr(obj, name, [default]) is used to access the
attribute of an object
hasattr(obj, name)is used to check if an attribute
exists or not.
setattr(obj, name, value)is used to set an attribute
or create one if it does not exist.
delattr(obj, name)is used to delete an attribute.
8.5 Built-In Class Attributes
Every Python class by default has the following attributes
built-in and can be accessed using the dot (.) operator just
like any other attribute.
__name__: Class name.
__dict__: Dictionary containing namespace of the class.
__doc__: Class documentation string. If undefined, none.
__module__("__main__"in interactive mode): Module name in
which the class is defined.
__bases__: A tuple containing the base classes arranged in
order of occurrence in the base class list. This class could be
possibly empty.
Let us used these attributes in the code we saved as Ex 38
to see firsthand what they do. Save the code as Ex40 and
run it on the terminal.
Ex41
#Ex41
class MyContacts:

"Details of my contacts"

ContCount = 0

def __init__(self, name, number):

self.name = name

self.number = number

MyContacts.ContCount += 1

 
 def ContactCount(self):

print ("Total contacts:", MyContacts.ContCount)

def ShowContact(self):

print (self.name, "-", self.number)

 

print ("MyContacts.__doc__:", MyContacts.__doc__)

print ("MyContacts.__name__:", MyContacts.__name__)

print ("MyContacts.__module__:", MyContacts.__module__)

print ("MyContacts.__bases__:", MyContacts.__bases__)

print ("MyContacts.__dict__:", MyContacts.__dict__)

 
8.6 Class Inheritance
You do not need to create a class from scratch every time. If
you can derive it from an existing class, list the parent class
in parentheses right after the new class name. The child
class will inherit the attributes of the parent class, and you
will be able to use its attributes just as if they are defined in
the child class. A child class will, however, override any data
members and methods from the parent class.
Here is the syntax for class inheritance:
You can also derive a class from two or more parent classes
as demonstrated in the syntax above. You can use
isinstance() or issubclass()to check how two classes and
instances relate.
isinstance(ChildClass, ParentClass)is a Boolean
function that will return true if the given child class
is a subclass of the parent class.
issubclass(object, class)is a Boolean function that
returns true if the objis an instance of the class or if
an instance is a subclass of the class.
 8.7 Overriding Methods
You can override the parent class methods when working
with a child class especially if you want a different or special
functionality in the subclass. Here are some of the generic
functionalities that you can override in the subclasses:
__init__ (self [,args...]): This is a constructor with optional
arguments.
__del__ (self): Deletes an object.
__repr__ (self): Represents an evaluable string.
__str__ (self): Represents a printable string.
__cmp__ (self, x): Used to compare objects.
8.8 Overloading Operators
If your code will at some point add two-dimensional vectors,
you could define the __add__ method in the class to handle
vector addition to preventing errors. Here is a demo you can
try:
Ex42
#Ex42
class NumAdder:

   def __init__(self, x, y):

      self.x = x
      self.y = y

   def __str__(self):
      return "NumAdder (%d, %d)" % (self.x, self.y)

   def __add__(self, z):

      return NumAdder(self.x + z.x, self.y + z.y)

a1 = NumAdder(5, 7)
a2 = NumAdder(-3, 9)

print (a1 + a2)

Hour 9: Files and Exceptions
When your program is running, it stores the data it is
working with temporarily in the computer’s primary
memory. This data is lost when the program ends or the
computer powers off. The only way to store data
permanently is to save it in a file that is stored in the
computer’s secondary memory which is typically the hard
disk.
9.1 Reading and Writing Files
By default, Python offers basic methods and functions a
user needs to manipulate files. Most of these file
manipulation processes use the file object. The most
important commands that you need to understand how they
work and know how to use in this section are:
read(): Accesses the contents of the file. You will learn to
assign the contents of the file to a variable.
write(): This method enters data into the file.
readline(): Unlike read, this function reads just one line in
the text file.
truncate(): This command empties the content of a text file.
Be careful when using truncate on files with vital data.
close(): This closes the file, much like the File > Save
process in your text editor/
For the exercises in this hour, we will create a text file in our
default save directory (where you save .py files) and give it
the name Poem.txt. You can do this right from your text
editor.
The Dust of Snow

 
The way a crow

Shook down on me

The dust of snow

From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart

A change of mood

And saved some part

Of a day I had rued.

 
Save the file as Poem.txt.

9.1.1 The read() Method

We use read() to read a string of text or binary data from an
open file. The syntax for this method takes this format:
fileobject = open(file_name, [access_mode], [buffering])

 
file_name: This string value argument contains the name of
the files you want to access.
access_mode: This is an optional parameter that determines
the mode in which a file can be opened. The table below
summarizes the different modes you should know about.
Mode Description
This is read-only mode. Unless specified, the
r
default mode in which a file is opened is in this
mode by default. The file pointer is positioned at
the start of the file.
Opens a file in binary format for reading only. The
rb
pointer is positioned at the start of the file.
r+
Opens a file for reading and writing in text format.
The file pointer positioned at the start of the file.
Opens a file for reading and writing but in binary
rb+ format. The file pointer placed at the beginning of
the file.
Opens a file for writing only and overwrites the file
w it already exists. If it does not exist a new file for
writing is created.
 wb Opens a file for writing only but in binary format
and creates one if the file does not exists.
Overwrites if the file already exists.
Opens a file ready for reading and writing and
overwrites the existing file if it already. If the file
w+
does not exist, a new one for reading and writing is
created.
Opens a file in binary format for reading and
writing and overwrites the existing one if already
wb+
exists. If it does not, a new one ready for reading
and writing is created.
Opens a file in append mode. The pointer is
a positioned at the end of the file if it exists. If the
file does not exist, a new one for writing is created.
Opens a file in binary format in append mode. The
pointer is positioned at the end of the file if it
ab
exists. If the file does not exist, a new one for
writing is created.
Opens a file for reading and appending in the
append mode. The file pointer is at the end of the
a+
file if it exists. If it does not exist, a one is created
for reading and writing.
Opens a file in binary format for reading and
appending in append mode. The pointer is
ab+ positioned at the end of the file if the file exists. A
new file is created for reading and writing in if the
file does not exist.
 
file_name: This string value argument contains the name of
the files you want to access.
Buffering: If the value of buffering is set to 0, no buffering
will take place. If set to 1, the program performs line
buffering when accessing the file. If the buffering value is
specified as an integer greater than 1, buffering is
performed with the specified buffer size. If the value
specified is negative, the system’s default buffer size is
used.
Ex43
Start a new file on your text file and enter the following
code for Ex43:
#Ex43

text = open("Poem.txt", "r")

MyPoem = text.read(16); #Reads the first 16 bytes in the text and assigns
variable MyPoem
print ("Read String is:", MyPoem)

text.close() #Closes the opened file

 
Run Ex42 and see what happens. This is what you should
see:
C:\Python35-32\Exfiles>Python Ex43.py

Read String is: The Dust of Snow

 
When you open a file using Python’s inbuilt open() function,
a file object will be created which you can use to call
support methods it is associated with.

9.1.2 The write() Method

When you need to write a string of data into an open file,
you use the write() method. Note that strings in Python may
contain binary data and not just text. You should also
remember that this method does not ('\n') character to the
end of the string. This character adds a new line to the end
of the string such that the next string will be displayed in a
new line.
The syntax for write() looks like this:
fileObject.write(string);

 
Ex44
#Ex44

MyFile = open("MyFile.txt", "w")

MyFile.write("Poem: The Dust of Snow.\n By Robert Frost\n");

print ("File created and saved.\n")

 

MyFile.close() #Close the opened file

MyText = open("MyFile.txt", "r+")

MyPoem = MyText.read(42);

print ("File content: \n" + MyPoem)

 

MyText.close()

 
The above exercise has two unique processes. Can you
identify which one writes the file then closes it and which
one opens and prints it show what string was written to the
file MyFile.txt?
9.2 File Positions
If you wish to specify where in the file you would like to read
or write text, the tell() method will show you the current
position in bytes about the beginning of the file.
The seek(offset, [from]) method is then used to change the
file position, with the offset argument indicating the number
of bytes by which the position is moved. The
[from]argument references the position from which the
bytes are moved.
If the from argument is set to 0, the beginning of the file will
be the reference position, and if it is 1, the current position
will be the reference position. If it is set to 2, the end of the
file will be the reference position in the method.
Let us try out these file position commands in Ex45 using
the MyFile.txt file we created in Ex44.
Ex45
#Ex45

MyText = open("MyFile.txt", "r+")

text = MyText.read(50)

print ("String content:", text)

 
position = MyText.tell(); #To check the pointer position

print ("The current position is", position)

position = MyText.seek(0, 0) #Move the pointer to the begining of the file

print ("\n New position is", position)

 

MyText.close()
9.3 Renaming and Deleting Files
The OS module of Python offers various methods that you
can use to perform various file processing and manipulation
operations including renaming and deleting files. However,
to call the functions of this module, you will first need to
import it using import os.

9.3.1 Renaming files using the rename() method

The rename() method requires two arguments: the current
name of the file to rename and the new filename to rename
to. The syntax goes something like this:
os.rename(current_filename, new_filename)

 
In Ex46, let us rename the MyFile.txt file we created to
MyPoem.txt.
Ex46
#Ex46
import os

os.rename ("MyFile.txt", "MyPoem.txt") #Renames the file to MyPoem.txt

 

MyText = open("MyPoem.txt", "r+") #Open the renamed file.

text = MyText.read(50)

print (text)

9.3.2 Deleting files using the remove() method

The os.remove() method is used to delete files. The
argument required by the method is the name of the file to
be removed. It looks like this:
os.remove(file_name)

 
We will go ahead and delete the MyFile.txt file we created in
Ex44 in Ex47. If the file no longer exists in your folder, you
can create one and give it the exact similar name or only
run Ex43.py again to create it.
Ex47
#Ex47

import os
 

os.remove("MyPoem.txt")

 
Remember to restore the deleted file MyPoem.txt because
we will need it in the next exercise.
9.4 File and Directory Related
Methods
There are countless resources on the internet where you can
learn and practice a broad range of methods you can use to
manipulate and handle files and directories. These
resources cover:
OS Object Methods: This offers ways to process files
and folders (directories).
File Object Methods: The file object provides many
functions used to manipulate files.
When you pursue learning Python beyond this stage, you
will learn how to manipulate and work with directories.
Hour 10: Errors and Exceptions
Errors that happen during the execution of program code
are called exceptions. To the average software user, an
exception is an instance where a program does not conform
to the general and defined rules as expected.
An error is resolved by saving the status of the execution
when the error occurred and interrupted the normal
program flow. An exception handler is a piece of code that is
used to determine the type and cause of an exception or
error.
Depending on the type of error encountered, the exception
handler can fix the problem encountered and allow the
program to resume normal flow or it will stop prompt the
user for data or instructions before resumption.
Python comes with two vital tools used to handle any
unexpected errors in the code and to debug it: They are:
1. Exception handlers
2. Assertions
When a script in Python raises an exception, it must be
handled immediately; otherwise, the program will terminate
and quit.
10.1 Exception Handling
In Python, a code that harbors the risk of an exception is
embedded in a try block and caught by an except keyword.
Python allows you to create a custom exception, even using
the raise statement to force a specified exception to occur.

10.1.1 Table of Standard Exceptions

Before we can learn how to use exception handlers to deal
with errors in code, let us first discover what the errors we
should expect to encounter are and what they mean. You
can always refer to this table to find what caused a mistake
you encounter.
Exception Description
This is the base class for all
Exception
exceptions.
This exception is raised by a failure
Attribute Error of attribute assignment or
reference.
This is the base class for all errors
ArithmeticError
in numeric calculation.
Occurs when an iterator’s next()
StopIteration method does not point to any
object.
Exception caused by the sys.exit()
SystemExit
function.
This is the base class for all built-in
StandardError exceptions except SystemExit and
StopIteration.
Encountered when a calculation
OverflowError exceeds the maximum limit for a
numeric type.
FloatingPointError Raised when there is a failure of a
floating point calculation.
Occurs when there is division or
ZeroDivisonError modulo by zero on any numeric
types.
Occurs when there is a failure of
AssertionError
the Assert statement.
Raised when the end of file is
EOFError reached and there is no input
from input() function.
Occurs as a result of an import
ImportError
statement failure.
Encountered when the user
interrupts the execution of the
KeyboardInterrupt
program execution, often by
pressing Ctrl+C.
This is the base class for all lookup
LookupError
errors.
Error occurs when an index is not
IndexError
found in a specified sequence.
Occurs when a specified key is not
KeyError
found in the dictionary.
Occurs when an identifier is not
NameError
found in a specified namespace.
Occurs when the program tries to
access a local variable in a method
UnboundLocalError
or function without a value
assigned to it.
This is the base class for all
EnvironmentError exceptions occurring outside the
Python environment.
Occurs when an input or output
IOError
operation fails.
OSError Triggered by Operating system-
 related errors.
Occurs when there is an error in the
SyntaxError
code syntax.
IndentationError Caused by improper indentation.
Caused by an internal problem with
SystemError
the interpreter.
Encountered when the interpreter
SystemExit is terminated using the sys.exit()
function.
Raised when an operation
TypeError encounters a data type different
from the specified.
Encountered when arguments have
invalid values specified despite the
ValueError
built-in functions having the right
argument types.
Triggered when an abstract method
NotImplementedError that is expected to run in an
inherited class is not implemented.
 

10.1.2 Exception Handling Syntax

If you suspect that a block of code in your script could raise
an exception, it is a good practice to place the suspicious
code inside a try: block and below it an except: statement
that will handle the error correctly. The syntax of the code
would look something like this:
try:
Enter your code here;

except PossibleException1:
If there is PossibleException1, then run this code
except PossibleException2:
 If there is PossibleException2, then run this code

else:
If there is no exception then run this code.

 
Note that:
A single try: the statement can have one or more
except statements. This is important when you are
trying to handle possible multiple errors that you
suspect your one block of code could rise.
It is a good practice to provide a generic except
clause that handles any and all exceptions.
The else: clause is optional. Its code executes only
when there are no exceptions raised by the try:
block code. You can place the code that does not
need the protection of the try: block in the else:
block.
In Ex48, we will try to open the file MyFile.txt which we do
not have permission to write, to raise an exception.
Ex48
#Ex48

try:

text = open ("MyPoem.txt", "r") #Open the file in read-only mode

text.write("We will try to write into the text file.")

except IOError:

print ("Error: Cannot write string to file.")

else:

print ("String successfully written to file.")

 
When you run the code above on your terminal, you should
see this:
C:\Python35-32\Exfiles>python Ex48.py

Error: Cannot write string to file.

 
Now, try eliminating the error by opening the file in read and
write mode then run it. What does it print?
Hint: Change "r" to "r+".
Let us try another example. In Ex49, the program expects
the user to enter an integer as the value of n. It should
generate an error when the input is a string instead. We will
raise a ValueError then use the try: exception handling to
resolve it.
Ex49
#Ex49
while True:

try:

n = int(input("Please enter your age:"))

break
except ValueError:

print ("Your age must be an integer. Try again.")

print ("You are aged", n, "years.")

 
This script contains a loop that only breaks when the user
enters a valid integer.
If you have a code that must execute whether an exception
is raised in the try block or not, you can use the finally:
clause. The syntax would look like this: use the finally:
clause. The syntax would look like this:
try:
Enter your code here;

In case of an exception, this block is skipped.

finally:

This block will ALWAYS be executed.

 
Let us write a script example that puts the try: and finally:
clauses in use.
Ex50
#Ex50
try:

text = open("MyPoem.txt", "w") #Open the file in write-only mode.

text.write ("Dust of Snow by Robert Frost")

finally:

print ("Error: Cannot find the file or read the data.")

 
Note: You cannot use the else: clause along with the finally:
clause.
When there is an exception in the try: block, the execution
will be passed to the finally: block immediately. The
exception will be raised again after all the statements in the
finally: block are executed then handled by the except
statement if it is present in a following higher layer of the
try: then except statement. Let us try it in Ex50 by writing a
script that finds the reciprocal of a number entered by the
user.
Ex51
#Ex51
try:

x = float(input("Enter a number: "))

reciprocal = 1.0 / x
except ValueError:

print ("You did not enter a valid integer or float.")

except ZeroDivisionError:
print ("Cannot divide by 0!")

finally:

print ("This prints whether there is an exception or not.")

 
10.2 Assertions
In Python, an assertion is a tool that you use to find bugs
faster and with less pain. You can turn it on before use and
turn it off after you are finished testing your code. It will test
an expression and raise an exception if the result is FALSE. It
is a good practice to place the assert statement at the
beginning of a function to ensure an input is valid and after
a function to validate the output.
 

10.2.1 The asset statement

Python evaluates accompanying expressions to determine if
they are TRUE or FALSE when it encounters the assert
statement. If the result is false, the AssertionError exception
is raised. The syntax for this statement is:
assert Expression[Argument]

 
Ex52
#Ex52

def CtoF_Converter(Temp):

"Convert degrees C to F"

#
assert (Temp >= -273.15), "Cannot be colder than absolute zero!"

return 9.0 / 5.0 * Temp + 32

C = float(input("Enter temperature in Celsius: "))

F = CtoF_Converter(C)

 
 print (C, "degrees Celcius is", F, "degrees Fahrenheit.")

 
If you run the Ex52.py and enter a number less than 273.15,
you should encounter an assertion error akin to this:
C:\Python35-32\Exfiles>python Ex52.py

Enter temperature in Celsius: -280

Traceback (most recent call last):

  File "Ex51.py", line 17, in <module>

    F = CtoF_Converter(C)

  File "Ex51.py", line 13, in CtoF_Converter

    assert (Temp >= -273.15), "Cannot be colder than absolute zero!"

AssertionError: Cannot be colder than absolute zero!

 
Hour 11: Testing Your Code
Testing your code is one of the most important steps of
developing a functional program. In fact, it is typically
considered a good practice to write testing code than
running it in parallel to your primary code. This method is
widely used by developers across the development sphere
as it helps developers define the precise intent of their code
and to create software with more decoupled architecture.
11.1 General rules of testing Python
code
Here are the ten commandments of testing your code in
Python.
1. The testing unit of your code should focus on a tiny
bit of functionality and should prove it correct.
2. Each testing unit should be completely
independent. It should be able to run alone within
the test suite regardless of the order it is called. The
setup() and teardown() methods can be used to
load new datasets and cleanup after testing.
3. Always try to make tests run fast to avoid slowing
down the entire development. If testing takes
longer because of complex data structure it must
process, the test units can be run in separate
suites.
4. Practice using your tools to run only tests or test
cases then runs them when developing functions
inside modules frequently, ideally, automatically
every time you save your code.
5. Make it a habit of running the full test suite prior to
and after every coding session to be sure that
noting is broken in the code before starting or and
when ending the session.
6. Put in place a hook that runs all tests before
pushing the code to a shared depository if working
on the collaborative code.
7. If your development session is interrupted, make a
point of writing a broken unit test about what you
 intend to develop next to know where to start when
you resume the next session.
8. The first step in debugging your code should be
writing a new test that pinpoints the bug. This is not
always the easiest thing to do, but this will help you
catch those elusive bugs faster and more
comprehensively in your code.
9. Write long descriptive names for your testing
functions because unlike regular code, and the unit
test code is never called explicitly.
10. Every unit test must have a clear purpose of
making it helpful. When something goes wrong, or
you have to make some changes, you will rely on
the testing suite to make modifications or modify
certain behaviors.
11.2 unittest
unittest is a test module that comes with the Python
standard library. You can create a test case on unittest by
subclassing the unittest.TestCase as shown in exercise 53
syntax code below.
Ex53
#Ex53
import unittest

def counter(x):
    return x + 1

class MyTest(unittest.TestCase):
    def test(self):

        self.assertEqual(counter(4), 5)

 
unittest comes with its test discovery capabilities.
11.3 Doctest
A doctest module searches the code for text that looks like
interactive sessions in docstrings then executes them to
verify that they execute exactly as shown. Unlike proper unit
tests, doctests have different uses and are usually not as
detailed. Because of this, doctests do not typically catch
obscure regression bugs and special cases.
Doctests are however very useful used as expressive
documentation of the main use cases of modules and its
components. They should, however, run automatically each
time a full test suite is run. Here is an example of how a
doctest syntax looks like.
Ex54
#Ex54

def square(x):

"""Return the square of x.

>>> square(3)

>>> square(-3)

"""

return x * x
 

if __name__ == '__main__':

    import doctest

    doctest.testmod()
11.4 Tools
In this section, I will mention several popular testing tools
that you will learn to install and use when you get to
learning advanced testing of Python code.

11.4.1 py.test
The py.test is an alternative to the standard unittest module
that Python comes with. It is a fully-featured and extensible
testing tool that has very simple syntax. Creating a test
suite using py.test is as easy as writing a module with
several functions.

11.4.2 Nose
Nose is a tool that extends unittest so as to make testing
code easier. The nose offers automatic test discovery to
save the programmer the hassle of having to create test
suites manually. It also comes with multiple plugins with
extra features such as coverage reporting, test selection,
and xUnit compatible test output.

11.4.3 tox
Tox is a versatile tool that you can use to automate the
Python test environment management and even test
multiple interpreter configurations. This tool lets you
configure complex multi-parameter test matrices using a
simple ini-style config file.

11.4.4 Unittest2
This is a backport of Python’s unittest module. It features an
improved API as well as better aassertions over the original
unittest.
11.4.5 mock
unittest.mock features many library tools that you can use
to test your Python code. Mock allows you to replace parts
of the system you are testing with mock objects and test
code by making assertions on how they have been used. It
is available in the standard Python library starting with
Python 3.3.
Hour 12: Conclusion & Further
Reading
Over 50 programs of Python written so far since the first
Hello World program about 12 hours, ago (hours of study)
and you have become an even better and experienced
program. If you followed every step of this eBook so far, you
have earned the bragging rights to call yourself a
programmer. You started from scratch (like everyone should)
and perhaps with no prior experience in programming, can
now speak regarding functions, classes, IOError, and much
more geeky terms.
This short eBook is compressed to keep it concise and
practical. You have so far learned how to tell the computer
to do all kinds of things, process text, save your information,
and saved processes you have personalized to do exactly
what you want. The magic has been to learn how to tell the
computer what to do, a skill most people still perceive as
pure wizardry.
Python’s core philosophy is summarized in The Zen of
Python, and it paints the colorful rules that govern the
language as:
1. Explicit is better than implicit
2. Simply is better than complex
3. Complexly is better than complicated
4. Beautifully is better than ugly
5. Readability counts
As a testament to just how beautiful Python code can be,
this is how exercise 37 looks on my editor:
 

It is more important now more than ever that you re-visit

everything you learned from Hour 1 and practice every day
and create much more scripts that do many different things.
The internet is full of resources including challenges to
create Python scripts that solve all kinds of problems that
you can learn from.
You have come this far, and it shows how much passion you
have in becoming better at programming, toast yourself but
strive to save 100 .py scripts with tens, maybe hundreds of
lines of beautiful code over the next week of study. Explore
what the world of Python has to offer and be an active
member of Github and a StackOverflow.
There are multitudinous ways you can practice and advance
your coding skills every day. Every day, thousands of
programmers meet on CodeFights and head writing Python
code. It has become a large community of upcoming
programmers who have turned learning to create solutions
to problems we face everyday pillow fights. You can have
fun there, or perhaps in the future, you will take a more
ambitious approach and get a certification in Python
programming from edX and turn it into a career.
Don’t forget to get the FREE  “Cyberpunk Python Whizz Kit”
if you haven’t already. This will help you tremendously in
getting the most out of this book.
 
DOWNLOAD THE FREE WHIZZ KIT HERE:

CYBERPUNK PYTHON WHIZZ KIT

Links
Here are a parting gift and a pointer to the right direction: A
list of the most useful resources you should consider
checking out. Write a program to save this list and use it
every day to find answers you might have about your code.
Perhaps someday you will be writing programs for your
home devices including the TV and lighting system or you
might push the envelope and create apps for your own AI
running on a $35 Raspberry Pi computer.
Good luck.
Tools
1. Python.org.
This is the official website with all the technical details about
the Python programming language.
2. Using Algorithms and Data Structures in Python
http://interactivepython.org/runestone/static/pythonds/index
.html
3. Python visualizer tool
http://people.csail.mit.edu/pgbovine/python/tutor.html
4. Thonny, Python IDE for beginners.
This one has intuitive features useful for program runtime
visualization
http://thonny.org/
5. Python Essential Reference
http://www.worldcat.org/title/python-essential-
reference/oclc/288985690
Course
1. Google's Python class
https://code.google.com/edu/languages/google-python-
class/
2. MIT’s Using Python for Research
https://www.edx.org/course/using-python-research-harvardx-
ph526x
3. 6.00.1x: Introduction to Computer Science and
Programming Using Python
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-
computer-science/6-00-introduction-to-computer-science-
and-programming-fall-2008/
https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-computer-science-
mitx-6-00-1x-9
https://www.class-central.com/mooc/1341/edx-6-00-1x-
introduction-to-computer-science-and-programming-using-
python
4. uDemy's Learn Python (for Beginners)
Online course
http://www.udemy.com/learning-python-not-the-snake/
Websites and Tutorials
10. Checking  interactive learning resource
A creative way to boost your Python skills through
interesting tasks.
http://www.checkio.org/
11. Interactive tutorials on Python
This tutorial for beginners has beautiful interactive
examples.
http://jwork.org/learn/doc/doku.php?id=python:start
12. ComparingTypes
Learn how Python relates and compares with other
languages. How it is similar with its sister Perl, cousin Java,
and an overview of how it was a BIG improvement from
ABC.
https://wiki.python.org/moin/ComparingTypes
13. Python Programming Tutorials
More Python tutorials.
https://pythonspot.com/
http://thepythonguru.com/getting-started-with-python/
Interactive Tools and Lessons
14. LearnStreet
A free online Python tutorial with practice exercises
http://www.learnstreet.com/
15. Interactive tutorials for scientific programming
using Python
Python tutorials in the video.
http://jwork.org/learn/
16. ShowMeDo
http://showmedo.com/videos/python
Over 240 screencasts that reveal the best secrets about
Python as the language of the future.
17. Python Bits
A YouTube playlist is covering interesting Python topics.
Ideal for beginners and intermediate learners.
https://www.youtube.com/c/ArtheadSe
18. Envato Tuts+
More Python video tutorials
https://code.tutsplus.com/
19. CodeFights
Compete with bots and humans writing problem-solving
programs and mastering Python – in real-time.
https://codefights.com/