 » Data Types

Data Types
All computer languages have a way to structure and store data. The data types in Python are
similar to other languages. You can determine the data type of anything with the built-in function
type() .

>>>
>>> x = 4
>>> type(x)
int
...
>>> y = [1, 5, 6, 22]
>>> type(y)
list

In my course CE 215 students use the 10 most common data types:

Integer
Floating point
String
List
Tuple
Set
NumPy array
Dictionary
NumPy matrix
Pandas DataFrame

The code block below shows all 10 of the most common data types. The subsequent sections
provide more information for each. The final section explains the concept of class and object ,
because each data type is, in fact, a class .
 >>>
>>> import numpy as np
>>> import pandas as pd
...
>>> # The following are examples of data types commonly used
>>> # for engineering, science, and data analysis.
...
>>> # Basic data types
>>> x1 = 5 # Integer.
>>> x2 = 5.3 # Floating point.
>>> x3 = "Hello World" # String.
...
>>> # Sequence data types
>>> x4 = [12, 5, 8] # List.
>>> x5 = (12, 5, 8) # Tuple.
>>> x6 = {12, 5, 8, 8, 8} # Set.
>>> x7 = np.array([12, 5, 8]) # NumPy array.
...
>>> # Lookup, Rectangular, and Spreadsheet-like data types.
>>> x8 = {"plastic": 0.009, "steel": 0.012, "concrete": 0.015} # Dictionary.
>>> x9 = np.array([[12, 5, 8], # NumPy matrix.
... [5, 2, 6]])
>>> url_csv_file = "https://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~mlowry/ExampleData/alcohol_data.csv"
>>> x10 = pd.read_csv(url_csv_file) # Pandas DataFrame.

 Tip

All of the above data types, except set , can be viewed in Sypder’s Variable explorer. To view
the example, write x6 in the console, the output will be {5, 8, 12} .

Integer, Float, and String

The most basic data types are Integer, Floating Point, and String. The names for these data types
might seem odd, but they have a long history in computer programming. The first two are simply
numbers.

Integer and Floating Point

>>>
>>> diameter = 4 # This is an integer.
>>> type(diameter)
int

>>>
>>> depth = 8.6 # This is a floating point (because it has a decimal point).
>>> velocity = 5.0 # This is also a floating point.
>>> type(velocity)
float
 >>>
>>> # If at least one float is included anywhere in a math operation,
>>> # then the result will be a float.
>>> bearing_stress = 4 * (12 + 3.5)
62.0

For someone new to computer programming it might seem strange to distinguish between an
int and float . There are many reasons why this distinction is important, one reason is that in

computer programming we often repeat things for a certain number of times. For example you
might want to do a calculation for n = 5 times, but it doesn’t make sense to do something for n

= 6.2 times. For the latter, if you tell Python to repeat n times it will throw an error.
String

String is computer-speak for text, i.e. words. A string is defined by using single-quotes or double-
quotes. This is not to be confused with comments and docstrings which the computer ignores
when you Run your program. In Spyder docstrings and strings are given the same color green so
they appear similar. However, they are very different. A docstring provides information to
someone reading the script and has no purpose when the script is Run. On the other hand, a
string is actually used or analyzed when the script is Run. For example, you might want the script
to print messages.

>>>
>>> # The strings below are used to print a message.
>>> allowable_stress = 50
>>> success_message = "The bearing stress is below the limit."
>>> fail_message = "Warning: The bearing stress exceeds the limit."
>>> if bearing_stress >= allowable_stress:
... print(fail_message)
>>> else:
... print(success_message)
'Warning: The bearing stress exceeds the limit.'

The use of double-quotes or single-quotes does not matter. For example, material = "concrete"

and material = 'concrete' are identical as far as Python is concerned. Most style guides make no
preference. Some people like to use single-quotes for short strings and double-quotes for long
sentences. I tend to use double quotes for everything.

As you do more and more programming you will find that string manipulation is a common task.
There are lots of things that can be done to strings, such as the following:
 >>>
>>> message = "The pipe material: plastic"
...
>>> message = message.replace("plastic", "concrete")
...
>>> print(message)
'The pipe material: concrete'
...
>>> parts = message.split(" ") # Creates a list with space as the deliminator.
...
>>> print(parts)
['The', 'pipe', 'material:', 'concrete']
...
>>> parts = message.split(":") # Creates a list with colon as the deliminator.
['The pipe material', ' concrete']

The characters of a string can be accessed as follows. This can be confusing and takes trial and
error to master.

>>>
>>> caption = "The program started 18/01/1977"
>>> letter = caption[4] # The fourth character from the left starting with 0.
'm'
>>> start_date = caption[-10:] # Keep from the right 10 characters.
'18/01/1977'
>>> day_month = start_date[:5] # Keep from the left 5 characters.
'18/01'
>>> month = int(day_month[3:]) # Remove from the left 3 characters.
1

List, Tuple, Set, and Numpy Array

List, Tuple, Set, and Numpy Array are sequence data types (also called “collection” or
“compound” data types).

List

As the name implies, a list contains a list of integers, floats, or strings. The items in a list are
separated by commas and a list is defined with square brackets [ ] .

>>>
>>> # An example of a list.
>>> x = [12, 4, 56, 34, 11, 11, 62]

The items of a list can be accessed by putting the desired index in brackets. In Python indexing
starts at zero and this is often a challenge for beginners to remember.
 >>>
>>> # Example of accessing an item with its index.
>>> # The first item is accessed with index 0.
>>> x[0]
12
>>> # The second item is accessed with index 1.
>>> x[1]
4
>>> # A list can be "sliced" to get a subset of the items.
>>> # Items are sliced with a colon : between indices.
>>> # The slice is from the start index until but not including the end index.
>>> x[2:5]
[56, 34, 11]

Lists can be combined.

>>>
>>> # Example of combining lists.
>>> y = [44, 5, 66]
>>> z = x + y
>>> print(z)
[12, 4, 56, 34, 11, 11, 62, 44, 5, 66]

You can add new items at the end of a list by using the append() method.

>>>
>>> # Example of appending a new item to the end of a list.
>>> k = [12, 55, 12, 45]
>>> k.append(77)
>>> print(k)
[12, 55, 12, 45, 77]

Various functions can be used to explore a list. Here are a few ways to explore a list.

>>>
>>> # Determine the length or number of items.
>>> len(x)
7
>>> # Determine the maximum value (for numeric lists).
>>> max(x)
62
>>> # Determine the minimum value (for numeric lists).
>>> min(x)
4
>>> # Calculate the sum (for numeric lists).
>>> sum(x)
190

 Note
 A function is used by putting the list between the parentheses, such as len(x) . A method is
used by putting a dot after the list and then writing parentheses with the argument (if an
argument is needed), such as x.append(77) .

There are other methods for a list. Here are a few other methods.

>>>
>>> x = [12, 4, 56, 34, 11, 11, 62]
>>> # Sort the items of the list.
>>> x.sort()
>>> print(x)
[4, 11, 11, 12, 34, 56, 62]
>>> # Reverse the items of the list.
>>> x.reverse()
>>> print(x)
[62, 56, 34, 12, 11, 11, 4]
>>> # Count the number of times an item appears in the list.
>>> x.count(11)
2

The items of a list can be any data type, such as integer, float, strings, etc.

>>>
>>> fruits = ['orange', 'apple', 'pear', 'banana', 'kiwi', 'apple', 'banana']

 Tip

Sequence data types such as list are often given plural variable names for good Pythonic
style, like values = [12, 34, 66] or measurements = [1.2, 5.1, 4.4, 1.7] .

Often we want to loop over a list. Python’s for statement iterates over the items of any
sequence (list, tuple, etc), in the order that they appear in the sequence (See Controlling Flow:
For Loop).
 >>>
>>> fruits = ['orange', 'apple', 'pear', 'banana', 'kiwi', 'apple', 'banana']
>>> # Example looping over a list.
>>> for fruit in fruits:
... print(fruit)
orange
apple
pear
banana
kiwi
apple
banana
...
>>> # Example of looping over a list and filling a new list with append.
>>> measurements_inches = [12, 4, 56, 34, 11, 11, 62]
>>> measurements_cms = [] # This is an empty list that will be filled with append.
>>> for m in measurements_inches:
... measurements_cms.append(m * 2.5)
...
>>> print(measurements_cms)
[30.0, 10.0, 140.0, 85.0, 27.5, 27.5, 155.0]

Tuple

A tuple is very similar to a list. In fact, you may never notice the difference. For someone who is
a beginner programmer the only difference is that a tuple is defined with curved parentheses or
with no braces at all.

>>>
>>> # Example of defining a tuple.
>>> x = (12, 34, 56)
(12, 34, 56)
>>> # Tuples can also be defined without parentheses.
>>> # The ouput in the console will show the parentheses.
>>> y = 22, 45, 99
(22, 45, 99)

Functions that return more than one item often use tuples. For example, divmod(a, b) returns a
tuple consisting of the quotient and remainder of a divided by b .
 >>>
>>> # Example of a function that returns a tuple.
...
>>> # The result can be "unpacked" using indexing.
>>> result = divmod(10, 3)
>>> print(result)
(3, 1)
...
>>> q = result[0]
>>> r = result[1]
>>> print("quotient =", q, "and remainder =", r)
quotient = 3 and remainder = 1
...
>>> # Alternatively, the tuple can be "unpacked" directly when calling the function.
>>> q, r = divmod(10, 3)
>>> print("quotient =", q, "and remainder =", r)
quotient = 3 and remainder = 1

Set

A set is like a list but with unique values (no duplicates). It is defined with curly braces or by
using the set() function on a list. Either way, duplicates are removed.

>>>
>>> # Example of defining a set.
>>> x = {22, 45, 8, 8, 64}
{8, 22, 45, 64}
>>> # Sets can also be defined using the set function on a list.
>>> y = set(['orange', 'apple', 'pear', 'banana', 'kiwi', 'apple', 'banana'])
{'apple', 'banana', 'kiwi', 'orange', 'pear'}

NumPy Array

A numpy array is another sequence data type that is very similar to a list . Numpy arrays are
faster than lists and have some extra functionality. Consequently, for mathematical and
statistical analysis, a numpy array is preferred. To define a numpy array you must import the
numpy package (See Python Essentials: Import Modules).

>>>
>>> import numpy as np
...
>>> # Example numpy array.
>>> x = np.array([12, 55, 6, 33])
>>> print(x)
array([12, 55, 6, 33])

Numpy arrays can also be created using the functions np.arange() and np.linspace() .
 >>>
>>> # Example numpy array created using the arange() function.
>>> # The arguments are start, stop-but-not-including, and the increment size.
>>> # This example creates a numpy array from 0 to 2 by 0.3 increments.
>>> y = np.arange(0, 2, 0.3)
>>> print(y)
array([0.0, 0.3, 0.6, 0.9, 1.2, 1.5, 1.8])
...
>>> # Example numpy array created using the linspace() function.
>>> # The arguments are start, stop-but-not-including, and the number of desired elements.
>>> # This example creates a numpy array from 0 to 2 with exactly 9 elements.
>>> z = np.linspace(0, 2, 9)
>>> print(z)
array([0.0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, 1.25, 1.5, 1.75, 2.0])

If you know the spacing you want between items, then use np.arange() . On the other hand, if
you know how many items you want, then use np.linspace() .

Often we want to loop over np.arange() (See For Loop).

Dictionary
A dictionary is a powerful Python lookup data type not covered in this course.

NumPy Matrix
A matrix is a rectangular array (i.e. with rows and columns). It is defined by adding an extra set of
square brackets [ ] to a numpy array (See Matrix Analysis for more information).

Pandas DataFrame
A pandas DataFrame stores tabular data (i.e. with rows and columns) and is created by reading an
Excel spreadsheet or csv file (See Data Analysis for more information).

Class and Object

Writing a “class” for “object oriented programming” is an advanced topic that we will not cover in
this course. All you need to know is the basic concept that a class is a kind of thing and an
object is a specific instance of that thing. A class (and its objects) can have attributes and
functionality (which in computer-speak we call methods). For an analogy, a dog is a class and my
dog Simon is an object of that class. All dogs, including my dog, have certain attributes and can do
certain things (methods).

We use objects often. For example, a numpy array is a class. And if I create x = np.array([12, 55,

6, 33]) then x is a numpy array object.

Now I can reference the attributes or call the methods associated with the numpy array object.

>>>
>>> # An attribute is referenced by placing a dot "." between
>>> # the object and the desired attribute.
>>> #
>>> # object.attribute
>>> #
>>> # For example, the size attribute for a numpy array a can be referenced like this:
>>> x.size
4
...
>>> # A method is called by placing a dot "." between
>>> # the object and the method with parenthesis.
>>> #
>>> # object.method()
>>> #
>>> # For example, the sort method for a numpy array a can be called and used like this:
>>> x.sort()
>>> print(x)
array([ 6, 12, 33, 55])
...
>>> # Some methods can alternatively be called like a function from the imported module.
>>> #
>>> # module.method(object)
>>> #
>>> # For example, the sort method can also be called and used like a function:
>>> np.sort(x)
array([ 6, 12, 33, 55])

A numpy array (actually called a n dimensional array) has many attributes and methods. You can
see the list by scrolling down the page here: numpy.ndarray

A pandas dataframe is a class with various attributes and methods. You can see the list by
scrolling down the page here: pandas.DataFrame

Spyder shows the attributes and methods when you type a dot after an object. If you type x.

and pause this window will pop up. The orange f indicates a method (also called a function) and
pink a indicates an attribute.

Pandas dataframe is another example of a class and in the example above my_data is an object.
In fact all data types ( int , float , etc.) are examples of a class and object . And there are
attributes and methods associated with each class . For example, split is one of the methods
associated with a string . append is one of the methods associated with a list .