summaryrefslogtreecommitdiffhomepage
path: root/python.html.markdown
blob: 1d6c0a1917652cba5224852ba9305648caaaf960 (plain)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656
657
658
659
660
661
662
663
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
705
706
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
---
language: python
contributors:
    - ["Louie Dinh", "http://ldinh.ca"]
    - ["Amin Bandali", "http://aminbandali.com"]
    - ["Andre Polykanine", "https://github.com/Oire"]
    - ["evuez", "http://github.com/evuez"]
filename: learnpython.py
---

Python was created by Guido Van Rossum in the early 90s. It is now one of the most popular
languages in existence. I fell in love with Python for its syntactic clarity. It's basically
executable pseudocode.

Feedback would be highly appreciated! You can reach me at [@louiedinh](http://twitter.com/louiedinh) or louiedinh [at] [google's email service]

Note: This article applies to Python 2.7 specifically, but should be applicable
to Python 2.x. Python 2.7 is reaching end of life and will stop being maintained in 2020,
it is though recommended to start learning Python with Python 3.
For Python 3.x, take a look at the [Python 3 tutorial](http://learnxinyminutes.com/docs/python3/).

It is also possible to write Python code which is compatible with Python 2.7 and 3.x at the same time,
using Python [`__future__` imports](https://docs.python.org/2/library/__future__.html). `__future__` imports
allow you to write Python 3 code that will run on Python 2, so check out the Python 3 tutorial.

```python

# Single line comments start with a number symbol.

""" Multiline strings can be written
    using three "s, and are often used
    as comments
"""

####################################################
## 1. Primitive Datatypes and Operators
####################################################

# You have numbers
3  # => 3

# Math is what you would expect
1 + 1  # => 2
8 - 1  # => 7
10 * 2  # => 20
35 / 5  # => 7

# Division is a bit tricky. It is integer division and floors the results
# automatically.
5 / 2  # => 2

# To fix division we need to learn about floats.
2.0     # This is a float
11.0 / 4.0  # => 2.75 ahhh...much better

# Result of integer division truncated down both for positive and negative.
5 // 3     # => 1
5.0 // 3.0 # => 1.0 # works on floats too
-5 // 3  # => -2
-5.0 // 3.0 # => -2.0

# Note that we can also import division module(Section 6 Modules)
# to carry out normal division with just one '/'.
from __future__ import division
11/4    # => 2.75  ...normal division
11//4   # => 2 ...floored division

# Modulo operation
7 % 3 # => 1

# Exponentiation (x to the yth power)
2**4 # => 16

# Enforce precedence with parentheses
(1 + 3) * 2  # => 8

# Boolean Operators
# Note "and" and "or" are case-sensitive
True and False #=> False
False or True #=> True

# Note using Bool operators with ints
0 and 2 #=> 0
-5 or 0 #=> -5
0 == False #=> True
2 == True #=> False
1 == True #=> True

# negate with not
not True  # => False
not False  # => True

# Equality is ==
1 == 1  # => True
2 == 1  # => False

# Inequality is !=
1 != 1  # => False
2 != 1  # => True

# More comparisons
1 < 10  # => True
1 > 10  # => False
2 <= 2  # => True
2 >= 2  # => True

# Comparisons can be chained!
1 < 2 < 3  # => True
2 < 3 < 2  # => False

# Strings are created with " or '
"This is a string."
'This is also a string.'

# Strings can be added too!
"Hello " + "world!"  # => "Hello world!"
# Strings can be added without using '+'
"Hello " "world!"  # => "Hello world!"

# ... or multiplied
"Hello" * 3  # => "HelloHelloHello"

# A string can be treated like a list of characters
"This is a string"[0]  # => 'T'

#String formatting with %
#Even though the % string operator will be deprecated on Python 3.1 and removed
#later at some time, it may still be good to know how it works.
x = 'apple'
y = 'lemon'
z = "The items in the basket are %s and %s" % (x,y)

# A newer way to format strings is the format method.
# This method is the preferred way
"{} is a {}".format("This", "placeholder")
"{0} can be {1}".format("strings", "formatted")
# You can use keywords if you don't want to count.
"{name} wants to eat {food}".format(name="Bob", food="lasagna")

# None is an object
None  # => None

# Don't use the equality "==" symbol to compare objects to None
# Use "is" instead
"etc" is None  # => False
None is None  # => True

# The 'is' operator tests for object identity. This isn't
# very useful when dealing with primitive values, but is
# very useful when dealing with objects.

# Any object can be used in a Boolean context.
# The following values are considered falsey:
#    - None
#    - zero of any numeric type (e.g., 0, 0L, 0.0, 0j)
#    - empty sequences (e.g., '', (), [])
#    - empty containers (e.g., {}, set())
#    - instances of user-defined classes meeting certain conditions
#      see: https://docs.python.org/2/reference/datamodel.html#object.__nonzero__
#
# All other values are truthy (using the bool() function on them returns True).
bool(0)  # => False
bool("")  # => False


####################################################
## 2. Variables and Collections
####################################################

# Python has a print statement
print "I'm Python. Nice to meet you!" # => I'm Python. Nice to meet you!

# Simple way to get input data from console
input_string_var = raw_input("Enter some data: ") # Returns the data as a string
input_var = input("Enter some data: ") # Evaluates the data as python code
# Warning: Caution is recommended for input() method usage
# Note: In python 3, input() is deprecated and raw_input() is renamed to input()

# No need to declare variables before assigning to them.
some_var = 5    # Convention is to use lower_case_with_underscores
some_var  # => 5

# Accessing a previously unassigned variable is an exception.
# See Control Flow to learn more about exception handling.
some_other_var  # Raises a name error

# if can be used as an expression
# Equivalent of C's '?:' ternary operator
"yahoo!" if 3 > 2 else 2  # => "yahoo!"

# Lists store sequences
li = []
# You can start with a prefilled list
other_li = [4, 5, 6]

# Add stuff to the end of a list with append
li.append(1)    # li is now [1]
li.append(2)    # li is now [1, 2]
li.append(4)    # li is now [1, 2, 4]
li.append(3)    # li is now [1, 2, 4, 3]
# Remove from the end with pop
li.pop()        # => 3 and li is now [1, 2, 4]
# Let's put it back
li.append(3)    # li is now [1, 2, 4, 3] again.

# Access a list like you would any array
li[0]  # => 1
# Assign new values to indexes that have already been initialized with =
li[0] = 42
li[0]  # => 42
li[0] = 1  # Note: setting it back to the original value
# Look at the last element
li[-1]  # => 3

# Looking out of bounds is an IndexError
li[4]  # Raises an IndexError

# You can look at ranges with slice syntax.
# (It's a closed/open range for you mathy types.)
li[1:3]  # => [2, 4]
# Omit the beginning
li[2:]  # => [4, 3]
# Omit the end
li[:3]  # => [1, 2, 4]
# Select every second entry
li[::2]   # =>[1, 4]
# Reverse a copy of the list
li[::-1]   # => [3, 4, 2, 1]
# Use any combination of these to make advanced slices
# li[start:end:step]

# Remove arbitrary elements from a list with "del"
del li[2]   # li is now [1, 2, 3]

# You can add lists
li + other_li   # => [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
# Note: values for li and for other_li are not modified.

# Concatenate lists with "extend()"
li.extend(other_li)   # Now li is [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

# Remove first occurrence of a value
li.remove(2)  # li is now [1, 3, 4, 5, 6]
li.remove(2)  # Raises a ValueError as 2 is not in the list

# Insert an element at a specific index
li.insert(1, 2)  # li is now [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] again

# Get the index of the first item found
li.index(2)  # => 1
li.index(7)  # Raises a ValueError as 7 is not in the list

# Check for existence in a list with "in"
1 in li   # => True

# Examine the length with "len()"
len(li)   # => 6


# Tuples are like lists but are immutable.
tup = (1, 2, 3)
tup[0]   # => 1
tup[0] = 3  # Raises a TypeError

# You can do all those list thingies on tuples too
len(tup)   # => 3
tup + (4, 5, 6)   # => (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
tup[:2]   # => (1, 2)
2 in tup   # => True

# You can unpack tuples (or lists) into variables
a, b, c = (1, 2, 3)     # a is now 1, b is now 2 and c is now 3
d, e, f = 4, 5, 6       # you can leave out the parentheses
# Tuples are created by default if you leave out the parentheses
g = 4, 5, 6             # => (4, 5, 6)
# Now look how easy it is to swap two values
e, d = d, e     # d is now 5 and e is now 4


# Dictionaries store mappings
empty_dict = {}
# Here is a prefilled dictionary
filled_dict = {"one": 1, "two": 2, "three": 3}

# Look up values with []
filled_dict["one"]   # => 1

# Get all keys as a list with "keys()"
filled_dict.keys()   # => ["three", "two", "one"]
# Note - Dictionary key ordering is not guaranteed.
# Your results might not match this exactly.

# Get all values as a list with "values()"
filled_dict.values()   # => [3, 2, 1]
# Note - Same as above regarding key ordering.

# Check for existence of keys in a dictionary with "in"
"one" in filled_dict   # => True
1 in filled_dict   # => False

# Looking up a non-existing key is a KeyError
filled_dict["four"]   # KeyError

# Use "get()" method to avoid the KeyError
filled_dict.get("one")   # => 1
filled_dict.get("four")   # => None
# The get method supports a default argument when the value is missing
filled_dict.get("one", 4)   # => 1
filled_dict.get("four", 4)   # => 4
# note that filled_dict.get("four") is still => None
# (get doesn't set the value in the dictionary)

# set the value of a key with a syntax similar to lists
filled_dict["four"] = 4  # now, filled_dict["four"] => 4

# "setdefault()" inserts into a dictionary only if the given key isn't present
filled_dict.setdefault("five", 5)  # filled_dict["five"] is set to 5
filled_dict.setdefault("five", 6)  # filled_dict["five"] is still 5


# Sets store ... well sets (which are like lists but can contain no duplicates)
empty_set = set()
# Initialize a "set()" with a bunch of values
some_set = set([1, 2, 2, 3, 4])   # some_set is now set([1, 2, 3, 4])

# order is not guaranteed, even though it may sometimes look sorted
another_set = set([4, 3, 2, 2, 1])  # another_set is now set([1, 2, 3, 4])

# Since Python 2.7, {} can be used to declare a set
filled_set = {1, 2, 2, 3, 4}   # => {1, 2, 3, 4}

# Add more items to a set
filled_set.add(5)   # filled_set is now {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

# Do set intersection with &
other_set = {3, 4, 5, 6}
filled_set & other_set   # => {3, 4, 5}

# Do set union with |
filled_set | other_set   # => {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}

# Do set difference with -
{1, 2, 3, 4} - {2, 3, 5}   # => {1, 4}

# Do set symmetric difference with ^
{1, 2, 3, 4} ^ {2, 3, 5}  # => {1, 4, 5}

# Check if set on the left is a superset of set on the right
{1, 2} >= {1, 2, 3} # => False

# Check if set on the left is a subset of set on the right
{1, 2} <= {1, 2, 3} # => True

# Check for existence in a set with in
2 in filled_set   # => True
10 in filled_set   # => False


####################################################
## 3. Control Flow
####################################################

# Let's just make a variable
some_var = 5

# Here is an if statement. Indentation is significant in python!
# prints "some_var is smaller than 10"
if some_var > 10:
    print "some_var is totally bigger than 10."
elif some_var < 10:    # This elif clause is optional.
    print "some_var is smaller than 10."
else:           # This is optional too.
    print "some_var is indeed 10."


"""
For loops iterate over lists
prints:
    dog is a mammal
    cat is a mammal
    mouse is a mammal
"""
for animal in ["dog", "cat", "mouse"]:
    # You can use {0} to interpolate formatted strings. (See above.)
    print "{0} is a mammal".format(animal)

"""
"range(number)" returns a list of numbers
from zero to the given number
prints:
    0
    1
    2
    3
"""
for i in range(4):
    print i

"""
"range(lower, upper)" returns a list of numbers
from the lower number to the upper number
prints:
    4
    5
    6
    7
"""
for i in range(4, 8):
    print i

"""
While loops go until a condition is no longer met.
prints:
    0
    1
    2
    3
"""
x = 0
while x < 4:
    print x
    x += 1  # Shorthand for x = x + 1

# Handle exceptions with a try/except block

# Works on Python 2.6 and up:
try:
    # Use "raise" to raise an error
    raise IndexError("This is an index error")
except IndexError as e:
    pass    # Pass is just a no-op. Usually you would do recovery here.
except (TypeError, NameError):
    pass    # Multiple exceptions can be handled together, if required.
else:   # Optional clause to the try/except block. Must follow all except blocks
    print "All good!"   # Runs only if the code in try raises no exceptions
finally: #  Execute under all circumstances
    print "We can clean up resources here"

# Instead of try/finally to cleanup resources you can use a with statement
with open("myfile.txt") as f:
    for line in f:
        print line

####################################################
## 4. Functions
####################################################

# Use "def" to create new functions
def add(x, y):
    print "x is {0} and y is {1}".format(x, y)
    return x + y    # Return values with a return statement

# Calling functions with parameters
add(5, 6)   # => prints out "x is 5 and y is 6" and returns 11

# Another way to call functions is with keyword arguments
add(y=6, x=5)   # Keyword arguments can arrive in any order.


# You can define functions that take a variable number of
# positional args, which will be interpreted as a tuple by using *
def varargs(*args):
    return args

varargs(1, 2, 3)   # => (1, 2, 3)


# You can define functions that take a variable number of
# keyword args, as well, which will be interpreted as a dict by using **
def keyword_args(**kwargs):
    return kwargs

# Let's call it to see what happens
keyword_args(big="foot", loch="ness")   # => {"big": "foot", "loch": "ness"}


# You can do both at once, if you like
def all_the_args(*args, **kwargs):
    print args
    print kwargs
"""
all_the_args(1, 2, a=3, b=4) prints:
    (1, 2)
    {"a": 3, "b": 4}
"""

# When calling functions, you can do the opposite of args/kwargs!
# Use * to expand positional args and use ** to expand keyword args.
args = (1, 2, 3, 4)
kwargs = {"a": 3, "b": 4}
all_the_args(*args)   # equivalent to foo(1, 2, 3, 4)
all_the_args(**kwargs)   # equivalent to foo(a=3, b=4)
all_the_args(*args, **kwargs)   # equivalent to foo(1, 2, 3, 4, a=3, b=4)

# you can pass args and kwargs along to other functions that take args/kwargs
# by expanding them with * and ** respectively
def pass_all_the_args(*args, **kwargs):
    all_the_args(*args, **kwargs)
    print varargs(*args)
    print keyword_args(**kwargs)

# Function Scope
x = 5

def set_x(num):
    # Local var x not the same as global variable x
    x = num # => 43
    print x # => 43

def set_global_x(num):
    global x
    print x # => 5
    x = num # global var x is now set to 6
    print x # => 6

set_x(43)
set_global_x(6)

# Python has first class functions
def create_adder(x):
    def adder(y):
        return x + y
    return adder

add_10 = create_adder(10)
add_10(3)   # => 13

# There are also anonymous functions
(lambda x: x > 2)(3)   # => True
(lambda x, y: x ** 2 + y ** 2)(2, 1) # => 5

# There are built-in higher order functions
map(add_10, [1, 2, 3])   # => [11, 12, 13]
map(max, [1, 2, 3], [4, 2, 1])   # => [4, 2, 3]

filter(lambda x: x > 5, [3, 4, 5, 6, 7])   # => [6, 7]

# We can use list comprehensions for nice maps and filters
[add_10(i) for i in [1, 2, 3]]  # => [11, 12, 13]
[x for x in [3, 4, 5, 6, 7] if x > 5]   # => [6, 7]


####################################################
## 5. Classes
####################################################

# We subclass from object to get a class.
class Human(object):

    # A class attribute. It is shared by all instances of this class
    species = "H. sapiens"

    # Basic initializer, this is called when this class is instantiated.
    # Note that the double leading and trailing underscores denote objects
    # or attributes that are used by python but that live in user-controlled
    # namespaces. You should not invent such names on your own.
    def __init__(self, name):
        # Assign the argument to the instance's name attribute
        self.name = name

        # Initialize property
        self.age = 0


    # An instance method. All methods take "self" as the first argument
    def say(self, msg):
        return "{0}: {1}".format(self.name, msg)

    # A class method is shared among all instances
    # They are called with the calling class as the first argument
    @classmethod
    def get_species(cls):
        return cls.species

    # A static method is called without a class or instance reference
    @staticmethod
    def grunt():
        return "*grunt*"

    # A property is just like a getter.
    # It turns the method age() into an read-only attribute
    # of the same name.
    @property
    def age(self):
        return self._age

    # This allows the property to be set
    @age.setter
    def age(self, age):
        self._age = age

    # This allows the property to be deleted
    @age.deleter
    def age(self):
        del self._age


# Instantiate a class
i = Human(name="Ian")
print i.say("hi")     # prints out "Ian: hi"

j = Human("Joel")
print j.say("hello")  # prints out "Joel: hello"

# Call our class method
i.get_species()   # => "H. sapiens"

# Change the shared attribute
Human.species = "H. neanderthalensis"
i.get_species()   # => "H. neanderthalensis"
j.get_species()   # => "H. neanderthalensis"

# Call the static method
Human.grunt()   # => "*grunt*"

# Update the property
i.age = 42

# Get the property
i.age # => 42

# Delete the property
del i.age
i.age  # => raises an AttributeError


####################################################
## 6. Modules
####################################################

# You can import modules
import math
print math.sqrt(16)  # => 4

# You can get specific functions from a module
from math import ceil, floor
print ceil(3.7)  # => 4.0
print floor(3.7)   # => 3.0

# You can import all functions from a module.
# Warning: this is not recommended
from math import *

# You can shorten module names
import math as m
math.sqrt(16) == m.sqrt(16)   # => True
# you can also test that the functions are equivalent
from math import sqrt
math.sqrt == m.sqrt == sqrt  # => True

# Python modules are just ordinary python files. You
# can write your own, and import them. The name of the
# module is the same as the name of the file.

# You can find out which functions and attributes
# defines a module.
import math
dir(math)


####################################################
## 7. Advanced
####################################################

# Generators help you make lazy code
def double_numbers(iterable):
    for i in iterable:
        yield i + i

# A generator creates values on the fly.
# Instead of generating and returning all values at once it creates one in each
# iteration.  This means values bigger than 15 wont be processed in
# double_numbers.
# Note xrange is a generator that does the same thing range does.
# Creating a list 1-900000000 would take lot of time and space to be made.
# xrange creates an xrange generator object instead of creating the entire list
# like range does.
# We use a trailing underscore in variable names when we want to use a name that
# would normally collide with a python keyword
xrange_ = xrange(1, 900000000)

# will double all numbers until a result >=30 found
for i in double_numbers(xrange_):
    print i
    if i >= 30:
        break


# Decorators
# in this example beg wraps say
# Beg will call say. If say_please is True then it will change the returned
# message
from functools import wraps


def beg(target_function):
    @wraps(target_function)
    def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
        msg, say_please = target_function(*args, **kwargs)
        if say_please:
            return "{} {}".format(msg, "Please! I am poor :(")
        return msg

    return wrapper


@beg
def say(say_please=False):
    msg = "Can you buy me a beer?"
    return msg, say_please


print say()  # Can you buy me a beer?
print say(say_please=True)  # Can you buy me a beer? Please! I am poor :(
```

## Ready For More?

### Free Online

* [Automate the Boring Stuff with Python](https://automatetheboringstuff.com)
* [Learn Python The Hard Way](http://learnpythonthehardway.org/book/)
* [Dive Into Python](http://www.diveintopython.net/)
* [The Official Docs](http://docs.python.org/2/)
* [Hitchhiker's Guide to Python](http://docs.python-guide.org/en/latest/)
* [Python Module of the Week](http://pymotw.com/2/)
* [A Crash Course in Python for Scientists](http://nbviewer.ipython.org/5920182)
* [First Steps With Python](https://realpython.com/learn/python-first-steps/)
* [LearnPython](http://www.learnpython.org/)

### Dead Tree

* [Programming Python](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0596158106/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0596158106&linkCode=as2&tag=homebits04-20)
* [Dive Into Python](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1441413022/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1441413022&linkCode=as2&tag=homebits04-20)
* [Python Essential Reference](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0672329786/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0672329786&linkCode=as2&tag=homebits04-20)