Tianyao (Till) Chen
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Tianyao (Till) Chen

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Python Notes

Tianyao (Till) Chen
   1914 words   9 minutes 

Basics

  1. If-elif-else

  2. dir(random) prints all the attributes of the random module.

  3. help(random.randint) gives the help.

  4. Everything in Python is an object. Python is object-based.

  5. type() gives the type of the object.

  6. bool() returns False if it’s False/0/empty/None; it returns True if it’s not empty.

  7. Generator is surrounded by parentheses: (it produces one item at a time, unlike listcomp that produces all data at once).

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    for i in (x * 3 for x in [1,2,3,4,5]):
    print(i)

  8. is checks if the two variables refer to the same object. if a is None:

Strings

  1. Change Case:.title() .upper() .lower()

  2. f-strings are preferred.

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    name = 'foo'
print(f'The name is {name}.')

  3. Stripping Whitespace: .lstrip() .rstrip() .strip()

  4. join: joins the elements of an iterable (list/tuple/dictionary) into a single string:

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    A = ['A', 'B', 'C']
x = '#'.join(A) # A#B#C

  5. Multiline string (’ and ’ are equivalent):

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    a = ''' First line
second line
third line
'''

  6. string to list: string.split('delimiter')

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    my_string = 'Hello World'
my_list = my_string.split(' ') # ['Hello', 'World']

  7. Be consistent with single and double quotes. For triple-quoted strings, always use double quotes.

Numbers

  1. We can group digits using underscores to make large numbers more readable:

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    universe_age = 14_000_000_000
print(universe_age)
# Output: 14000000000

  2. Multiple Assignment: x, y, z = 1, 2, 3

  3. Constants: no-built in constants, use uppercase as a convention (like in C/C++): MAX = 100

  4. Exponential: Use **: a = 2 ** 3

  5. range(): range(1, 11, 2) is 1, 3, 5, 7, 9

Lists

  1. Adding:

    • Insert: A.insert(0, foo)
    • Append: A.append(foo)
    • Concatenate: A += B

  2. Removing:

    • By index
      • del: del A[0]
      • pop():
        • last = A.pop()
        • first = A.pop(0)
    • By value
      • remove(): A.remove('foo')

  3. Organizing:

    • Sorting (Alphabetically): A.sort() A.sort(reverse=True) print(sorted(A))
    • Reversing (Chronologically): A.reverse()

  4. min(A) max(A) sum(A)

  5. List Comprehensions:

    • A = [a ** 2 for a in range(1,3)] A = [1,4]
    • foo = [k for k,v in foo_dictionary.items()]

  6. Slicing (not end-inclusive): A = [0, 1, 2, 3, 4]

    • print(A[1:4]) gives 1,2,3
    • print(A[:4]) is equivalent to print (A[0:4])
    • print(A[1:]) is equivalent to print (A[1:5])
    • print(A[-3:]) is equivalent to print (A[2:])
    • print(A[0:5:2]) or print(A[::2]) gives every second letter.
    • print(A[::-1]) prints backwards.
    • Slicing is nondestructive, while list methods change the state of a list.

  7. Copying: B = A[:] (full slicing) instead of B = A. Or B = A.copy().

  8. Checking existence:

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    A = [1,2,3,4,5]
if 1 in A:
    print('1 in A')
if 6 not in A:
    print('6 not in A')

  9. With while loops:

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    while A: # while A is not empty

while 1 in A: # while there is 1 in A

  10. enumerate():

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    for i, item in enumerate(a):
    print(f'{i} - {item}')

Tuples

  1. Tuples can’t be modified: A = (1, 2) A[0] = 3 doesn’t work. (Immutable list)

  2. But tuples can be reassigned: A = (1, 2) A = (3, 2) works.

  3. For a single-object tuple like t = ('Python'), it becomes a string. But if we add a comma, it becomes a tuple t = ('Python',)

Dictionaries

  1. Basic usage:

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    A = {'language': 'python', 'age': 19}
print(A['language'])
A['height'] = 190 # adding a new pair
A['language'] = 'C++' # modifying

  2. get() (When not sure if the key exists): print (A.get('weight', 'no weight assigned')) (preferred)

  3. Looping through:

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    for k, v in A.items(): # keys and values

for k in A.keys(): # equivalent to the line below
for k in A: # since looping through the keys is default
for k in sorted(A.keys()) # sorted

for v in A.values(): # just values
for v in set(A.values()): # unique values

  4. Lists and dictionaries can be nested into each other or themselves.

  5. Check for membership with in and not in:

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    if 'bananas' in fruits:
    fruits['bananas'] += 1
else: # not in
    fruits['bananas'] = 1

  6. setdefault() to avoid KeyError: x = fruits.setdefault(fruit, 0) (it returns the value. If it doesn’t exist, insert the key with the specified value.)

  7. import pprint pprint.pprint() pretty-print for complex data structures.

  8. Dictionary comprehension:

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    flights = {k: v.title()
           for k, v in flights.items()
           if v == 'foo'} # optional filter

Sets

  1. Basic usage:

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    empty_set = set()
languages = {'python', 'C++', 'C', 'python'}
print(languages)
# Output {'python', 'C++', 'C'}
word = 'hello'
wordSet = set(word)

  2. .union(), .difference(), .intersection()

  3. Set comprehension: foo = {v for v in vowels}

Input

  1. Reading an int: n = int(input('Please input a number: '))

Functions

  1. Optional keyword arguments that avoid confusion:

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    def minus(a, b):
    return (a - b)

print(minus(a=1, b=2)) # is equivalent to the line below
print(minus(b=2, a=1))

  2. Default values for the parameters can be added:

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    def minus(a, b = 0):
    return (a - b)

print(minus(1))

  3. We can make an argument optional by using None:

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    def build_person(first, last, age=None):
    person = {'first_name': first, 'last_name': last}
    if age:
        person['age'] = age
    return person

  4. To prevent a function from modifying a list, pass the list with full slicing: foo(A[:])

  5. Variadic functions:

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    def print_languages(*languages): # The * makes an empty tuple and packs any value it receives
    for language in languages:
        print(f'- {language}')
# more generically, *args
# **kwargs for key-value pairs
# * works on the way in as well: *foo expands the list foo to individual arguments

  6. Importing:

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    from module_name import func_1, func_2, func_3 # importing multiple functions

from module_name import func_1 as f # alias
import module_name as m # alias
from module_name import * # all functions
# We must import everything at the beginning of each file
# Searching in 1. wd 2. site-packages 3. standard library locations

  7. Add docstrings for functions:

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    def foo():
    """This is a docstring."""
    return 'bar'

  8. Use annotations/type hints to improve the docs: (optional and informational only)

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    def foo(word: str) -> str:
    """Take a string and return a string."""
    return word

  9. Python supports both pass-by-value and pass-by-reference. Variables in Python are object references. If there’s only assignment, the original object won’t change.

OOP

  1. Example:

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    class Person:
    def __init__(self, name, age):
        self.name = name
        self.age = age

  2. Default value:

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    class foo:
    def __init__(self, value):
        self.value = 0

  3. Inheritance:

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    from foo import Foo

class Foo(Bar): # Bar is the parent class
    def __init__(self, value):
        super().__init__(value) # superclass
# we can also override a method by redefining it in the child class.

  4. Conventions:

    • Capitalize the first letter of each word, without underscores. Instances and module names use underscores and are in lowercase.

Random

  1. randint (end inclusive):

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    from random import randint
print(randint(1,6))

  2. randrange (end exclusive)

  3. choice:

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    from random import choice
A = [1,2,3,4,5,6]
print(choice(A))

Files

  1. Reading an entire file:

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    with open('file.txt') as file_obj: # 'r' is the default mode
    contents = file_obj.read()
    # lines = file_obj.readlines() -> a list of lines
    # for line in lines:
        #print(line.rstrip())
    print(contents.rstrip()) # Removing the additional \n
    # no need to close, python will do it automatically

  2. Reading line by line:

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    with open('file.txt') as file_obj:
    for line in file_obj:
        print(line.rstrip())

  3. Writing:

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    # python only writes strings, use str() if necessary
with open('file.txt', 'w') as file_obj: # 'a', 'r+'
    file_obj.write('Python.')

Exceptions

  1. Basic try-except-else:

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    try:
    print(1/0)
except ZeroDivisionError as err:
    print('Can't divide by 0.', str(err))
else: # optional
    print('Success')

  2. Failing silently using pass:

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    try:
    with open('file.txt') as file_obj:
        content = file_obj.read()
except FileNotFoundError:
    pass
else:
     print(len(content.split())) # word count

  3. Raise an error: raise FileNotFoundError('foo')

Testing

  1. Basic unit testing:

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    import unittest
from file import function_1:

class Func1Test(unittest.TestCase):
    def test(self):
        result = function_1(value)
        self.assertEqual(result, foo)

if __name__ = '__main__':
    unittest.main()

  2. setUp() method can be used to test a class

Install Packages

  1. sudo python3 -m pip install foo (foo could also be a tar.gz) installs to our site-packages.

  2. We can generate a distribution package by using setuptools.

PEP8

  1. pip3 install pycodestyle pycodestyle --show-source --show-pep8 foo.py tests for PEP8 compliance.

  2. For multiline with binary operators, break before the operators:

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    income = (gross_wages
          + taxable_interest
          + (dividends - qualified_dividends)
          - ira_deduction
          - student_loan_interest)

  3. Surround functions and classes with two blank lines. Methods in a class are surrounded by a single blank line.

  4. Imports should be on separate lines.

  5. Be consistent with returns. return None if any return statement returns an expression.

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    def foo(x):
    if x >= 0:
        return math.sqrt(x)
    else:
        return None

def bar(x):
    if x < 0:
        return None
    return math.sqrt(x)

  6. Use methods instead of modules:

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    if foo.startswith('bar'): # or endswith
# is better than
if foo[:3] == 'bar'

if isinstance(obj, int):
# is better than
if type(obj) is type(1):

  7. Use the fact that empty sequences (strings/lists/sets/etc.) are false:

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    if not seq:
if seq:
# are better than
if len(seq):
if not len(seq):

  8. pip3 install autopep8 autopep8 --in-place foo.py auto-formats the code.

  9. Prefix with an underscore for ‘private’ properties/methods. (As a convention but not a protection.)

  10. Add parentheses for continuing a long line of code.

Virtual Environments

  1. Create and activate with virtualenv:

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    cd foo
virtualenv --python python3 my_venv
source my_venv/bin/activate
pip install numpy
pip freeze > requirements.txt
pip install -r requirements.txt
deactivate

Decorators

  1. A decorator is a function that takes another function as an argument and replaces it with a new modified function.

  2. Creation:

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    def identity(f):
    return f

@identity
def foo():
    return 'bar'
# This same as foo = identity(foo)

  3. Static methods:

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    class Pizza:
    @staticmethod
    def mix_ingredients(x, y):
        return x + y

three = Pizza.mix_ingredients(1, 2)

  4. Class methods (used for factory methods. which instantiate objects using a different signature other than __init__):

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    class Pizza:
    def __init__(self, ingredients):
        self.ingredients = ingredients

    @classmethod
    def from_fridge(cls, fridge):
        return cls(fridge.get_cheese() + fridge.get_vegetables())

  5. Abstract methods:

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    class Pizza:
    @staticmethod
    def get_radius():
        raise NotImplementedError

# Or make the class abstract (abc: abstract base class)
from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
class BasePizza(ABC):
    @abstractmethod
    def get_radius(self):
        """Method that should do something."""

Generators

  1. Generators return the value but save the stack reference, which will be used to resume the execution when next() is called.

  2. Example:

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    def my_generator():
    yield 1
    yield 2
    yield 'a'

g = my_generator()
next(g) # 1
next(g) # 2
next(g) # a

  3. range() returns a generator, which generates the values on the fly. It’s good for handling large data set.

Miscellaneous

  1. We can’t use mutable types as dictionary keys since their hash will change. Strings are not mutable. And use tuples over lists when they are meant to be immutable.

  2. Use list comprehensions over loops.

  3. Python requires an __init__.py file for the directory to be considered a submodule.

References

Updated on May 12, 2019
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