Python Training Topics

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Python Training Topics

What is Python?
 A programming language with strong similarities to
PERL, but with powerful typing and object oriented
features.
 Commonly used for producing HTML content on websites.
Great for text files.
 Useful built-in types (lists, dictionaries).
 Clean syntax, powerful extensions.

Why Python?
 Natural Language ToolKit
 Ease of use; interpreter
 AI Processing: Symbolic
 Python’s built-in datatypes for strings, lists, and more.
 Java or C++ require the use of special classes for this.
 AI Processing: Statistical
 Python has strong numeric processing capabilities:
matrix operations, etc.
 Suitable for probability and machine learning code.

Learning Python
 Unfortunately, we won’t have time to cover all
of Python in class; so, we’re just going to go
over ome highlights.
 You’ll need to learn more on your own.
 Homework 0 asks you to install Python or get
comfortable using it here in the lab. It also asks you to
read some online Python tutorials.
 Later homeworks will include Python programming
exercises to help you practice.

Installing Python
 Python is installed on the PCs in 156.
 Python for Win/Mac/Unix/Linux is available from
www.python.org.
 Generally an easy install.
 On macs, already part of OS X.
 For NLTK you need Python 2.3 or higher.
 GUI development environment: IDLE.
Credits:
http://hkn.eecs.berkeley.edu/~dyoo/python/idle_intro/index.htm

IDLE Development Environment
 Shell for interactive evaluation.
 Text editor with color-coding and smart indenting for
creating python files.
 Menu commands for changing system settings and
running files.
 We will use IDLE in class.

Basic Datatypes
 Integers (default for numbers)
z = 5 / 2 # Answer is 2, integer division.
 Floats
x = 3.456
 Strings
Can use “” or ‘’ to specify. “abc” ‘abc’ (Same thing.)
Unmatched ones can occur within the string. “matt’s”
Use triple double-quotes for multi-line strings or strings than
contain both ‘ and “ inside of them: “““a‘b“c”””

Whitespace
 Whitespace is meaningful in Python: especially indentation and
placement of newlines.
 Use a newline to end a line of code.
(Not a semicolon like in C++ or Java.)
(Use when must go to next line prematurely.)
 No braces { } to mark blocks of code in Python…
Use consistent indentation instead. The first line with a new
indentation is considered outside of the block.
 Often a colon appears at the start of a new block. (We’ll see this
later for function and class definitions.)

Comments
 Start comments with # – the rest of line is ignored.
 Can include a “documentation string” as the first line of any new function
or class that you define.
 The development environment, debugger, and other tools use it: it’s good
style to include one.
def my_function(x, y):
“““This is the docstring. This
function does blah blah blah.”””
# The code would go here...

Printing with Python
 You can print a string to the screen using “print.”
 Using the % string operator in combination with the print command, we can
format our output text.
>>> print “%s xyz %d” % (“abc”, 34)
abc xyz 34
“Print” automatically adds a newline to the end of the string. If you include
a list of strings, it will concatenate them with a space between them.
>>> print “abc” >>> print “abc”, “def”
abc abc def

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