Introduc)on

to Programming
with Python
Python Programming

Adedipo Olagbegi
dipo@delphitechnologies.com


 AIM
To know what programming languages are
To know why Python
To learn some Python programming
 Programming objec)ves

“design, write and debug programs that accomplish

specific goals, including controlling or simula)ng
physical systems; solve problems by decomposing
them into smaller parts “
“use sequence, selec)on, and repe))on in
programs; work with variables and various forms of
input and output “
“use logical reasoning to explain how some simple
algorithms work and to detect and correct errors in
algorithms and programs “
 SS3 Competency Target

“use two or more programming languages, at

least one of which is textual, to solve a variety of
computa8onal problems; make appropriate use
of data structures [for example, lists, tables or
arrays]; design and develop modular programs
that use procedures or func8ons”

What is soKware and what is
programming ?
•  Computers understand 1 and 0’s (binary).

•  They can do things very simple things in
binary very fast.
•  Very difficult for and Cme consuming to do
anything at this level.
•  We need to know the details of every circuit
and connecCon in the computer.
Please make me a cup of tea?
 Programming languages
•  A program running
on the computer
•  Takes instruc)ons
that we write
–  E.g Print Hello
–  Convert them into
code the computer
can understand and
execute
•  Lots of different
languages
 Programming and SoKware
•  The art of crea)ng these programs is
programming.
•  The program we produce are called soAware
(what is hardware ?)
 Why learn programming
•  Get a job programming
•  It teaches you to be a logical thinker
•  Computers are everywhere these days, so
there’s a good chance you’ll use computers at
work, at school, or at home—probably all
three. Learning about programming will help
you understand computers beTer in general.
•  Where are computer programs used. ?
 Why Python ?
•  Easy to read and learn
•  Free and open source
•  Is a real language used in industry
•  Runs on many plaWorms

Interpreted v Compiled Languages
Which ever language we write in, our program must be
converted into code that the computer hardware can
understand (machine code).

•  Compiled Languages convert the whole program into
machine code to produce an executable file. You can
then run the ‘.exe’ file.

•  Interpreted Languages take one line of the program at

a )me and convert it into machine code. They then
execute the code for that line.
Python is an Interpreted Language.
Flowcharts and Pseudocode

14
 Programming Tools
•  Three tools are used to convert algorithms
into computer programs:
•  Flowchart - Graphically depicts the logical steps
to carry out a task and shows how the steps
relate to each other.
•  Pseudocode - Uses English-like phrases with
some Visual Basic terms to outline the program.

15
 Problem solving example
•  How many stamps do you use when
mailing a letter?
•  One rule of thumb is to use one stamp for
every five sheets of paper or fraction
thereof.

16
 Algorithm
1. Request the number of sheets of paper;
call it Sheets. (input)
2. Divide Sheets by 5. (processing)
3. Round the quotient up to the next highest
whole number; call it Stamps. (processing)
4. Reply with the number Stamps. (output)

17
 Flowcharts
•  Graphically depict the logical steps to
carry out a task and show how the steps
relate to each other.

18
Flowchart symbols

19
Flowchart symbols continued

20
Flowchart
example

21
 Pseudocode

•  Uses English-like phrases to outline the

task.

22
 Pseudocode example
Determine the proper number of stamps for a
letter
Read Sheets (input)
Set the number of stamps to Sheets / 5
(processing)
Round the number of stamps up to the next
whole number (processing)
Display the number of stamps (output)

23
 Divide-and-conquer method
•  Used in problem solving – take a large
problem and break it into smaller problems
solving the small ones first
•  Breaks a problem down into modules

24
 Statement structures

•  Sequence – follow instructions from one line

to the next without skipping over any lines
•  Decision - if the answer to a question is
“Yes” then one group of instructions is
executed. If the answer is “No,” then
another is executed
•  Looping – a series of instructions are
executed over and over

25
Sequence
flow chart

26
Decision flow chart

27
Looping flow chart

28
Direction of Numbered NYC Streets
Algorithm
•  Problem: Given a street number of a one-
way street in New York City, decide the
direction of the street, either eastbound or
westbound
•  Discussion: in New York City even
numbered streets are Eastbound, odd
numbered streets are Westbound

29
Flowchart

30
 Pseudocode
Program: Determine the direction of a numbered
NYC street
Get street
If street is even Then
Display Eastbound
Else
Display Westbound
End If

31
 Class Average Algorithm
•  Problem: Calculate and report the grade-point
average for a class
•  Discussion: The average grade equals the sum
of all grades divided by the number of students
Output: Average grade
Input: Student grades
Processing: Find the sum of the grades; count the
number of students; calculate average

32
Flowchart

33
 Pseudocode
Program: Determine the average grade of a class
Initialize Counter and Sum to 0
Do While there are more data
Get the next Grade
Add the Grade to the Sum
Increment the Counter
Loop
Computer Average = Sum / Counter
Display Average

34
 Tips and tricks of flowcharts
•  Flowcharts are time-consuming to write and
difficult to update
•  For this reason, professional programmers are
more likely to favor pseudocode and hierarchy
charts
•  Because flowcharts so clearly illustrate the
logical flow of programming techniques, they are
a valuable tool in the education of programmers

35
 Tips and tricks of pseudocode
•  There are many styles of pseudocode
•  Some programmers use an outline form
•  Some use a form that looks almost like a
programming language
•  The pseudocode in the case studies of this text
focus on the primary tasks to be performed by
the program and leaves many of the routine
details to be completed during the coding
process

36
 URL’s for free Flowcharting
software
•  www.smartdraw.com
•  www.gliffy.com/uses/flowchart-so7ware/
•  www.breezetree.com/flowchar:ng-
so7ware/
Flowchart So7ware, FREE Flowchart Examples
and Templates ...
•  www.edrawso7.com/flowchart.php

37
 Programming Environment
What you need
•  A text editor (NOT a word processor)
•  A python interpreter.
•  hTp://www.python.org

•  What you get is IDLE (Integrated Development

Environment)
•  And the python interpreter (in Windows in its
own root folder)

Python Shell for interac)ve input.

Text Editor for wri)ng and

running scripts
Right of passage 01_Hello_world
print ("Hello World!”)

Save it and then run it.

Look in the shell window for your output
 Right of passage Hello_world

Built in function All functions have

brackets, which may or
may not contain arguments

print ("Hello World!")

argument(s) passed to the print function
A string enclose in double “ or single ‘ quotes

What would this do ?

print(‘So what do "you"
think’)

 Python and Numbers
print("OK Dipo !")
print(5 + 11)
print("5 + 11")

What happened and why ?


Python numbers, strings and
arithme)c
print("Dipo" + "Maidens”)
print("Dipo","Maidens”)
print("5" + "11”)
print("Python is Ace" * 5)
The asterisk ‘*’ is a
mul)plica)on
 What about ?
04_strings_and_maths_2
print(“Dipo” + 5)
print(“5” * “11”)


Don’t worry about the messages for now. !

Would this work ?
print(“Dipo”,5)

 Syntax Errors
•  Errors in the way you
have set out your
program.
•  Missing quotes, brackets
or colons
•  Incorrect indenta)on
•  Highlighted in the
program by IDLE
•  Picked up before the
program has started to
run
 Run)me Errors
•  Errors in the way you
expected the program
to work.
•  Things that don’t
make sense to python
when it runs
•  A lack of
understanding of what
the instruc)ons do.
•  Failure in your logic !
•  Look for the line the
error is in.
 Where to go for help !
•  Google it ! (Watch the version !!!)

•  Python Docs (part of the install)
 Variables and types of variables
name = "Dipo"
age = 24
print(name,"is",age)
•  Variables are containers with labels .
•  We can refer to the contents by using the label
•  The containers ore of different types, depending
on the type of variable.
•  ‘=‘ is an assignment operator. It assigns the
values on the right to the variable on the leK.
 Data Types
•  So far we have looked at 3 types of data:-
–  integers – whole numbers (+ve and –ve) no limit
–  strings – sequence of ASCII characters
–  floats – decimal numbers – watch precision
•  Boolean Type
–  True or False
–  Usually generated as the result of a test
•  legal = age >= 18
–  Can be sta)cally signed
•  brown_eyes = True
Gerng data in from the keyboard.
•  The ‘input()’ func)on reads the keyboard up to a
return character, and returns the characters typed
as a string.
•  A string is a sequence of characters.
print("Type something in")
value = input()
print ("You typed", value)
•  What would happen if you typed in 23 ?
 Recap
•  print() and input()
•  Variables and data types.
•  “=“ is an assignment NOT ‘EQUALS’
•  Type conversion (strings to integers)
•  Simple numeric and string opera)ons
 A func)on

Built in function All functions have

brackets, which may or
may not contain arguments

print ("Hello World!")

argument(s) passed to the print function
A string enclose in double “ or single ‘ quotes

What would this do ?

print(‘So what do "you"
think’)

 Python and Numbers
print("OK Dipo !")
print(5 + 11)
print("5 + 11")

What happened and why ?


Python numbers, strings and arithme)c
print("Dipo" + "Maidens”)
print("Dipo","Maidens”)
print("5" + "11”)
print("Python is Ace" * 5)
The asterisk ‘*’ is a
mul)plica)on
 What about ?
04_strings_and_maths_2
print(“Dipo” + 5)
print(“5” * “11”)


Don’t worry about the messages for now. !

Would this work ?
print(“Dipo”,5)

 Syntax Errors
•  Errors in the way you
have set out your
program.
•  Missing quotes, brackets
or colons
•  Incorrect indenta)on
•  Highlighted in the
program by IDLE
•  Picked up before the
program has started to
run
 Run)me Errors
•  Errors in the way you
expected the program
to work.
•  Things that don’t
make sense to python
when it runs
•  A lack of
understanding of what
the instruc)ons do.
•  Failure in your logic !
•  Look for the line the
error is in.
 Where to go for help !
•  Google it ! (Watch the version !!!)

•  Python Docs (part of the install)
 Basic Math func)ons 1
•  Add ‘+’
–  Can be used with integers to add
–  Can be used with strings to concatenate (join)

•  Subtract ‘-’
–  Used with integers for subtrac)on
–  Integers can handle –ve numbers
–  Makes no sense with strings
 Basic Math func)ons 2
•  Mul)ply ‘*’ - NOTE this is a ‘star’ not ‘x’
–  Can be used with integers to mul)ply
–  It makes no sense to mul)ply strings.
–  What does “Hello “ * 5 result in ?

•  Divide ‘/’ and ‘//’

–  Used with integers for division
•  ‘/’ is normal division (5/4 = 1.25)
•  ‘//’ is whole number and ignores the remainder. (5 //4 = 1)
–  ‘/’ results in a value of type ‘float’, where as ‘//’ returns an
integer
–  Makes no sense with strings
 Basic Math func)ons 3
•  FLOATS
–  ‘/’ always returns a ‘float’ (even if it is a whole number)
–  Numeric type for decimals.
–  2 (as a float) = 2.0
•  Python will do math with any combina)on of integers and floats.
•  It will convert as appropriate, but usually to a float.
•  MODULUS ‘%’
–  Can be used with floats and integers to find the remainder
aKer division.
–  Makes no sense with strings
–  Uses
•  If today is Monday in 29 days )me it will be (29%7 = 1 (one day
on)) Tuesday.
 Repea)ng blocks of code.
•  In programming we oKen want to repeat the same block of code
several )mes.
•  It may be exactly the same instruc)ons, or by using variables, a
value (or values) may change each )me we repeat the instruc)ons.
•  If we know how many )mes to repeat, we can use a ‘for’ loop.
•  We can set a variable that increments (or decrements) each )me
we go round the loop.
–  By serng the start value, the end value and the inc / dec, we can
control how many )mes we repeat.
–  We can use the variable within the loop.
•  The correct terminology is itera)ng through the loop counter
(variable)
 for loop syntax
For each of the values in the list
Variable num
range (1,10)
for num in range (1,10):
generates a list of
numbers 1,2,… 10
print("2 x",num,"=",
2*num)
print(“What a lot of Block to repeat is
Not part of the repeat block
output !!!”) indented under
the :
 False If True
<test>

Condi)onal statements
if <I can understand this>:
i will be happy
else:
i will be sad L
 Boolean Types
•  So far we have looked at 3 types of data:-
–  integers – whole numbers (+ve and –ve) no limit
–  strings – sequence of ASCII characters
–  floats – decimal numbers – watch precision
•  Boolean Type
–  True or False
–  Usually generated as the result of a test
•  legal = age >= 18
–  Can be sta)cally signed
•  brown_eyes = True
 Tests compare data items..so.
Comparators in Python
•  ==
Used to test if the two operands are equal
name == "George"
•  > or >=
Used to test if the two operands are ‘greater than’ or
‘greater than or equals’ to another item. )
height >= 2000
Strings are compared leTer by leTer star)ng from the
first leTer using each characters ASCII value
Thus
"Bob" > "Bill"
 Comparators in Python
•  < or <=
Used to test if the two operands are ‘less than’ or ‘less
than or equals’ to another item. )
item_cost < 450
Strings are compared leTer by leTer star)ng from the
first leTer using each characters ASCII value
Thus
"Big" < "Small" returns True
•  !=
Used to test if two operands are not equal
passcode != "12$A*djm"
 Logic and mul)ple comparators
We can combine comparators using logical operators.
•  A and B
–  True when A and B are both True
•  age > 21 and sex == “F”

•  A or B
–  True when either A or B are True (or both of then are True)
•  temp > 100 or pressure > 5

•  not A
–  True when A is False
•  not passed_exam

•  Can be combined – use () for clarity

 The if statement
•  Thus we can use comparators and combine
them with logical operators to evaluate a set
of condi)ons.
•  The overall expression MUST return True or
False and we can execute different bits of
code depending on the result.
 The simplest 'if'
Logical test

:
True
False
If
block 1
a == b

if a == b:
block 1
block2
block 2 block 1 indented and only
executed if the test block 2 aligned with the if.
returned True It is executed
independently of the test
no maTer what happens
 if, else block 1 indented and
only executed if the test
returned True
Logical test
:
True
False
block 3
If
Age != block 1
if a == b:
18 block 1
else:
block 3
block 2 block2
Block 3 indented and block 2 aligned with the if. It is
only executed if the test executed independently of the
returned False test no maTer what happens