Data Types Strings Numbers & Math

Real Python Python is dynamically typed It’s recommended to use double-quotes for strings Arithmetic Operators
Pocket Reference Use None to represent missing or optional values Use "\n" to create a line break in a string
10 + 3 # 13
Use type() to check object type To write a backslash in a normal string, write "\\" 10 - 3 # 7
Visit realpython.com to Check for a specific type with isinstance() 10 * 3 # 30
issubclass() checks if a class is a subclass Creating Strings 10 / 3 # 3.3333333333333335
turbocharge your 10 // 3 # 3
single = 'Hello'
Python learning with Type Investigation double = "World"
10 % 3
2 ** 3
#
#
1
8
in‑depth tutorials, type(42) # <class 'int'> multi = """Multiple
line string"""
real‑world examples, type(3.14)
type("Hello")
#
#
<class
<class
'float'>
'str'> Useful Functions
and expert guidance. type(True) # <class 'bool'>
String Operations abs(-5) # 5
type(None) # <class 'NoneType'>
round(3.7) # 4
greeting = "me" + "ow!" # "meow!" round(3.14159, 2) # 3.14
isinstance(3.14, float) # True
repeat = "Meow!" * 3 # "Meow!Meow!Meow!" min(3, 1, 2) # 1
issubclass(int, object) # True - everything inherits from object
length = len("Python") # 6 max(3, 1, 2) # 3
Getting Started sum([1, 2, 3]) # 6
Type Conversion String Methods
Follow these guides to kickstart your Python journey: int("42") # 42 "a".upper() # "A" Learn More on realpython.com/search:
realpython.com/what-can-i-do-with-python float("3.14") # 3.14 "A".lower() # "a" math ∙ operators ∙ built in functions
realpython.com/installing-python str(42) # "42" " a ".strip() # "a"
realpython.com/python-first-steps bool(1) # True "abc".replace("bc", "ha") # "aha"
list("abc") # ["a", "b", "c"] "a b".split() # ["a", "b"] Conditionals
"-".join(["a", "b"]) # "a-b"
Start the Interactive Shell
Learn More on realpython.com/search: Python uses indentation for code blocks
$ python data types ∙ type checking ∙ isinstance ∙ issubclass String Indexing & Slicing Use 4 spaces per indentation level

text = "Python"
Quit the Interactive Shell text[0] # "P" (first) If-Elif-Else
Variables & Assignment
>>> exit() text[-1] # "n" (last) if age < 13:
text[1:4] # "yth" (slice) category = "child"
Variables are created when first assigned
text[:3] # "Pyt" (from start) elif age < 20:
Run a Script Use descriptive variable names text[3:] # "hon" (to end) category = "teenager"
Follow snake_case convention text[::2] # "Pto" (every 2nd) else:
$ python my_script.py
text[::-1] # "nohtyP" (reverse) category = "adult"
Basic Assignment
Run a Script in Interactive Mode
name = "Leo" # String String Formatting Comparison Operators
$ python -i my_script.py age = 7 # Integer # f-strings
height = 5.6 # Float x == y # Equal to
name = "Aubrey"
is_cat = True # Boolean x != y # Not equal to
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x < y # Less than
flaws = None # None type f"Hello, {name}!" # "Hello, Aubrey!"
interpreter ∙ run a script ∙ command line f"{name} is {age} years old" # "Aubrey is 2 years old" x <= y # Less than or equal
f"Debug: {age=}" # "Debug: age=2" x > y # Greater than
Parallel & Chained Assignments x >= y # Greater than or equal
Comments # Format method
x, y = 10, 20 # Assign multiple values template = "Hello, {name}! You're {age}."
a = b = c = 0 # Give same value to multiple variables template.format(name="Aubrey", age=2) # "Hello, Aubrey! You're 2." Logical Operators
Always add a space after the #
Use comments to explain “why” of your code if age >= 18 and has_car:
Augmented Assignments Raw Strings print("Roadtrip!")
Write Comments counter += 1 # Normal string with an escaped tab
if is_weekend or is_holiday:
numbers += [4, 5] "This is:\tCool." # "This is: Cool."
# This is a comment print("No work today.")
permissions |= write
# print("This code will not run.") # Raw string with escape sequences
print("This will run.") # Comments are ignored by Python if not is_raining:
r"This is:\tCool." # "This is:\tCool." print("You can go outside.")
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comment ∙ documentation strings ∙ string methods ∙ slice notation ∙ raw strings
conditional statements ∙ operators ∙ truthy falsy

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 Loops Calling Functions Class Attributes & Methods Raising Exceptions
greet() # "Hello!" class Cat: def validate_age(age):
range(5) generates 0 through 4 greet_person("Bartosz") # "Hello, Bartosz" species = "Felis catus" # Class attribute if age < 0:
Use enumerate() to get index and value add(5, 3) # 8 raise ValueError("Age cannot be negative")
break exits the loop, continue skips to next add(7) # 17 def __init__(self, name): return age
Be careful with while to not create an infinite loop self.name = name # Instance attribute
Return Values def meow(self): Learn More on realpython.com/search:
For Loops def get_min_max(numbers): return f"{self.name} says Meow!" exceptions ∙ errors ∙ debugging
# Loop through range return min(numbers), max(numbers)
for i in range(5): # 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 @classmethod
print(i) minimum, maximum = get_min_max([1, 5, 3]) def create_kitten(cls, name): Collections
return cls(f"Baby {name}")
# Loop through collection A collection is any container data structure that stores multiple items
Useful Built-in Functions If an object is a collection, then you can loop through it
fruits = ["apple", "banana"] Inheritance
for fruit in fruits: callable() # Checks if an object can be called as a function Strings are collections, too
print(fruit) dir() # Lists attributes and methods class Animal:
def __init__(self, name): Use len() to get the size of a collection
globals() # Get a dictionary of the current global symbol table
# With enumerate for index hash() # Get the hash value self.name = name You can check if an item is in a collection with the in keyword
for i, fruit in enumerate(fruits): id() # Get the unique identifier Some collections may look similar, but each data structure solves specific
print(f"{i}: {fruit}") locals() # Get a dictionary of the current local symbol table def speak(self): needs
repr() # Get a string representation for debugging pass

While Loops class Dog(Animal): Lists

Lambda Functions
while True: def speak(self): # Creating lists
user_input = input("Enter 'quit' to exit: ") square = lambda x: x**2 return f"{self.name} barks!" empty = []
if user_input == "quit": result = square(5) # 25 nums = [5]
break Learn More on realpython.com/search: mixed = [1, "two", 3.0, True]
print(f"You entered: {user_input}") # With map and filter
numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4] object oriented programming ∙ classes # List methods
squared = list(map(lambda x: x**2, numbers)) nums.append("x") # Add to end
Loop Control evens = list(filter(lambda x: x % 2 == 0, numbers)) nums.insert(0, "y") # Insert at index 0
Exceptions nums.extend(["z", 5]) # Extend with iterable
for i in range(10):
if i == 3: Learn More on realpython.com/search: nums.remove("x") # Remove first "x"
When Python runs and encounters an error, it creates an exception last = nums.pop() # Pop returns last element
continue # Skip this iteration define functions ∙ return multiple values ∙ lambda
if i == 7: Use specific exception types when possible
break # Exit loop else runs if no exception occurred # List indexing and checks
print(i) fruits = ["banana", "apple", "orange"]
Classes finally always runs, even after errors
fruits[0] # "banana"
fruits[-1] # "orange"
Learn More on realpython.com/search: Classes are blueprints for objects Try-Except "apple" in fruits # True
for loop ∙ while loop ∙ enumerate ∙ control flow You can create multiple instances of one class len(fruits) # 3
try:
You commonly use classes to encapsulate data number = int(input("Enter a number: "))
Inside a class, you provide methods for interacting with the data result = 10 / number Tuples
Functions .__init__() is the constructor method except ValueError:
print("That's not a valid number!") # Creating tuples
self refers to the instance point = (3, 4)
Define functions with def except ZeroDivisionError:
Always use () to call a function print("Cannot divide by zero!") single = (1,) # Note the comma!
Defining Classes else: empty = ()
Add return to send values back
print(f"Result: {result}")
Create anonymous functions with the lambda keyword class Dog: # Basic tuple unpacking
finally:
def __init__(self, name, age): point = (3, 4)
print("Calculation attempted")
Defining Functions self.name = name x, y = point
self.age = age x # 3
def greet(): y # 4
return "Hello!" def bark(self): Common Exceptions
return f"{self.name} says Woof!" ValueError # Invalid value # Extended unpacking
def greet_person(name): TypeError # Wrong type first, *rest = (1, 2, 3, 4)
return f"Hello, {name}!" # Create instance IndexError # List index out of range first # 1
my_dog = Dog("Frieda", 3) KeyError # Dict key not found rest # [2, 3, 4]
def add(x, y=10): # Default parameter print(my_dog.bark()) # Frieda says Woof! FileNotFoundError # File doesn't exist
return x + y

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Sets File I/O Virtual Environments Pythonic Constructs
# Creating Sets # Swap variables
a = {1, 2, 3} File Operations Virtual Environments are often called “venv” a, b = b, a
b = set([3, 4, 4, 5]) Use venvs to isolate project packages from the system-wide Python packages
# Read an entire file
with open("file.txt", mode="r", encoding="utf-8") as file: # Flatten a list of lists
# Set Operations content = file.read() Create Virtual Environment matrix = [[1, 2, 3], [4, 5, 6], [7, 8, 9]]
a | b # {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} flat = [item for sublist in matrix for item in sublist]
a & b # {3} $ python -m venv .venv
# Read a file line by line
a - b # {1, 2} # Remove duplicates
with open("file.txt", mode="r", encoding="utf-8") as file:
a ^ b # {1, 2, 4, 5} unique_unordered = list(set(my_list))
for line in file: Activate Virtual Environment (Windows)
print(line.strip())
PS> .venv\Scripts\activate # Remove duplicates, preserve order
Dictionaries unique = list(dict.fromkeys(my_list))
# Write a file
# Creating Dictionaries with open("output.txt", mode="w", encoding="utf-8") as file:
empty = {} Activate Virtual Environment (Linux & macOS) # Count occurrences
file.write("Hello, World!\n")
pet = {"name": "Leo", "age": 42} from collections import Counter
$ source .venv/bin/activate
# Dictionary Operations # Append to a File
pet["sound"] = "Purr!" # Add key and value with open("log.txt", mode="a", encoding="utf-8") as file: counts = Counter(my_list)
pet["age"] = 7 # Update value Deactivate Virtual Environment
file.write("New log entry\n")
age = pet.get("age", 0) # Get with default
del pet["sound"] # Delete key (.venv) $ deactivate Learn More on realpython.com/search:
pet.pop("age") # Remove and return
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# Dictionary Methods files ∙ context manager ∙ pathlib Learn More on realpython.com/search:
pet = {"name": "Frieda", "sound": "Bark!"}
pet.keys() # dict_keys(['name', 'sound']) virtual environment ∙ venv
pet.values() # dict_values(['Frieda', 'Bark!'])
pet.items() # dict_items([('name', 'Frieda'), ('sound', 'Bark!')]) Imports & Modules Do you want to go deeper on any topic in the Python curriculum?
Packages
Prefer explicit imports over import * At Real Python you can immerse yourself in any topic. Level up your
Learn More on realpython.com/search:
Use aliases for long module names The official third-party package repository is the Python Package Index (PyPI) skills effectively with curated resources like:
list ∙ tuple ∙ set ∙ dictionary ∙ indexing ∙ unpacking Group imports: standard library, third-party libraries, user-defined modules Learning paths
Install Packages
Video courses
Comprehensions Import Styles $ python -m pip install requests Written tutorials
# Import entire module Interactive quizzes
You can think of comprehensions as condensed for loops
import math Save Requirements & Install from File
Comprehensions are faster than equivalent loops result = math.sqrt(16) Podcast interviews
$ python -m pip freeze > requirements.txt Reference articles
List Comprehensions # Import specific function $ python -m pip install -r requirements.txt
from math import sqrt Continue your learning journey and become a Python expert at
# Basic result = sqrt(16) realpython.com/start-here
squares = [x**2 for x in range(10)] Related Tutorials
# Import with alias Installing Python Packages
# With condition import numpy as np Requirements Files in Python Projects
evens = [x for x in range(20) if x % 2 == 0] array = np.array([1, 2, 3])

# Nested # Import all (not recommended) Miscellaneous

matrix = [[i*j for j in range(3)] for i in range(3)] from math import *
Truthy Falsy
Other Comprehensions Package Imports
-42 0
# Dictionary comprehension # Import from package
word_lengths = {word: len(word) for word in ["hello", "world"]} import package.module 3.14 0.0
from package import module
# Set comprehension from package.subpackage import module "John" ""
unique_lengths = {len(word) for word in ["who", "what", "why"]}
# Import specific items [1, 2, 3] []
# Generator expression
from package.module import function, Class
sum_squares = sum(x**2 for x in range(1000))
from package.module import name as alias ("apple", "banana") ()
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{"key": None} {}
comprehensions ∙ data structures ∙ generators Learn More on realpython.com/search:
import ∙ modules ∙ packages None

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