Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

BBM 101
Introduction to
Programming I

Lecture #03 – Introduction to Python and

Programming
Tunca Doğan & Selman Bozkır & Aydın Kaya // Fall 2025
 Last time… Introduction to Algorithms
• An algorithm is a recipe for solving a problem. Problem Specification
Input: Some stuff!
OUTPUT: Information about the stuff!
Search Problem
• Input: Sorting Problem
– a list of objects
• Input:
– a specific object
– a collection of orderable objects
• Output: • Output:
– True if the object is in list
– a collection where each item is in order
– False if the object is not in list

2
Lecture Overview
• Programming languages (PLs)

• Introduction to Python and Programming

Disclaimer: Much of the material and slides for this lecture were borrowed from
—E. Grimson, J. Guttag and C. Terman MIT 6.0001 class
—Ruth Anderson, Michael Ernst and Bill Howe’s CSE 140 class
—Swami Iyer’s Umass Boston CS110 class 3
Lecture Overview
• Programming languages (PLs)

• Introduction to Python and Programming

4
Programming Languages
• Syntax and semantics

• Dimensions of a PL

• Programming paradigms
Programming Languages
• An artificial language designed to express
computations that can be performed by a machine,
particularly a computer.

• Can be used to create programs that control the

behavior of a machine, to express algorithms
precisely, or as a mode of human communication.

• e.g., C, C++, Java, Python, Prolog, Haskell, Scala, etc..

Creating Computer Programs
• Each programming language provides a set of
primitive operations.
• Each programming language provides mechanisms
for combining primitives to form more complex, but
legal, expressions.
• Each programming language provides mechanisms
for deducing meanings or values associated with
computations or expressions.
Aspects of Languages
• Primitive constructs
– Programming language – numbers, strings, simple
operators
– English – words

• Syntax – which strings of characters and symbols are

well-formed
– Programming language –we’ll get to specifics shortly, but
for example 3.2 + 3.2 is a valid C expression
– English – “cat dog boy” is not syntactically valid, as not
in form of acceptable sentence
Aspects of Languages
• Static semantics – which syntactically valid strings
have a meaning?

– English – “I are big” has form <noun> <intransitive verb>

<noun>, so syntactically valid, but is not valid English
because “I” is singular, “are” is plural

– Programming language – for example, <literal> <operator>

<literal> is a valid syntactic form, but 2.3/’abc’ is a static
semantic error
Aspects of Languages
• Semantics – what is the meaning associated with a
syntactically correct string of symbols with no static
semantic errors

– English – can be ambiguous

• “They saw the man with the telescope.”

– Programming languages – always has exactly one

meaning
• But meaning (or value) may not be what programmer
intended
Where Can Things Go Wrong?
• Syntactic errors
– Common but easily caught by computer

• Static semantic errors

– Some languages check carefully before running, others check
while interpreting the program
– If not caught, behavior of program is unpredictable

• Programs don’t have syntactic or static semantic errors,

but meaning may not be what was intended
– Crashes (stops running)
– Runs forever
– Produces an answer, but not programmer’s intent
Our Goal
• Learn the syntax and semantics of a programming
language

• Learn how to use those elements to translate

“recipes” for solving a problem into a form that the
computer can use to do the work for us

• Computational modes of thought enable us to use a

suite of methods to solve problems
Dimensions of a Programming Language
Low-level vs. High-level
• Distinction according to the level of abstraction

• In low-level programming languages (e.g. Assembly),

the set of instructions used in computations are very
simple (nearly at machine level)

• A high-level programming language (e.g. Python, C,

Java) has a much richer and more complex set of
primitives.
Dimensions of a Programming Language
General vs. Targeted
• Distinction according to the range of applications

• In a general programming language, the set of

primitives support a broad range of applications.

• A targeted programming language aims at a very

specific set of applications.
– e.g., MATLAB (matrix laboratory) is a programming language
specifically designed for numerical computing (matrix and
vector operations)
Dimensions of a Programming Language
Interpreted vs. Compiled
• Distinction according to how the source code is executed

• In interpreted languages (e.g. BASIC), the source code is

executed directly at runtime (by the interpreter).
– Interpreter control the flow of the program by going through
each one of the instructions.

• In compiled languages (e.g. C), the source code first

needs to be translated into an object code (by the
compiler) before the execution.
Programming Language Paradigms
• Functional
• Treats computation as the evaluation of mathematical functions
(e.g. Lisp, Scheme, Haskell, etc.)

• Imperative
• Describes computation in terms of statements that change a
program state (e.g. FORTRAN, BASIC, Pascal, C, etc. )

• Logical (declarative)
• Expresses the logic of a computation without describing its control
flow (e.g. Prolog)

• Object oriented
• Uses "objects" – data structures consisting of data fields and
methods together with their interactions – to design applications
and computer programs (e.g. C++, Java, C#, Python, etc.)
Lecture Overview
• Programming languages (PLs)

• Introduction to Python and Programming

17
Python
• Python started as a hobby project
by Guido Van Rossum and was first
released in 1991.

• Python is an interpreted language and not a compiled

one, although compilation is a step.
– Python code is first compiled to what is called bytecode

18
Programming in Python
• Our programming
environment
– Python programming
language
– PyCharm, an integrated
development
environment (IDE)
– Terminal

19
Programming in Python
• To program in Python
– Compose a program by typing it into a file named, say,
[Link]
– Run (or execute) the program by typing python
[Link] in the terminal window

compiler/
Editor
[Link] interpreter Hello, World
(PyCharm)
(python)

20
Input and Output
• Bird’s-eye view of a Python program

input my_program.py output

– Input types: command-line arguments, standard input, file

input
– Output types: standard output, file output, graphical
output, audio output

21
Input and Output
• Command-line arguments are the inputs we list after a program
name when we run the program

$ python my_program.py arg_1 arg_2 ... arg_n

• The command-line arguments can be accessed within a program,

such as my_program.py above, via the array (aka list) sys.argv1
as [Link][1], [Link][2], . . . , [Link][n]

• The name of the program (my_program.py) is stored in

[Link][0]

1 The sys module provides access to variables and functions that interact with the Python interpreter
22
Input and Output
[Link]
import sys

print('Hi, ', end='')

print([Link][1], end='')
print(’. How are you?')

$ python [Link] Alice

Hi, Alice. How are you?
$ python [Link] Bob
Hi, Bob. How are you?
$ python [Link] Carol
Hi, Carol. How are you?

23
1. Python is like a calculator 2. A variable is a container

3. Different types cannot be compared 4. A program is a recipe

24
1. Python is Like a Calculator

25
You Type Expressions.
Python Computes Their Values.
• 5 Python has a natural and well-defined
set of precedence rules that fully
• 3+4 specify the order in which the operators
• 44/2 are applied in an expression
• 2**3 • For arithmetic operations, multiplication
and division are performed before addition
• 3*4+5*6 and subtraction

• (72 – 32) / 9 * 5 • When arithmetic operations have the same

precedence, they are left associative, with
the exception of the exponentiation
operator **, which is right associative
• We can use parentheses to override
precedence rules

26
An Expression is Evaluated
From the Inside Out
• How many expressions are in this Python code?
an expression values

(72 – 32) / 9.0 * 5 (72 – 32) / 9.0 * 5

(40) / 9.0 * 5
40 / 9.0 * 5
4.44 * 5
22.2
27
Another Evaluation Example

(72 – 32) / (9.0 * 5)

(40) / (9.0 * 5)
40 / (9.0 * 5)
40 / (45.0)
40 / 45.0
.888

28
2. A Variable is a Container

A variable is a name associated

with a data-type value
29
Variables Hold Values
• Recall variables from algebra:
– Let x = 2 …
– Let y = x …

• To assign a variable, use “varname = expression”

pi = 3.14
pi
No output from an
var = 6*10**23 assignment statement
22 = x # Error!

• Not all variable names • Variable names must only be one word
are permitted! (as in no spaces)
• Variable names must be made up of only
letters, numbers, and underscore (_)
• Variable names cannot begin with a
number
30
Python is Dynamically Typed
• Dynamic-typed languages do not require the explicit
declaration of the variables before they are used.

• Python interpreter does type checking only as the

code runs, and the type of a variable is allowed to
change over its lifetime.

• In static-typed languages (e.g. C++), you have to

declare the variable type and any discrepancy like
adding a string and an integer is checked during
compile time.

31
Changing Existing Variables
(“re-binding” or “re-assigning”)
x = 2
x
2
y = x
y
x = 5
x
y

• “=” in an assignment is not a promise of eternal equality

– This is different than the mathematical meaning of “=”

• Evaluating an expression gives a new (copy of a) number,

rather than changing an existing one

32
How an Assignment is Executed
1. Evaluate the right-hand side to a value
2. Store that value in the variable

x = 2
print(x)
y = x
print(y)
z = x + 1
print(z)
x = 5
print(x)
print(y) To visualize a program’s execution:
print(z)
[Link]
34
How an Assignment is Executed

35
How an Assignment is Executed

36
How an Assignment is Executed

37
How an Assignment is Executed

38
How an Assignment is Executed

39
How an Assignment is Executed

40
How an Assignment is Executed

41
How an Assignment is Executed

42
How an Assignment is Executed

43
How an Assignment is Executed

44
How an Assignment is Executed

45
How an Assignment is Executed

46
More Expressions: Conditionals
(value is True or False)
22 > 4 # condition, or conditional
22 < 4 # condition, or conditional
22 == 4 …
x = 100 # Assignment, not conditional!
22 = 4 # Error!
x >= 5
x >= 100
x >= 200 Numeric operators: +, *, **
not True Boolean operators: not, and, or
not (x >= 200) Mixed operators: <, >=, ==
3<4 and 5<6
4<3 or 5<6
temp = 72
water_is_liquid = (temp > 32 and temp < 212)
47
More Expressions: strings
• A string represents text
– 'Python'
– myString = "BBM 101-Introduction to Programming"
– ""

• Empty string is not the same as an unbound variable

– "" and ‘’ are the same

• We can specify tab, newline, backslash, and single quote characters using
escape sequences ’\t’, ’\n’, ’\\’, and ’\’’, respectively

Operations:
• Length:
– len(myString)

• Concatenation:
– "Hacettepe" + " " + ' University'

• Containment/searching:
– 'a' in myString
– "a" in myString
48
Strings
ruler1 = '1'
ruler2 = ruler1 + ' 2 ' + ruler1
ruler3 = ruler2 + ' 3 ' + ruler2
ruler4 = ruler3 + ' 4 ' + ruler3
print(ruler1)
print(ruler2)
print(ruler3)
print(ruler4)

1
121
1213121
121312141213121

49
3. Different Types should not be Compared
anInt = 2
aString = "Hacettepe"
anInt == aString # Error

50
Types of Values

• Integers (int): -22, 0, 44

– Arithmetic is exact
– Some funny representations: 12345678901L

• Real numbers (float, for “floating point”): 2.718,

3.1415
– Arithmetic is approximate, e.g., 6.022*10**23

• Strings (str): "I love Python", " "

• Truth values (bool, for “Boolean”):

True, False

George Boole
51
Operations Behave differently
on Different Types
3.0 + 4.0
3 + 4
3 + 4.0
"3" + "4" # Concatenation
3 + "4" # Error
3 + True # Error

Moral: Python only sometimes tells you when you

do something that does not make sense.

52
Operations on Different Types
Python 3.5 Python 2.x
15.0 / 4.0 3.75 3.75
15 / 4 3.75 3
15.0 / 4 3.75 3.75
15 / 4.0 3.75 3.75

15.0 // 4.0 3.0

Before Python version 3.5,
15 // 4 3 operand used to determine
the type of division.
15.0 // 4 3.0
15 // 4.0 3.0 / : Division
//: Integer Division

53
Type Conversion

float(15) 15.0
int(15.0) 15
int(15.5) 15
int("15") 15
str(15.5) 15.5
float(15) / 4 3.75

54
A Program is a Recipe

55
Design the Algorithm Before Coding
• We should think (design the algorithm) before coding

• Algorithmic thinking is the logic. Also, called problem

solving

• Coding is the syntax

• Make this a habit

• Some students do not follow this practice and they get

challenged in all their courses and careers!

56
What is a Program?
• A program is a sequence of instructions

• The computer executes one after the other, as if they had been
typed to the interpreter

• Saving your work as a program is better than re-typing from

scratch

x = 1
y = 2
x + y
print(x + y)
print("The sum of", x, "and", y, "is", x+y)

57
The print() Statement
• The print statement always prints one line
– The next print statement prints below that one

• Write 0 or more expressions after print, separated by commas

– In the output, the values are separated by spaces

• Examples:
x = 1
y = 2
print(3.1415) 3.1415
print(2.718, 1.618) 2.718 1.618
print()
print(20 + 2, 7 * 3, 4 * 5) 22 21 20
print("The sum of", x, end="") The sum of 1 and 2 is 3
print(" and", y, "is", x+y)
To avoid newline

58
Exercise: Convert Temperatures
• Make a temperature conversion chart as the following

• Fahrenheit to Centigrade, for Fahrenheit values of: -40, 0, 32, 212

• C = (F - 32) × 5/9
F = int(input())
• Output:
Fahrenheit Centigrade C = (F - 32) * 5/9
-40 -40.0
print("Fahrenheit Centigrade")
Fahrenheit Centigrade
0 -17.7778 print(F,C)

Fahrenheit Centigrade
32 0.0

Fahrenheit Centigrade
212 100.0

• You have created a Python program!

• (It doesn’t have to be this tedious, and it won’t be.)

59
Expressions, Statements, and Programs
• An expression evaluates to a value
3 + 4
pi * r**2

• A statement causes an effect

pi = 3.14159
print(pi)

• Expressions appear within other expressions and within statements

(fahr – 32) * (5.0 / 9)
print(pi * r**2)

• A statement may not appear within an expression

3 + print(pi) # Error!

• A program is made up of statements

– A program should do something or communicate information 60
1. Python is like a calculator 2. A variable is a container

3. Different types cannot be compared 4. A program is a recipe

61
Programming Languages
• A programming language is a “language” to write programs in,
such as Python, C, C++, Java

• The concept of programming languages are quite similar

• Python: print("Hello, World!")

• Java: public static void main(String[] args) {

[Link]("Hello, World!");
}

• Python is simpler! That’s why we are learning it first 

62
Evolution of Programming Languages

63
The 2023 Top Programming Languages

[Link]
64
65

[Link]