Python Programming Language

Python is one of the most popular programming languages. It’s simple to use, packed with
features and supported by a wide range of libraries and frameworks. Its clean syntax makes it
beginner-friendly.

• A high-level language, used in web development, data science, automation, AI and more.

• Known for its readability, which means code is easier to write, understand and maintain.

• Backed by library support, so we don’t have to build everything from scratch, there’s
probably a library that already does what we need.

Why to Learn Python?

• Requires fewer lines of code compared to other programming languages like Java.

• Provides Libraries / Frameworks like Django, Flask and many more for Web
Development, and Pandas, Tensorflow, Scikit-learn and many more for, AI/ML, Data
Science and Data Analysis

• Cross-platform, works on Windows, Mac and Linux without major changes.

• Used by top tech companies like Google, Netflix and NASA.

• Many Python coding job opportunities in Software Development, Data Science and
AI/ML.

Understanding Hello World Program in Python

• Hello, World! in python is the first python program which we learn when we start
learning any program. It’s a simple program that displays the message “Hello, World!”
on the screen.
How does this work:

• print() is a built-in Python function that instructs the computer to display text on the
screen.

• "Hello, World!" is a string, which is a sequence of text. In Python, strings are enclosed in
quotes (either single ' or double ").

• Anything after a # symbol is a comment. Python ignores comments, but they are useful
for explaining code to human readers.

Advantages of Python

1. Presence of third-party modules: Python has a rich ecosystem of third-party modules

and libraries that extend its functionality for various tasks.

2. Extensive support libraries: Python boasts extensive support libraries like NumPy for
numerical calculations and Pandas for data analytics, making it suitable for scientific and
data-related applications.

3. Open source and large active community base: Python is open source, and it has a large
and active community that contributes to its development and provides support.

4. Versatile, easy to read, learn, and write: Python is known for its simplicity and
readability, making it an excellent choice for both beginners and experienced
programmers.
 5. Dynamically typed language: Python is dynamically typed, meaning you don't need to
declare data types explicitly, making it flexible but still reliable.

6. Object-Oriented and Procedural programming language: Python supports both object-

oriented and procedural programming, providing versatility in coding styles.

7. Portable and interactive: Python is portable across operating systems and interactive,
allowing real-time code execution and testing.

Disadvantages of Python

1. Performance: Python is an interpreted language, which means that it can be slower than
compiled languages like C or Java. This can be an issue for performance-intensive tasks.

2. Global Interpreter Lock: The Global Interpreter Lock (GIL) is a mechanism in Python that
prevents multiple threads from executing Python code at once. This can limit the
parallelism and concurrency of some applications.

3. Memory consumption: Python can consume a lot of memory, especially when working
with large datasets or running complex algorithms.

4. Dynamically typed: Python is a dynamically typed language, which means that the types
of variables can change at runtime. This can make it more difficult to catch errors and
can lead to bugs.

5. Packaging and versioning: Python has a large number of packages and libraries, which
can sometimes lead to versioning issues and package conflicts.

6. Lack of strictness: Python's flexibility can sometimes be a double-edged sword. While it

can be great for rapid development and prototyping, it can also lead to code that is
difficult to read and maintain.

7. Not Ideal for System Programming / Embedded Systems / Mobile Development /

Frontend: For real-time constraints, low-level systems programming (drivers, OS kernels,
embedded microcontrollers), or very tight performance latency, Python typically isn’t
 used. There is comparatively weak support or adoption for mobile apps or browser-side
code

In Python, variables are used to store data that can be referenced and manipulated during
program execution. A variable is essentially a name that is assigned to a value.

• Unlike Java and many other languages, Python variables do not require explicit
declaration of type.

• The type of the variable is inferred based on the value assigned.

Rules for Naming Variables

To use variables effectively, we must follow Python’s naming rules:

• Variable names can only contain letters, digits and underscores (_).

• A variable name cannot start with a digit.

• Variable names are case-sensitive (myVar and myvar are different).

• Avoid using Python keywords (e.g., if, else, for) as variable names.

Type Casting a Variable

Type casting refers to the process of converting the value of one data type into another. Python
provides several built-in functions to facilitate casting, including int(), float() and str() among
others.

Basic Casting Functions

• int() - Converts compatible values to an integer.

• float() - Transforms values into floating-point numbers.

• str() - Converts any data type into a string.

In Python programming, Operators in general are used to perform operations on values and
variables.
 • Operators: Special symbols like -, + , * , /, etc.

• Operands: Value on which the operator is applied.

Data types in Python are a way to classify data items. They represent the kind of value, which
determines what operations can be performed on that data. Since everything is an object in
Python programming, Python data types are classes and variables are instances (objects) of
these classes.

The following are standard or built-in data types in Python:

• Numeric: int, float, complex

• Sequence Type: string, list, tuple

• Mapping Type: dict

• Boolean: bool

• Set Type: set, frozenset

• Binary Types: bytes, bytearray, memoryview

Numeric Data Types

Python numbers represent data that has a numeric value. A numeric value can be an integer, a
floating number or even a complex number. These values are defined as int, float and complex
classes.

• Integers: value is represented by int class. It contains positive or negative whole numbers
(without fractions or decimals). There is no limit to how long an integer value can be.

• Float: value is represented by float class. It is a real number with a floating-point

representation. It is specified by a decimal point. Optionally, character e or E followed by
a positive or negative integer may be appended to specify scientific notation.

• Complex Numbers: It is represented by a complex class. It is specified as (real part) +

(imaginary part)j. For example - 2+3j

Sequence Data Types

A sequence is an ordered collection of items, which can be of similar or different data types.
Sequences allow storing of multiple values in an organized and efficient fashion.
String Data Type

Python Strings are arrays of bytes representing Unicode characters. In Python, there is no
character data type, a character is a string of length one. It is represented by str class.

Strings in Python can be created using single quotes, double quotes or even triple quotes. We
can access individual characters of a String using index.

Python Functions

Python Functions are a block of statements that does a specific task. The idea is to put some
commonly or repeatedly done task together and make a function so that instead of writing the
same code again and again for different inputs, we can do the function calls to reuse code
contained in it over and over again.

Defining a Function

We can define a function in Python, using the def keyword. A function might take input in the
form of parameters.