CSC2401: Computer Programming

I (Python)

Department Of Computer Scinece,

Faculty Of Computing And Mathematical Sciences,
Kano University Of Science And Technology, Wudil Kano – Nigeria.
Credit To W3 Schools, main source of these slides
Contents
❑Python Syntax
❑Python Indentation
❑Python Comments
Creating a Comment
Multi Line Comments

❑Python Variables
Creating Variables
Casting
Get the Type
Single or Double Quotes?
Case-Sensitive
Python - Variable Names
Multi Words Variable Names
Python Variables - Assign Multiple Values
Python - Output Variables
Python - Global Variables
Python - Variable Exercises

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Python Syntax
Execute Python Syntax
As we learned in the previous lesson, Python syntax can be executed by writing directly in the
Command Line:

Or by creating a python file on the server, using the .py file extension, and running it in the
Command Line:

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Python Indentation
Indentation refers to the spaces at the beginning of a code line.

Where in other programming languages the indentation in code is for readability only, the
indentation in Python is very important.

Python uses indentation to indicate a block of code.

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Python will give you an error if you skip the indentation:

The number of spaces is up to you as a programmer, the most common use is four, but it has to be at least
one.

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You have to use the same number of spaces in the same block of code, otherwise Python will
give you an error:

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Python Variables
In Python, variables are created when you assign a value to it:

Python has no command for declaring a variable.

You will learn more about variables in the Python variables chapter.

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Python Comments
Comments can be used to explain Python code.
Comments can be used to make the code more readable.
Comments can be used to prevent execution when testing code.
Creating a Comment
Comment starts with a #, and Python will ignore them:

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Comments can be placed at the end of a line, and Python will ignore the rest of the line:

A comment does not have to be text that explains the code, it can also be used to prevent
Python from executing code:

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Multi Line Comments
Python does not really have a syntax for multi
line comments. To add a multiline comment
you could insert a # for each line:
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Or, not quite as intended, you can use a
multiline string. Since Python will ignore string
literals that are not assigned to a variable, you
can add a multiline string (triple quotes) in
your code, and place your comment inside it:
As long as the string is not assigned to a variable, Python
will read the code, but then ignore it, and you have made a
multiline comment.
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Python Variables
Variables
Variables are containers for storing data values.
Creating Variables
Python has no command for declaring a variable.
A variable is created the moment you first assign a value to it.

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Variables do not need to be declared with any particular type, and can even change type after
they have been set.

Casting
If you want to specify the data type of a variable, this can be done with casting.

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Get the Type
You can get the data type of a variable with the type() function.

You will learn more about data types and casting later in this tutorial.

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Single or Double Quotes?
String variables can be declared either by using single or double quotes:

Case-Sensitive
Variable names are case-sensitive.

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Python - Variable Names
Variable Names
A variable can have a short name (like x and y) or a more descriptive name (age, carname,
total_volume). Rules for Python variables:

A variable name must start with a letter or the underscore character

A variable name cannot start with a number

A variable name can only contain alpha-numeric characters and underscores (A-z, 0-9, and _ )

Variable names are case-sensitive (age, Age and AGE are three different variables)

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Remember that variable names are case-sensitive

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Multi Words Variable Names
Variable names with more than one word can be difficult to read.
There are several techniques you can use to make them more readable:

❑ Camel Case
Each word, except the first, starts with a capital letter:

❑ Pascal Case

Each word starts with a capital letter:

❑ Snake Case
Each word is separated by an underscore character:

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Python Variables - Assign Multiple Values
❑ Many Values to Multiple Variables
Python allows you to assign values to multiple variables in one line:

Note: Make sure the number of variables matches the number of values, or else you will get an error.
❑ One Value to Multiple Variables
And you can assign the same value to multiple variables in one line:

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Python Variables - Assign Multiple Values (Cont.)

❑ Unpack a Collection
If you have a collection of values in a list, tuple etc. Python allows you to extract the values
into variables. This is called unpacking.

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Python - Output Variables
Output Variables
The Python print() function is often used to output variables.

In the print() function, you output multiple variables, separated by a comma:

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You can also use the + operator to output multiple variables:

Notice the space character after “Python ” and “is ” , without them the result would be "Pythonisawesome".

For numbers, the + character works as a mathematical operator:

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In the print() function, when you try to combine a string and a number with the + operator,
Python will give you an error:

The best way to output multiple variables in the print() function is to separate them with commas,
which even support different data types:

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Python - Global Variables
Global Variables
Variables that are created outside of a function (as in all of the examples above) are known as
global variables.
Global variables can be used by everyone, both inside of functions and outside.

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If you create a variable with the same name inside a function, this variable will be local, and can only be
used inside the function. The global variable with the same name will remain as it was, global and with the
original value.

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The global Keyword
Normally, when you create a variable inside a function, that variable is local, and can only be used inside that
function.
To create a global variable inside a function, you can use the global keyword.

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Also, use the global keyword if you want to change a global variable inside a function.

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 Python - Variable Exercises

Test Yourself With Exercises: Now you have learned a lot about variables, and how to use them in Python.
Try to insert the missing part to make the code work as expected:
1. Create a variable named carname and assign the value Honda to it.

2. Create a variable named x and assign the value 50 to it.

3. Display the sum of 5 + 10, using two variables: x and y.

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4. Create a variable called z, assign x + y to it, and display the result.

5. Remove the illegal characters in the variable name:

6. Insert the correct syntax to assign the same value to all three variables in one code line.

7. Insert the correct keyword to make the variable x belong to the global scope.

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