Python Scripting Language

Collection Editor:
Ken Ninh
Python Scripting Language

Collection Editor:
Ken Ninh
Author:
R.G. (Dick) Baldwin

Online:
< http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1/ >

OpenStax-CNX
This selection and arrangement of content as a collection is copyrighted by Ken Ninh. It is licensed under the Creative
Commons Attribution License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Collection structure revised: April 1, 2016
PDF generated: June 23, 2017
For copyright and attribution information for the modules contained in this collection, see p. 312.
 Table of Contents
1 Itse1359-1000-Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2 Itse1359-1010-Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3 Itse1359-1015-Program Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4 Itse1359-1020r-Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
5 Itse1359-1030r-Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
6 Itse1359-1050-Introduction to Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
7 Itse1359-1060-Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
8 Itse1359-1065-Visualizing Python . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
9 Itse1359-1080r-Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
10 Itse1359-1090-Lists Part 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
11 Itse1359-1110-Nested Tuples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
12 Itse1359-1110r-Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
13 Itse1359-1120-Empty and Single-Item Tuples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
14 Itse1359-1120r-Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
15 Itse1359-1130-Unpacking Tuples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
16 Itse1359-1130r-Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
17 Itse1359-1210r-Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
18 Itse1359-1220-Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
19 Itse1359-1220r-Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
20 Itse1359-1230r-Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
21 Itse1359-1240r-Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
22 Itse1359-1250-Nested Loops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
23 Itse1359-1250r-Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
24 Itse1359-1260-Loop Modiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
25 Itse1359-1280-Function Arguments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
26 Itse1359-1410-Overview of Python classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
27 Itse1359-1410r-Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
28 Itse1359-1450-Inheritance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
29 Itse1359-1610-GUI Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
30 Itse1359-1720-Doctest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
31 Itse1359-1720r-Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
32 Itse1359-1900-Preface to Networking and Databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
33 Itse1359-1930-Dbm and Shelve Databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
34 Itse1359-2110-Preface to Putting Python to Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
35 Itse1359-2510-Getting Started with the Online Python Tutor Code Vi-
sualizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Attributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .312
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Chapter 1

Itse1359-1000-Preface 1

1.1 Table of contents

• Welcome (p. 1)
• Information about the course (p. 1)
· Course description (p. 1)
· Prerequisites (p. 2)
· Course rationale (p. 2)
• Learning resources (p. 2)
· General (p. 2)
· Primary learning resources (p. 2)
• How to use this instructional material (p. 4)
• An editorial comment (p. 4)
• Reinforcing what you are learning (p. 5)
• Miscellaneous (p. 5)

1.2 Welcome
Welcome to the course material for ITSE 1359 Introduction to Scripting Languages: Python at Austin
Community College in Austin, TX.
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: most of the material for this course is presented in plain
text format and should be accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display. While there are a few
bitmapped images that aren't accessible, that material will not be needed for assignments or included on
tests.)

1.3 Information about the course

1.3.1 Course description
As of September 2014, the description for this course reads as follows:

Introduction to scripting languages including basic data types, control structures, regular expres-
sions, input/output, and textual analysis.

1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m51307/1.14/>.

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2 CHAPTER 1. ITSE1359-1000-PREFACE

1.3.2 Prerequisites
One semester of programming or departmental approval.

1.3.3 Course rationale

This course is an introduction to scripting languages and Python. The purpose of the course is to prepare
students for building scripts that control a sequence of program steps such as those used in developing testing
and deploying software. A modern scripting language, Python, is used as an example of a scripting language.

1.4 Learning resources

1.4.1 General
I have long been a proponent of free and open educational resources for college students. This version of
this course does not require students to purchase printed textbooks. Instead the learning resources for the
course consist of a large number of online resources arranged in the following major sections :

1. Language Fundamentals - Demonstrate the basic techniques used to create scripts for automating
system administrative tasks.
2. Testing - Design, code, and test Python applications using Python doctests and unit testing tools.
3. Text processing - Demonstrate the use of string operations and regular expressions in processing text.

4. Networking and Databases - Demonstrate the use of Python in developing applications using networking
and databases.

1.4.2 Primary learning resources

You are probably reading this document online at cnx.org 2 , otherwise known as openstax cnx . As
of October 2014, two views of the document are available: an openstax view and a legacy view. The
material is the same in both views. Only the format and the top-level organization is dierent.
In the openstax view, the group of documents is referred to as a book and each document is referred
to as a page .
In the legacy view, the group of documents is referred to as a collection and each document is
referred to as a module .
You should not think of this book or this collection as a comprehensive tutorial on Python programming.
Instead, you should think of it as an annotated guidebook to free online resources that constitute the
primary learning resources for the course.
In some cases, I will explain the material in detail and illustrate the material with working programs. In
other cases, I will partially explain the material and refer you to one or more online resources for additional
explanations. In some cases, I will simply refer you to one or more online resources for the complete
explanation. In all cases, I will either attempt to explain the material or refer you to one or more online
resources for a full or partial explanation.
For many of the modules, I will also provide a review module containing questions and answers to help
you retain the important information provided by the module.
References to free online resources will include but will not be limited to the following websites listed in
no particular order:

• How To Think Like a Computer Scientist - Interactive Version 3

2 http://cnx.org/
3 http://interactivepython.org/courselib/static/thinkcspy/toc.html#t-o-c

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 3

• How to Think Like a Computer Scientist 4

• Skulpt 5
• Online code visualizer 6
• learnpython.org 7
• Python at Codecademy 8
• Program Arcade Games With Python And Pygame 9
• tutorialspoint  Python Tutorial 10
• The Python Tutorial 11
• A Beginner's Python Tutorial 12
• Another Beginner's Python Tutorial 13
• Diving Into Python 14
• Python/C API Reference Manual 15
• The Python Language Reference 16
• The Python Standard Library 17
• Hands-on Python Tutorial 18
• learnpython.org 19
• Non-Programmer's Tutorial for Python 3 20
• Python3 Tutorial 21
• Testing Your Code  The Hitchhiker's Guide to Python 22
• TkDocs 23
• Hello Tkinter 24
• The Tkinter Grid Geometry Manager 25
• Python Course 26
• Tkinter 8.5 reference: a GUI for Python 27
• The Invent with Python Bookshelf 28 (many online books, some free, some not free)
• Python Scientic Lecture Notes 29
Several of the assignments require the use of Python Turtle Graphics. Here are links to some useful references
on Turtle Graphics:
• 24.1. turtle - Turtle graphics - Python 3.4.3rc1 documentation 30

4 http://openbookproject.net/thinkcs/python/english3e/
5 http://www.skulpt.org/
6 http://pythontutor.com/
7 http://www.learnpython.org/
8 http://www.codecademy.com/en/tracks/python
9 http://programarcadegames.com/
10 http://www.tutorialspoint.com/python/
11 https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/index.html
12 http://www.sthurlow.com/python/
13 http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A_Beginner's_Python_Tutorial
14 http://www.diveintopython.net/toc/index.html
15 https://docs.python.org/3/c-api/index.html#c-api-index
16 https://docs.python.org/3/reference/index.html
17 https://docs.python.org/3/library/index.html#library-index
18 http://anh.cs.luc.edu/python/hands-on/3.1/handsonHtml/
19 http://www.learnpython.org/
20 http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Non-Programmer's_Tutorial_for_Python_3
21 http://www.python-course.eu/python3_course.php
22 http://docs.python-guide.org/en/latest/writing/tests/
23 http://www.tkdocs.com/index.html
24 http://ebot.org/tkinterbook/tkinter-hello-tkinter.htm
25 http://ebot.org/tkinterbook/grid.htm
26 http://www.python-course.eu/index.php
27 http://infohost.nmt.edu/tcc/help/pubs/tkinter/web/index.html
28 http://inventwithpython.com/bookshelf/
29 http://scipy-lectures.github.io/index.html
30 https://docs.python.org/3/library/turtle.html?highlight=turtle#module-turtle

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4 CHAPTER 1. ITSE1359-1000-PREFACE

Background Drawing Graphics - 50 Examples 1.0 documentation 31

• How to Think like a Computer Scientist Interactive Edition 32
• Notes on using Python's turtle built-in commands 33
• Simple drawing with turtle - Introduction to Programming with Python 34

1.5 How to use this instructional material

Everyone is welcome to use this material in any manner that is consistent with the Creative Commons 35
license under which it is published. However, if you are enrolled in Prof. Baldwin's section of this course at
Austin Community College in Austin, TX, there are some other things that you need to know.
Although the URL may change in the future, for the Spring 2015 semester, you will nd the online
syllabus for the course at http://www6.austincc.edu/directory/info.php?id=baldwin 36 .
Also, although the URL may change in the future, for the Spring 2015 semester, you will nd the entry
to the college website for the course at http://www.austincc.edu/baldwin/ 37 .
You will also have access to a Blackboard 38 site that is specically tailored to the course. You will nd
additional learning resources on that site including programming assignments and tests, assignment and test
schedules, etc. The order of the programming assignments and tests mirrors the order of the topics covered
in this Ebook. Therefore, you should study the material in the Ebook from start to nish in parallel with
your eorts to complete the assignments and the tests.

1.6 An editorial comment

In the opinion of this author, the Python programming language in and of itself is not a particularly interest-
ing programming language. In fact, to a programmer accustomed to compiled, strongly-typed programming
languages such as C, C++, and Java, the Python programming language seems to be a little "sloppy"
and fraught with pitfalls. However, in the grand scheme of things, as of 2015, Python is an extremely
important programming language.
The importance of Python derives not from the language itself, but from the hundreds of independent open
source Python libraries that have been developed by others in such areas as image manipulation, networking,
plotting and graphics, engineering and scientic programming, web development, gaming, cryptography,
database, geographic information systems (GIS) , audio and music, presentation, XML processing, etc. In
fact, it is hard to come up with a programming application area where someone has not already supplemented
the basic Python programming language with an open-source library designed for use in that application
area. Many of those libraries are Python wrappers for compiled C code providing speed and eciency
not normally associated with interpreted languages such as Python. A long list of such library modules is
provided at UsefulModules 39 . Many of the links on that page point to other pages that also contain lists
of links. An even longer list is provided on the SciPy Topical Software 40 page.
31 https://ftyexamples.readthedocs.org/en/latest/turtle.html
32 http://interactivepython.org/courselib/static/thinkcspy/index.html
33 http://www.eg.bucknell.edu/∼hyde/Python3/TurtleDirections.html
34 https://opentechschool.github.io/python-beginners/en/simple_drawing.html
35 http://creativecommons.org/
36 http://www6.austincc.edu/directory/info.php?id=baldwin
37 http://www.austincc.edu/baldwin/
38 http://www.blackboard.com/
39 https://wiki.python.org/moin/UsefulModules
40 http://www.scipy.org/topical-software.html

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1.7 Reinforcing what you are learning

Although not required by the course, I highly recommend that you also study the material in the section of
this Ebook titled Putting Python to Work 41 in addition to the required material described earlier (p. 2) .
Seeing how Python is actually used in practice may help you to develop and retain the knowledge required
to succeed in the course.
Similarly, I also recommend that you study the material on the following three websites in parallel with
the material on this website to reinforce what you are learning :
1. Python at Codecademy 42
2. Program Arcade Games With Python And Pygame 43
3. How To Think Like a Computer Scientist - Interactive Version 44

The rst website listed above (p. 5) provides an interactive online Python tutorial that will help you learn
the fundamentals of Python programming and test your progress along the way.
The second website listed above (p. 5) will not only help you learn about Python programming, but
may also provide you with some enjoyment along the way. This website provides both text and video
instruction, along with quizzes and programming projects to teach you how to use the Python language to
write interactive arcade games involving sound, graphics, etc. While much of that material is beyond the
scope of this course, you may nd that learning that material will make the course more enjoyable.
The third website listed above (p. 5) is an excellent free online interactive Python textbook designed
specically for use in courses commonly referred by computer science academics as CS-1 courses. The
non-interactive version of the book is located here 45 .

1.8 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.
Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1000-Preface
• File: Itse1359-1000.htm
• Published: 10/13/2014
• Revised: 01/21/16

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.
41 http://cnx.org/contents/228ac3a7-ed79-4a10-8d52-890dfa1fd20d
42 http://www.codecademy.com/en/tracks/python
43 http://programarcadegames.com/
44 http://interactivepython.org/courselib/static/thinkcspy/toc.html#t-o-c
45 http://openbookproject.net/thinkcs/python/english3e/

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6 CHAPTER 1. ITSE1359-1000-PREFACE

-end-

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Chapter 2

Itse1359-1010-Getting Started 1

2.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 8)
· What you will learn (p. 8)
* Beginners (p. 8)
* Programmers (p. 8)
* Python programmers (p. 8)
· Windows would be handy (p. 8)
· Practice, practice, and more practice (p. 8)
· Viewing tip (p. 9)
* Figures (p. 9)
• Why use Python? (p. 9)
· What is Python? (p. 9)
· More facts, less hype (p. 9)
* Learn OOP without the details (p. 9)
* A beginner-friendly language (p. 9)
* Sneaking up on OOP (p. 10)
* Python has an interactive mode (p. 10)
* Python has a non-interactive mode (p. 10)
* Python combines interactive and non-interactive modes (p. 10)
* Small core, large library (p. 10)
• Let's Write a Program (p. 10)
· Getting ready (p. 10)
* Download and install the software (p. 10)
* Starting the programming environment (p. 11)
* Enough talk  let's begin (p. 11)
* What do you see? (p. 11)
* The python manuals (p. 11)
* The library reference (p. 11)
* IDLE (Python GUI) (p. 11)
* What does it look like? (p. 11)
* What is a GUI? (p. 12)
* The Python (command line) selection (p. 12)
1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m51309/1.5/>.
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8 CHAPTER 2. ITSE1359-1010-GETTING STARTED

* The command-line window (p. 12)

· Your rst (interactive) Python program (p. 12)
* Hello World in Python (p. 13)
* The Python prompt > (p. 13)
* Let's do it (p. 13)
* Congratulations (p. 13)
* Python is ready for more (p. 13)
• Miscellaneous (p. 14)

2.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.

2.2.1 What you will learn

There is something for just about everyone here. Beginners start at the beginning, and experienced pro-
grammers jump in further on. You simply need to enter the collection of modules at the point that best ts
your prior programming knowledge.

2.2.1.1 Beginners
The ocial prerequisite for this course is "One semester of programming or departmental approval." How-
ever, if you don't know anything about programming, these modules will help you to overcome that deciency
by taking you from ground zero to object-oriented computer programming using Python.

2.2.1.2 Programmers
If you already know how to program in some other language, these modules will teach you how to program
using the Python scripting language.

2.2.1.3 Python programmers

If you already know how to program using Python, you can probably skip the modules in the "Language
Fundamentals" section.

2.2.2 Windows would be handy

Although not absolutely necessary, it would be very handy for you to have access to, and know how to use
Microsoft Windows. The programming skills that you will learn are applicable to a broad range of operating
systems. However, I will use Microsoft Windows as my teaching platform, so you will need to be able to
follow instructions explained in Windows jargon.

2.2.3 Practice, practice, and more practice

I am going to provide you with a lot of information, but you will also need to put your brain in gear and
write a lot of programs to retain the information. Very few people become expert musicians without a lot
of practice. Similarly, very few people become expert programmers without a lot of practice.
So, if you want to learn to program, plan to spend a lot of time in front of your computer, not just
reading, but programming as well.

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2.2.4 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this module in a separate browser window and use the following
links to easily nd and view the Figures while you are reading about them.
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: the Figures in this module are bitmap images and are
probably not accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display. However, those Figures are simply
screen shots of material that you can create on your own screen, which is probably accessible using an audio
screen reader or a braille display.)

2.2.4.1 Figures
• Figure 1 (p. 11) . Python 3.4.1 Shell
• Figure 2 (p. 12) . Python (command line) window.
• Figure 3 (p. 13) . Python Hello World.

2.3 Why use Python ?

With so many programming environments available, why use Python?
First of all, it's free. I like that. You won't need to invest an arm and a leg just to get started. All you
will need to do is go to http://www.python.org/ 2 and download the software.

2.3.1 What is Python ?

You might also want to visit The Python Tutorial 3 , which is where I extracted the following:

What is Python ? Python is an easy to learn, powerful programming language. It has ecient
high-level data structures and a simple but eective approach to object-oriented programming.
Python's elegant syntax and dynamic typing, together with its interpreted nature, make it an ideal
language for scripting and rapid application development in many areas on most platforms.

2.3.2 More facts, less hype

So, beyond the hype, did I really choose Python because it is an interpreted, interactive, object-oriented
programming language that is relatively easy to learn? The name of this course is "ITSE 1359 - Introduction
to Scripting Languages: Python" so I didn't really have a choice.

2.3.2.1 Learn OOP without the details

With Python, you can learn some aspects of object-oriented programming without the need to understand
many of the complex details. Note, however, that Python supports a very abbreviated form of OOP. You
will have much more to learn about OOP when you move on to C#, C++, or Java.

2.3.2.2 A beginner-friendly language

Python is a beginner-friendly language that takes care of many of the complex details for you behind the
scenes. This makes it possible for you to concentrate on the big picture of what your program is intended
to accomplish without getting bogged down in detail.
2 http://www.python.org/
3 https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/index.html

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10 CHAPTER 2. ITSE1359-1010-GETTING STARTED

2.3.2.3 Sneaking up on OOP

With Python, you can "sneak up" on object-oriented programming concepts. You don't have to deal with
the object-oriented nature of the language on the rst day, or for a long time, for that matter. (With
Java, for example, you can't write and understand even the simplest program without encountering a need
to understand some object-oriented programming concepts.)

2.3.2.4 Python has an interactive mode

The interactive mode makes it easy to try new things without the edit-compile-execute cycle of other
programming languages such as Java and C++. Interactive mode is a friendly environment for persons in
the learning stages of a language.

2.3.2.5 Python has a non-interactive mode

Once you know that something works properly, it is very easy to "put it in a can" so to speak, and then
execute it as a script. This lets you execute it without retyping it every time.

2.3.2.6 Python combines interactive and non-interactive modes

This combination gives you the ability to use previously written script les while working in the interactive
mode. Using this approach, you are able to minimize your interactive typing eort while still writing and
testing large Python programs in interactive mode.

2.3.2.7 Small core, large library

Like Java, Python has a small compact core and a large, extensible library 4 . Thus, much of what you will
need to do has already been written and tested for you. Your task will be to write the code to glue those
library components together, and to write new capabilities on an as-needed basis.

2.4 Let's Write a Program

2.4.1 Getting ready
2.4.1.1 Download and install the software
The rst step is to go to http://www.python.org/ 5 with your web browser. Download, and install the
Python software using the download link that you will nd there.
I'm going to assume that either you already know how to do this, or you can get help from a friend. In
other words, I'm not going to try to explain how to download and install the Python software.

Note: If you are working in an ACC computer lab on the Northridge campus, you don't need
to download and install the Python software. It has already been installed. If you are working
in an ACC computer lab on a dierent campus and you don't nd the Python software, ask the
lab manager to download and install it. If you are working on your computer at home, at some
point you will need to download and install the Python software.

4 https://docs.python.org/3/library/index.html
5 http://www.python.org/

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 11

2.4.1.2 Starting the programming environment

As I mentioned earlier, all of my instructions will be based on the use of Python running on my Windows
operating system.
However, as I also mentioned earlier, you have many choices for using Python. If you are running on
some other platform, you will need to translate my instructions from Windows jargon into the jargon of your
platform.

2.4.1.3 Enough talk  let's begin

Find the Start button on the task bar on your Windows desktop. Select
Start/All Programs/Python x.y
where x.y is the version of Python that you have downloaded and installed. At the time of this writing,
I have version 3.4.1 installed on my computer, and the selection shows on the menu as Python 3.4.

2.4.1.4 What do you see?

When you make this selection, you should see a menu having at least the following ve options :

• IDLE (Python GUI)

• Module Docs
• Python (command line)
• Python Manuals
• Uninstall Python

2.4.1.5 The Python Manuals

Don't be bashful about selecting and reading the Module Docs and the Python Manuals. There is a wealth
of information contained there, including a tutorial.

2.4.1.6 The library reference

A good way to get a feel for the breadth and power of Python is to select Python Manuals from the
menu and then select the Library Reference link. (The Library Reference 6 is also available online
as of the time of this writing.)
Most of what you see there probably won't mean much to you at this point in time, but hopefully will
be familiar territory after you complete this course.

2.4.1.7 IDLE (Python GUI)

Selecting IDLE (Python GUI) from the menu brings up a window titled "Python 3.4.1 Shell" on
my computer. This is one of the interactive programming environments available with Python on Microsoft
Windows.

2.4.1.8 What does it look like ?

When you select IDLE (Python GUI) from the menu, you should see something like Figure 1 (p. 11) .
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: I don't know if you will nd the Python Shell to be
accessible. If not, don't worry. We will get to a command-line version that should be accessible a little
later.)
Figure 1 . Python 3.4.1 Shell.
6 https://docs.python.org/3/library/index.html

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12 CHAPTER 2. ITSE1359-1010-GETTING STARTED

2.4.1.9 What is a GUI ?

GUI is an acronym for Graphical User Interface . The IDLE window is a GUI. It can be used for interactive
Python programming.
To make it go away when you are nished, simply click the button in the upper-right corner that is
labeled with an X.

2.4.1.10 The Python (command line) selection

When I select the Python (command line) item in the menu mentioned above (p. 11) , I get essentially
the same thing as the GUI, but in a "black screen" window commonly referred to as a command-line window
as shown in Figure 2 (p. 12) .
Figure 2 . Python (command line) window.

2.4.1.11 The command-line window

This window can also be used for interactive Python programming in much the same way that the Python
Shell can be used. Each has some practical advantages and disadvantages.
To make this screen go away, click the X in the upper right-hand corner.

Note: In addition to IDLE, many Python development environments are available on the web -
some free and some not free. My personal favorite is the free Wing IDE 7 . I have asked that it
also be installed in the computer labs on the Northridge campus.

2.4.2 Your rst (interactive) Python program

You can use IDLE, Wing (if it is available) , or the command line editor to write and execute your rst
Python program.
7 http://wingware.com/downloads/wingide-101/

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

 13

2.4.2.1 Hello World in Python

As has become the custom in programming circles, we will make our rst Python program one that displays
"Hello World" on the computer screen. We will write and execute it interactively.

2.4.2.2 The Python prompt >

The three right-angle brackets that you see in both of the interactive screens (>) make up the Python
interactive prompt. When the cursor is blinking to the right of that prompt, you can enter a Python
programming statement interactively.

2.4.2.3 Let's do it
Type the following text to the right of the Python prompt and press the Enter key:
print("Hello World")
The print function : Prior to the release of version 3.0, print was a statement instead of a
function and was executed without the parentheses.

If all goes well, your interactive Python screen should then look something like Figure 3 (p. 13) .
Figure 3 . Python Hello World.

Pay particular attention to the line that reads Hello World following your entry. That is the output
from your program.

2.4.2.4 Congratulations
You have just written (and executed) your rst (interactive) Python program, and possibly your rst
computer program as well. Not only that, you only had to type one line of code to write and execute your
program.
Note that your entire program, the output from your program, and a new prompt are all shown in Figure
3 (p. 13) .

2.4.2.5 Python is ready for more

Python has provided a new prompt so that you can expand your program, or write another one.

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14 CHAPTER 2. ITSE1359-1010-GETTING STARTED

2.5 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1010-Getting Started
• File: Itse1359-1010.htm
• Published: 10/13/14
• Revised: 01/31/16

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

Chapter 3

Itse1359-1015-Program Organization 1

3.1 Table of contents

• Preface (p. 15)
• Discussion (p. 15)
• Miscellaneous (p. 16)

3.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
You are probably reading this document online at cnx.org 2 , otherwise known as openstax cnx . As
of October 2014, two views of the document are available: an openstax view and a legacy view. In the
legacy view, the document is commonly referred to as a module , which is contained in a collection of
modules. I mention this here to distinguish the word module from the usage of the same word that you
will nd below (p. 15) .
This document provides a brief introduction to program organization using scripts, modules, and pack-
ages.

3.3 Discussion
Although you won't need this information initially, once your Python programs become larger than a few
lines of code, you may want to organize them into scripts , modules , and packages . There is
no shortage of online material on that topic. Here is a list of online resources that explain how to organize
your programs:

• tutorialspoint  Python Modules 3

• The Python Tutorial  6. Modules 4
• Python Course  Modular Programming and Modules 5
• The original sthurlow.com python tutorial  Modules 6
1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m51311/1.2/>.
2 http://cnx.org/
3 http://www.tutorialspoint.com/python/python_modules.htm
4 https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/modules.html
5 http://www.python-course.eu/python3_modules_and_modular_programming.php
6 http://www.sthurlow.com/python/lesson09/

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16 CHAPTER 3. ITSE1359-1015-PROGRAM ORGANIZATION

• learnpython.org  Modules and Packages 7

• A Beginner's Python Tutorial/Importing Modules 8
• Non-Programmer's Tutorial for Python 3/Using Modules 9

Also, as you write more complicated programs, you will need to use modules that are contained in the
standard Python distribution. Here is a link to an index of those modules in Python 3.4.2:

• Python Module Index 10

This information is being provided at this early stage in the course so that you will know where to nd it
when you need it.

3.4 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1015-Program Organization
• File: Itse1359-1015.htm
• Published: 10/14/14
• Revised: 12/28/14

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

7 http://www.learnpython.org/en/Modules_and_Packages
8 http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A_Beginner's_Python_Tutorial/Importing_Modules
9 http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Non-Programmer's_Tutorial_for_Python_3/Using_Modules
10 https://docs.python.org/3/py-modindex.html

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

Chapter 4

Itse1359-1020r-Review 1

4.1 Table of contents

• Preface (p. 17)
• Questions (p. 17)
· 1 (p. 17) , 2 (p. 17) , 3 (p. 18) , 4 (p. 18) , 5 (p. 18) , 6 (p. 18) , 7 (p. 18) , 8 (p. 18) , 9 (p. 18)
, 10 (p. 18) , 11 (p. 18) , 12 (p. 19)
• Answers (p. 20)
• Miscellaneous (p. 22)

4.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
This module contains review questions and answers keyed to the module titled Itse1359-1020-Numbers
.
Once you study that module, you should be able to answer the review questions in this module.
The questions and the answers in this module are connected by hyperlinks to make it easy for you to
navigate from the question to the answer and back again.
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: with the exception of two bitmap images that are used
solely as spacers to separate the question section from the answer section, all of the material in this module
is presented in plain text format and should be accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display.)

4.3 Questions
4.3.1 Question 1
True or False? Python programming comments are ignored by the computer.
Go to answer 1 (p. 21)

4.3.2 Question 2
True or False? Just like in C, C++, and Java, a Python comment begins with two slash characters (//) and
continues to the end of the line.
Go to answer 2 (p. 21)
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17
18 CHAPTER 4. ITSE1359-1020R-REVIEW

4.3.3 Question 3
True or False? The only prompt used by the Python interactive system is the one consisting of three
right-angle brackets (>).
Go to answer 3 (p. 21)

4.3.4 Question 4
True or False? The output produced by the Python interactive system appears on a line without either of
the prompts mentioned above.
Go to answer 4 (p. 21)

4.3.5 Question 5
True or False? If you enter an expression at the prompt and press the Enter key, the result of evaluating the
expression will be displayed on the next line without a prompt.
Go to answer 5 (p. 21)

4.3.6 Question 6
True or False? Computer programs are composed of expressions, which are made up of statements.
Go to answer 6 (p. 21)

4.3.7 Question 7
In the following expression, 2+5, what is the common jargon for the plus sign, and what is the common
jargon for the 2 and the 5?
Go to answer 7 (p. 21)

4.3.8 Question 8
List the operators discussed in the module titled Itse1359-1020-Numbers , and describe the purpose of
each.
Go to answer 8 (p. 21)

4.3.9 Question 9
True or False? Integer division produces a decimal result with non-zero digits to the right of the decimal
point.
Go to answer 9 (p. 20)

4.3.10 Question 10
True or False? The modulus operator is used to produce the quotient in division.
Go to answer 10 (p. 20)

4.3.11 Question 11
Describe the use of parentheses in expressions.
Go to answer 11 (p. 20)

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 19

4.3.12 Question 12
Describe how Python evaluates an expression containing parentheses.
Go to answer 12 (p. 20)
What is the meaning of the following two images?
These images were inserted here simply to insert some space between the questions and the answers to
keep them from being visible on the screen at the same time.

This image was also inserted for the purpose of inserting space between the questions and the answers.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

20 CHAPTER 4. ITSE1359-1020R-REVIEW

4.4 Answers
4.4.1 Answer 12
A Python expression is evaluated by rst evaluating each of the sub-expressions in the parentheses, and then
using those values to complete the evaluation. If the expression contains nested parentheses, the evaluation
is performed by evaluating the innermost parentheses rst and working outwards from there.
Go back to Question 12 (p. 19)

4.4.2 Answer 11
Parentheses can be used to group terms in an expression in order to provide control over the order in which
the operations are performed.
Go back to Question 11 (p. 18)

4.4.3 Answer 10
False, the modulus operator is used to produce the remainder.
Go back to Question 10 (p. 18)

4.4.4 Answer 9
False. Integer division produces an integer or whole number result with no non-zero digits to the right of
the decimal point even if a decimal point is displayed.

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 21

Go back to Question 9 (p. 18)

4.4.5 Answer 8
The operators and their purposes are:

• The addition operator, +

• The subtraction operator, -
• The multiplication operator, *
• The division operators, / and //
• The modulus operator, %

Go back to Question 8 (p. 18)

4.4.6 Answer 7
The plus sign is commonly called the operator. The 2 and the 5 are commonly called operands. More
specically, the 2 is the left operand and the 5 is the right operand.
Go back to Question 7 (p. 18)

4.4.7 Answer 6
False. Just the reverse is true. Programs are made up of statements, which are composed of expressions.
Go back to Question 6 (p. 18)

4.4.8 Answer 5
True, unless the expression can't be evaluated, in which case an error message will appear.
Go back to Question 5 (p. 18)

4.4.9 Answer 4
True.
Go back to Question 4 (p. 18)

4.4.10 Answer 3
False. The Python interactive system also uses a secondary prompt consisting of three periods (...).
Go back to Question 3 (p. 18)

4.4.11 Answer 2
False. In Python, a comment starts with the hash character (#) and ends at the end of the line.
Go back to Question 2 (p. 17)

4.4.12 Answer 1
True. Programming comments are used for program documentation and are intended for human consump-
tion.
Go back to Question 1 (p. 17)

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22 CHAPTER 4. ITSE1359-1020R-REVIEW

4.5 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1020r-Review
• File: Itse1359-1020r.htm
• Published: 10/14/14
• Revised: 12/28/14

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

Chapter 5

Itse1359-1030r-Review 1

5.1 Table of contents

• Preface (p. 23)
• Questions (p. 23)
· 1 (p. 23) , 2 (p. 23) , 3 (p. 24) , 4 (p. 24) , 5 (p. 24) , 6 (p. 24) , 7 (p. 24) , 8 (p. 24) , 9 (p. 24)
, 10 (p. 24) , 11 (p. 24) , 12 (p. 24)
• Figure index (p. 25)
• Answers (p. 26)
• Miscellaneous (p. 29)

5.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
This module contains review questions and answers keyed to the module titled Itse1359-1030-Variables
and Identiers .
Once you study that module, you should be able to answer the review questions in this module.
The questions and the answers in this module are connected by hyperlinks to make it easy for you to
navigate from the question to the answer and back again.
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: with the exception of two bitmap images that are used
solely as spacers to separate the question section from the answer section, all of the material in this module
is presented in plain text format and should be accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display.)

5.3 Questions
5.3.1 Question 1
True or False? A variable is the same as a constant.
Go to answer 1 (p. 28)

5.3.2 Question 2
True or False? Python is a strongly typed language.
Go to answer 2 (p. 28)
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23
24 CHAPTER 5. ITSE1359-1030R-REVIEW

5.3.3 Question 3
True or False? Python programmers must declare all variables.
Go to answer 3 (p. 28)

5.3.4 Question 4
Explain the dangers of using a language that does not require variables to be declared.
Go to answer 4 (p. 28)

5.3.5 Question 5
What is the best defense against spelling errors in variables names?
Go to answer 5 (p. 28)

5.3.6 Question 6
True or False? Variable names can begin with numeric or digit characters.
Go to answer 6 (p. 28)

5.3.7 Question 7
Write a simple program that illustrates case sensitivity in the names of variables.
Go to answer 7 (p. 27)

5.3.8 Question 8
Explain the use of the assignment operator.
Go to answer 8 (p. 27)

5.3.9 Question 9
Which type usually provides the greater range for storage of numeric values, integer or oating point?
Go to answer 9 (p. 27)

5.3.10 Question 10
Should you just always use oating point instead of integer to be safe?
Go to answer 10 (p. 27)

5.3.11 Question 11
Write a simple program that illustrates the approximation nature of oating point arithmetic.
Go to answer 11 (p. 26)

5.3.12 Question 12
Explain the purpose of the automatic continuation variable whose name is simply the underscore character.
Go to answer 12 (p. 26)

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 25

5.4 Figure index

• Figure 1 (p. 27) . Same letters, dierent case.
• Figure 2 (p. 28) . Same letters, same case.
• Figure 3 (p. 26) . Floating point errors.

What is the meaning of the following two images?

These images were inserted here simply to insert some space between the questions and the answers to
keep them from being visible on the screen at the same time.

This image was also inserted for the purpose of inserting space between the questions and the answers.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

26 CHAPTER 5. ITSE1359-1030R-REVIEW

5.5 Answers
5.5.1 Answer 12
The primary purpose of the automatic variable named _ is to make it easier for you to string calculations
together in interactive mode and to display the intermediate results as you go.
Go back to Question 12 (p. 24)

5.5.2 Answer 11
See the sample program in Figure 3 (p. 26) . We know that the true result of this expression is an unending
string of nines, as in 9.999999999999999

Figure 3 . Floating point errors.

> 10/3 + 20/3

10.0

Table 5.1

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 27

However, in this case, Python returned an answer of 10.0, indicating that the answer is accurate to three
signicant gures. This is not really the correct answer, but as a practical matter, it may be the best
answer. I will leave that for you to decide.
Go back to Question 11 (p. 24)

5.5.3 Answer 10
Probably not. Floating point arithmetic often suers from speed penalties. In addition, integer arithmetic
produces exact results while oating point arithmetic usually produces approximate results (although the
approximations may be very close to being exact in many cases) .
Go back to Question 10 (p. 24)

5.5.4 Answer 9
Floating point usually provides the greater range for storage of numeric values.
Go back to Question 9 (p. 24)

5.5.5 Answer 8
The assignment operator causes the value of its right operand to be stored in the memory location identied
by its left operand.
Go back to Question 8 (p. 24)

5.5.6 Answer 7
An example of such a program is shown in Figure 1 (p. 27) . Note that the names of the two variables have
the same letters, but dierent case. The fact that the two variables are dierent variables is illustrated by
the fact that each is assigned a dierent value. The sum of the two variables demonstrates that the two
variables contain dierent, and correct, values.

Figure 1 . Same letters, dierent case.

> aX=10 # this is one variable

> Ax=20 # this is a different variable
> aX+Ax
30
>

Table 5.2

Contrast the above result with the program in Figure 2 (p. 28) where a variable whose name contains
the same letters and the same case is used twice.

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28 CHAPTER 5. ITSE1359-1030R-REVIEW

Figure 2 . Same letters, same case.

> ax=10
> ax=20
> ax+ax
40
>

Table 5.3

All the program in Figure 2 (p. 28) accomplishes is the assignment of two dierent values to the same
variable. The second assignment overwrites the value previously assigned to the variable. The program then
adds the variable to itself using its current value of 20 producing a result of 40 (instead of 30 as in the
previous example) .
Go back to Question 7 (p. 24)

5.5.7 Answer 6
False. Variable names must begin with a letter or underscore character.
Go back to Question 6 (p. 24)

5.5.8 Answer 5
Use meaningful variable names for which the spelling is obvious, such as theOverheadRate .
Go back to Question 5 (p. 24)

5.5.9 Answer 4
Several dierent kinds of problems can result from making typing errors that result in misspelling the names
of variables. These errors usually result in programs that produce incorrect results without warning.
Go back to Question 4 (p. 24)

5.5.10 Answer 3
False. Variable declarations are not required in Python. All that is required to cause a variable to come
into existence is to invent a new name for a variable and assign a value to it.
Go back to Question 3 (p. 24)

5.5.11 Answer 2
False. Python is not a strongly typed language. From a pure technical viewpoint, the Python programmer
rarely needs to be concerned about type.
Go back to Question 2 (p. 23)

5.5.12 Answer 1
False. The value of a variable is intended to change during the execution of the program. The value of a
constant (which I haven't discussed so far in this collection) is not intended to change.
Go back to Question 1 (p. 23)

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 29

5.6 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1030r-Review
• File: Itse1359-1030r.htm
• Published: 10/14/14
• Revised: 20/20/15

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

30 CHAPTER 5. ITSE1359-1030R-REVIEW

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

Chapter 6

Itse1359-1050-Introduction to Scripts 1

6.1 Table of contents

• Preface (p. 32)
· Viewing tip (p. 32)
* Figures (p. 32)
* Listings (p. 32)
• Introduction (p. 32)
· Important characteristics of scripts (p. 32)
* Scripts are reusable (p. 32)
* Scripts are editable (p. 32)
· You will need a text editor (p. 33)
· Combining scripts with interactive mode (p. 33)
• Getting started (p. 33)
· The location of python.exe (p. 33)
* Setting the path permanently (p. 33)
* Setting the path temporarily (p. 33)
· A Windows batch le (p. 33)
· Setting the path with a batch le (p. 34)
· Create a script le (p. 34)
* Run your script le (p. 35)
* The correct output (p. 35)
· Alternative approaches (p. 35)
* Skulpt (p. 36)
* Online code visualizer (p. 36)
* How To Think Like a Computer Scientist (p. 36)
· Visualize your script le with the Online Python Tutor (p. 36)
• What's next? (p. 38)
· Practice, practice (p. 38)
· Cut-and-paste programming (p. 38)
• Miscellaneous (p. 39)
1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m51331/1.8/>.

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31
32 CHAPTER 6. ITSE1359-1050-INTRODUCTION TO SCRIPTS

6.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX. It provides an introduction to
the use of scripts, and of necessity will depart from the interactive mode used in previous modules.

6.2.1 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this module in a separate browser window and use the following
links to easily nd and view the Figures and Listings while you are reading about them.
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: all of the Listings in this module are presented in plain
text format and should be accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display. However, there are a
couple of bitmap images that may not be accessible.)

6.2.1.1 Figures
• Figure 1 (p. 35) . Screen output from running the script named 1359-1050-01.py.
• Figure 2 (p. 37) . Online Python Tutor visualizer screen output.
• Figure 3 (p. 37) . Visualizing a program from a future module.

6.2.1.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 34) . Setting the path temporarily with a batch le.
• Listing 2 (p. 35) . Contents of the le named 1359-1050-01.py.

6.3 Introduction
This module provides an introduction to the use of scripts, and of necessity will depart from the interactive
mode used in previous modules.
It will be necessary for me to get into a small amount of system stu that really has nothing in particular
to do with Python programming. Rather, it will involve getting your computer set up for using scripts with
Python.
Up to this point in this collection, I have concentrated on the interactive programming capability of
Python. This is a very useful capability that allows you to type in a program and to have it executed
immediately in an interactive mode. But, interactive can be burdensome. By now you may have realized
that you sometimes nd yourself typing the same thing over and over. That is where scripts are useful.

6.3.1 Important characteristics of scripts

6.3.1.1 Scripts are reusable
Basically, a script is a text le containing the statements that comprise a Python program. Once you have
created the script, you can execute it over and over without having to retype it each time.

6.3.1.2 Scripts are editable

Perhaps, more importantly, you can make dierent versions of the script by modifying the statements from
one le to the next using a text editor. Then you can execute each of the individual versions. In this way,
it is easy to create dierent programs with a minimum amount of typing.

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 33

6.3.2 You will need a text editor

Just about any text editor will suce for creating Python script les and you may already have a favorite.
Whichever editor you choose, make certain that it produces plain ASCII text in its output (no bold, no
underline, no italics, etc.) .
In addition to functioning as an interactive interface, the IDLE GUI interface also provides a text editor
for creating scripts. Once you have the GUI interface open, select New File from the File menu. After
that, the behavior is similar to many other text editors.

6.3.3 Combining scripts with interactive mode

It is also possible to combine script les with interactive mode to incorporate pre-written scripts into inter-
active programs.

6.4 Getting started

In order to use script les, you must prepare you computer to use them or you must pursue one of the
alternative approaches (p. 35) described later. Preparing your computer for use with Python doesn't
amount to much in the way of eort, but it is critical. All of the following instructions are based on the
Windows operating system. If you are using some other operating system, you will need to translate the
instructions for use with that operating system.

6.4.1 The location of python.exe

When you rst installed your Python software, a directory should have been created somewhere on your hard
drive containing a le named python.exe . You will need to locate that le. On my Windows machine,
the le is located in the following folder:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Python34

6.4.1.1 Setting the path permanently

In case you are unfamiliar with the term, the "path" is a text string, otherwise known as an environ-
ment variable , that tells the operating system where to search for executable les such as the le named
python.exe .
You will need to cause the directory containing the le named python.exe to be listed in your system
environment variable named path , either permanently or temporarily.
If you already know how to set the path, and you want to make a permanent change to the path, go
ahead and do it. If you don't already know how, you may need to get some help.
I'm not going to try to tell you how to make a permanent change to the path. If you don't do it correctly,
you may cause problems that are dicult to recover from. I don't want to be responsible for that. However,
I will tell you how to make a temporary change to the path in the next section.

6.4.1.2 Setting the path temporarily

6.4.1.2.1 A Windows batch le
A Windows batch le is an executable text le with an extension of .bat. In its simplest form, it contains one
or more commands that you would otherwise enter, one at a time, at the command-line prompt. When you
execute the batch le, it attempts to cause those commands to be executed sequentially and automatically.
I am a big believer in the use of batch les for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the ability
to type a set of commands once and to execute them many times without having to retype them.

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34 CHAPTER 6. ITSE1359-1050-INTRODUCTION TO SCRIPTS

Batch les also make it possible to execute commands on the command line in the "current directory"
without the requirement to go through the steps that are normally required to open a command-line window
and navigate to the current directory.

6.4.1.2.2 Setting the path with a batch le

Listing 1 (p. 34) shows the contents of a batch le named 1359-1050-01.bat containing four commands
that :

1. Reduce the clutter on the output screen (echo o) .

2. Temporarily set the path to the location of the le named python.exe on my computer.
3. Attempt to execute the Python script le named 1359-1050-01.py, which will be discussed later in this
module.
4. Pause onscreen and wait to be dismissed with the prompt "Press any key to continue . . ."

Listing 1 . Setting the path temporarily with a batch le.

echo off

path=%path%;"C:\Program Files (x86)\Python34"

python 1359-1050-01.py

pause

Table 6.1

The second command in Listing 1 (p. 34) is the important command for this section of this module.
It will temporarily set the path to the indicated folder. If you elect to use this approach, you will need to
replace the text inside the double quotes with the path to the folder containing the le named python.exe
on your computer.
This approach appends the new path onto the environment variable named path on a temporary basis.
It goes away as soon as you respond to the pause statement at the end or otherwise close the command-line
window that appears when you execute the batch le.

6.4.2 Create a script le

Once you have the path variable properly set, or you know how to set it temporarily in a batch le, use the
text editor of your choice and create a le named 1359-1050-01.py that contains the Python programming
statements shown in Listing 2 (p. 35) . (You can give the le any name that you choose provided that the
extension is .py and provided that you properly reect the name in the third line of the batch le shown in
Listing 1 (p. 34) .)

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 35

Listing 2 . Contents of the le named 1359-1050-01.py.

a=2
b=3
a=2*a
b=3*b
c=a+b
print(c)

Table 6.2

You should recognize all of the statements in Listing 2 (p. 35) . Note, however, that in a script, they are
not preceded by an interactive prompt (>).
Store this le in any folder on your hard drive. You may want to create a new directory for the sole
purpose of storing Python script les.
Then create the corresponding batch le with the contents shown in Listing 1 (p. 34) and save it in the
same folder as the script le. (If you have permanently set your path to support Python, you can omit the
path command in Listing 1 (p. 34) .)

6.4.2.1 Run your script le

Once you have accomplished the above, double-click the batch le to execute it. The batch le will tem-
porarily set the path and attempt to run your script. If all goes well, a command-line window will appear
on your screen with contents similar to that shown in Figure 1 (p. 35) . (Note that I deleted some of the
text on the rst line for brevity. Your rst line will be dierent anyway.)

Figure 1 . Screen output from running the script named 1359-1050-01.py.

M:\Baldwin\AA-School\...>echo off
13
Press any key to continue . . .

Table 6.3

6.4.2.2 The correct output

If you go back to the script le in Listing 2 (p. 35) and do the arithmetic, you will see that the output value
of 13 produced by the program is correct.
If you got an output value of 13,  congratulations  you have just written and executed your rst Python
script. If not, try to gure out why.

6.4.3 Alternative approaches

There are at least three (and probably more) alternative online approaches that allow you to write and run
Python code without a requirement to install Python on your computer:

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36 CHAPTER 6. ITSE1359-1050-INTRODUCTION TO SCRIPTS

• Skulpt 2
• Online code visualizer 3
• How To Think Like a Computer Scientist - Interactive 4

All three of these approaches run in a browser and can even be used with a tablet or a smart phone.

6.4.3.1 Skulpt
Skulpt 5 is an entirely in-browser implementation of Python. No local installation, plugins, or server-side
support is required.
Just go to www.skulpt.org 6 in your computer, tablet, or smart phone, scroll down to the Demo pane,
type in your Python code and click the Run button below the Demo pane. The program output will
appear in the Output pane below the Run button.
You can learn more about using Skulpt, including how to embed Skulpt in your HTML pages in the
module titled Itse1359-2410-Getting Started with Skulpt 7 in this book 8 .

6.4.3.2 Online code visualizer

See the section titled Visualize your script le with the Online Python Tutor (p. 36) later in this module for
a discussion of an online code visualizer. This tool also runs in a browser and can be used with a computer,
a tablet, or a smart phone.

6.4.3.3 How To Think Like a Computer Scientist

How To Think Like a Computer Scientist - Interactive 9 is an online interactive textbook that can be
freely accessed in your browser on a computer, a tablet, or a smart phone. It uses the two tools described
above plus video, self-check quizzes, and other features to teach Python programming. There are numerous
opportunities within the book for you to write and run Python code completely within your browser.
(Note that as of February, 2015, the online video in the book seems to have an audio compatibility
problem with my Android tablet. I have discussed this with the author and I expect the problem to be
corrected soon.)

6.4.4 Visualize your script le with the Online Python Tutor
When learning to program, it is often useful to be able to follow the execution of a program step-by-step. A
free online tool called the Online Python Tutor 10 makes this possible. (You have seen some output from
this tool in earlier modules. I will provide a more detailed explanation of how to use the tool in the module
titled Itse1359-1065-Visualizing Python 11 in this book 12 . )
The following quotation was copied from pythontutor.com 13 .
" Online Python Tutor 14 is a free educational tool created by Philip Guo 15 that
helps students overcome a fundamental barrier to learning programming: understanding what
2 http://www.skulpt.org/
3 http://pythontutor.com/
4 http://interactivepython.org/courselib/static/thinkcspy/toc.html
5 http://www.skulpt.org/
6 http://www.skulpt.org
7 http://cnx.org/contents/d28b8c4d-dfa6-4c49-a071-56fd68d7cb31
8 http://cnx.org/contents/96b34405-9562-406b-bafb-90c5fb70f39e
9 http://interactivepython.org/courselib/static/thinkcspy/toc.html#
10 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=edit
11 http://cnx.org/contents/71aca310-6390-40c4-9001-561cde902a0c
12 http://cnx.org/contents/96b34405-9562-406b-bafb-90c5fb70f39e
13 http://pythontutor.com/
14 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=edit
15 http://www.pgbovine.net/

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 37

happens as the computer executes each line of a program's source code. Using this tool, a teacher
or student can write Python , Java , and JavaScript programs in the Web browser
and visualize what the computer is doing step-by-step as it executes those programs."

Beginning with this module and continuing with future modules, I will recommend that you

• Open the Online Python Tutor 16 .

• Copy the example programs, such as the code shown in Listing 2 (p. 35) , into the online text editor
17 .
• Select Python 3.3 in the pull-down list.
• Click the button labeled Visualize Execution .

The screen will then change to include what you see in Figure 2 (p. 37) . Use the Forward and Back
buttons to step forward and backward through your code, one instruction at a time, while observing the
information that appears on the screen to the right of the code window.
For example, Figure 2 (p. 37) shows the Online Python Tutor 18 visualizer screen after the rst three
statements from Listing 2 (p. 35) have been executed. The information on the right shows the values stored
in the variables named a and b at that point in the execution of the program.
Figure 2 . Online Python Tutor visualizer screen output.

As you might expect, more complicated code produces more complicated output from the visualizer. For
example, Figure 3 (p. 37) shows the output from the Online Python Tutor 19 when visualizing a program
from a future module titled Itse1359-1440-Class Variables 20 in this book 21 .
Figure 3 . Visualizing a program from a future module.
16 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=edit
17 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=edit
18 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=edit
19 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=edit
20 http://cnx.org/contents/88f5bdd0-474b-4f69-806d-a383346db53a
21 http://cnx.org/contents/96b34405-9562-406b-bafb-90c5fb70f39e

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38 CHAPTER 6. ITSE1359-1050-INTRODUCTION TO SCRIPTS

6.5 What's next ?

Obviously, there is a lot more that you will need to learn before you can write that "killer app" that takes
the world by storm, but at this point, you have the tools to experiment with some simple scripts.

6.5.1 Practice, practice

I recommend that you look back into the earlier modules and convert some of the interactive programs listed
there into scripts, execute them, and conrm that the scripts behave as expected.

6.5.2 Cut-and-paste programming

In future modules, I will switch back and forth between scripts and interactive mode, depending on which
seems to be the most appropriate at the time.
I am a strong advocate of cut-and-paste programming. Cut-and-paste programming works well with
scripts, and not so well with interactive mode.
Therefore, any time there is very much typing involved, you can usually expect to see me using scripts
instead of interactive mode.

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 39

6.6 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1050-Introduction to Scripts
• File: Itse1359-1050.htm
• Published: 10/14/14
• Revised: 01/31/16

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

40 CHAPTER 6. ITSE1359-1050-INTRODUCTION TO SCRIPTS

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

Chapter 7

Itse1359-1060-Syntax 1

7.1 Table of contents

• Preface (p. 42)
· Viewing tip (p. 42)
* Figures (p. 42)
* Listings (p. 42)
• Introduction (p. 42)
• Program construction (p. 42)
· A physical line (p. 42)
· A logical line (p. 43)
* Statements and logical lines (p. 43)
* Comments (p. 43)
· Explicit line joining (p. 43)
* The backslash character (p. 44)
* For illustration only (p. 44)
* No spaces or comments allowed (p. 44)
* Otherwise illegal (p. 44)
· Implicit line joining (p. 44)
· Blank lines (p. 45)
• Indentation (p. 45)
· Indentation is used to determine grouping of statements (p. 46)
* A blessing and a curse (p. 46)
* No safety nets (p. 46)
· An example of correct indentation (p. 46)
* Compare A with B and take appropriate action (p. 47)
* A compound statement (p. 47)
* Group behavior (p. 47)
* Another sample script (p. 47)
* Members of the group (p. 48)
* An opinion (p. 48)
* Indentation details (p. 48)
· Leading whitespace (p. 48)
1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m51348/1.4/>.
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41
42 CHAPTER 7. ITSE1359-1060-SYNTAX

· Tabs (p. 48)

· The bottom line on indentation (p. 49)
• Miscellaneous (p. 49)

7.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction
to Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX. It explains some of the
mechanics of putting together a Python program.

7.2.1 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this module in a separate browser window and use the following
links to easily nd and view the Figures and the Listings while you are reading about them.
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: all of the Figures and Listings in this module are presented
in plain text format and should be accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display.)

7.2.1.1 Figures
• Figure 1 (p. 43) . Two physical lines.
• Figure 2 (p. 47) . Output from the script in Listing 4.

7.2.1.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 43) . Explicit line joining.
• Listing 2 (p. 44) . Implicit line joining.
• Listing 3 (p. 45) . Blank lines and whitespace.
• Listing 4 (p. 46) . An example of correct indentation.
• Listing 5 (p. 48) . Another sample script.

7.3 Introduction
You have learned how to write some simple programs and how to execute them interactively.
You have also learned how to capture simple programs in script les and how to execute those script les.
Now it is time to learn a little more about the mechanics of putting together a Python program.

7.4 Program construction

Conceptually, programs are constructed from statements, and statements are composed of expressions. In
practice, you need to know how to construct statements from a physical viewpoint.
A Python program is divided into a number of logical lines . A logical line is constructed from one or
more physical lines.

7.4.1 A physical line

A physical line ends with the character or characters used by your platform for terminating lines.
On Unix, this is the linefeed character. On Windows, it is the carriage return character followed by
the linefeed character. On Macintosh, it is the carriage return character.

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 43

We refer to this in programming jargon as the newline character (even though it is actually two
characters on Windows systems) .
Basically, a physical line is what you get when you type some characters into your text editor and press
the Enter key, the Return key, or whatever you call that key on your keyboard. (Actually you don't
even need to type characters before pressing the Enter key, in which case you get a blank line.)
This is the key that causes the cursor to go down to the next line and return to the left side of the editing
window.
For example, when creating the text shown in Figure 1 (p. 43) using a text editor on my Windows
computer, I pressed the Enter key immediately following the > for each line. This produced a newline in
each case.

Figure 1 . Two physical lines.

I will end the line here -->

and end the next line here -->

Table 7.1

7.4.2 A logical line

A logical line may be the same as a physical line , or line joining rules (described later) can be used to
construct a logical line from two or more physical lines.

7.4.2.1 Statements and logical lines

A statement cannot cross logical line boundaries except where the syntax allows for the newline character,
such as in compound statements . I will show you an example of a compound statement later in this
module.

7.4.2.2 Comments
We learned about comments in an earlier module. To summarize, a comment starts with a hash character
(#) that is not part of a string literal (we also learned about string literals in an earlier module) . The
comment ends at the end of the physical line.

7.4.3 Explicit line joining

You can join two or more physical lines to produce a logical line , using the backslash character as shown
in Listing 1 (p. 43) .

Listing 1 . Explicit line joining.

continued on next page

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44 CHAPTER 7. ITSE1359-1060-SYNTAX

a = 3
b = 4
# construct c=a+b
c \
= \
a \
+ \
b
print(c)

# the output is 7

Table 7.2

7.4.3.1 The backslash character

When a physical line ends in a backslash that is not part of a string literal or comment, that line is joined
with the following physical line forming a single logical line .
The backslash and the following end-of-line character(s) are ignored by the interpreter and do not become
part of the logical line.
In Listing 1 (p. 43) , the expression c=a+b is created by joining ve consecutive physical lines to
create one logical line .

7.4.3.2 For illustration only

Obviously, this is not how you would want to write a long script, but it is not unusual to break long
expressions into two or more physical lines to make them t onto a prescribed page width.

7.4.3.3 No spaces or comments allowed

You must make certain that no space characters follow the backslash.
You may not place a comment following the backslash, and a backslash does not continue a comment.

7.4.3.4 Otherwise illegal

A backslash is illegal elsewhere on a line except inside a string literal.

7.4.4 Implicit line joining

Expressions in parentheses, square brackets, or curly brackets can be split over more than one physical line
without using backslashes as shown in Listing 2 (p. 44) .

Listing 2 . Implicit line joining.

continued on next page

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 45

a = 3
b = 4
c = (a # continue on next line
+ b)
print(c)

# the output is 7

Table 7.3

You can also place a comment on a line that is being continued implicitly as shown in the third line of
Listing 2 (p. 44) .
Also, you can indent the continuation line however you want. This is very useful for making the code
more readable.

7.4.5 Blank lines

Lines containing only spaces, tabs, form feeds, and comments are ignored in scripts, but the behavior may
be dierent in interactive mode, depending on the implementation.
An example of some spaces and blank lines is shown in Listing 3 (p. 45) .

Listing 3 . Blank lines and whitespace.

a = 3
# spaces and comment
b = 4
# tab and comment
c = (a # continue on next line
+ b)
# a blank line follows

print(c)

# the output is 7

Table 7.4

7.5 Indentation
In every other programming environment that I have worked with in the past, indentation is used strictly
for cosmetic or readability purposes.
However, indentation is not used strictly for cosmetic or readability purposes in Python. It is such an
important topic in Python that I have separated it into a major section in this module.

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46 CHAPTER 7. ITSE1359-1060-SYNTAX

7.5.1 Indentation is used to determine grouping of statements

Unlike most other programming environments, physical indentation is used in Python to determine the
grouping of statements.

7.5.1.1 A blessing and a curse

This can be both a blessing and a curse. The blessing is that it forces you to use proper indentation, which
usually leads to more readable code.
The curse is that if you don't use proper indentation, your script probably won't behave properly.

7.5.1.2 No safety nets

There are few if any safety nets in Python (such as the matching curly brackets used in C, C++, and Java)
to protect you from indentation errors.
To make matters worse, such errors often turn up as logical errors (meaning that the script simply
doesn't work correctly) rather than interpreter errors (meaning that the interpreter will tell you about the
error) .

7.5.2 An example of correct indentation

Although I haven't introduced you to the if statement yet, you probably have a fairly good idea what it is
used for. I am going to use it to illustrate the proper indentation of a group of statements with the script
in Listing 4 (p. 46) .
Description of an "if" statement: An if statement means that if some expression evaluates
to true , the program will do something specic. Otherwise, the script won't do that specic
thing.
Don't be too concerned if the logic of the script in Listing 4 (p. 46) escapes you at this point in time. I will
explain the use of the if statement in detail in a future module. The important thing here is to understand
the grouping of statements.

Listing 4 . An example of correct indentation.

A = 3
B = 4

if B > A:
print(A) # begin group
print(B)
print(A + B) # end group
A = 6 # not part of above group
print(A)

#============================================================
#The output, which is not part of the script, is shown below.
3
4
7
6

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 47

Table 7.5

7.5.2.1 Compare A with B and take appropriate action

The script in Listing 4 (p. 46) compares the value of the variable A with the value of the variable B to
determine if the value of B is greater than the value of A (if B > A:) .
If the value of B is greater than the value of A (which it is in this case) , the three indented print
statements are executed. Otherwise, that group of three statements is bypassed.

7.5.2.2 A compound statement

The three statements shown with indentation are either all executed, or they are all bypassed. Hence, they
behave as a group.
A group of statements like this is sometimes referred to as a compound statement (a statement made
up of two or more individual statements) .

7.5.2.3 Group behavior

When the three indented statements are executed as a group, the values 3, 4, and 7 are printed on consecutive
output lines by the three print statements in the group of statements, as shown in Figure 2 (p. 47) .

Figure 2 . Output from the script in Listing 4.

C:\jnk\6>echo off
3
4
7
6
Press any key to continue . . .

Table 7.6

Then the value 6 is printed by the last statement in the script, which is not part of the group. (Note
that the last statement is not indented.)

7.5.2.4 Another sample script

Now, let's make a change to the script. The script shown in Listing 5 (p. 48) is identical to the one in Listing
4 (p. 46) except that I switched the values of A and B to cause the group of indented statements to be
bypassed ( B is no longer greater than A ).

Listing 5 . Another sample script.

continued on next page

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48 CHAPTER 7. ITSE1359-1060-SYNTAX

A = 4
B = 3

if B > A:
print(A) # begin group
print(B)
print(A + B) # end group
A = 6 # not part of above group
print(A)

#============================================================
#The output, which is not part of the script, is shown below.
6

Table 7.7

In this case, only one value (6) is printed because the three print statements in the group were bypassed
as a group.

7.5.2.5 Members of the group

The important point here is that the three indented statements in Listing 4 (p. 46) and Listing 5 (p. 48)
constitute a group because of their common indentation level .

7.5.2.6 An opinion
I personally don't like the idea of using indentation to create grouping. Although it sounds nice in theory, it
can be very labor intensive in practice. Once you have written a script, one simple change can often require
you to go back and modify the indentation level of almost every statement in the script.
I guess the good news is that this will encourage you to write your script as a series of short, concise
independent modules rather than as a single long rambling script.
I am also concerned about the accessibility or lack thereof that grouping based on indentation level
provides for blind and visually impaired students.

7.5.2.7 Indentation details

7.5.2.7.1 Leading whitespace
Leading whitespace (spaces and tabs) at the beginning of a logical line is used to compute the indentation
level of the line. This, in turn, is used to determine the grouping of statements.

7.5.2.7.2 Tabs
My advice is to avoid the use of tabs altogether. Use spaces instead, and use the same number of spaces for
each statement in the group.
However, if you must use tabs, you should go to the Python Language Reference  2.1.8. Indentation 2
and make certain that you understand how Python deals with tabs.
2 https://docs.python.org/3/reference/lexical_analysis.html#indentation

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 49

7.5.3 The bottom line on indentation

Use spaces to cause the indentation level of all statements in a group of statements to be indented to the
same level. Statements in a group are either all executed, or all bypassed by the program logic.
I will provide a visualization of the behavior of indentation in the module titled Itse1359-1065-Visualizing
Python 3 in this book 4 .

7.6 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1060-Syntax
• File: Itse1359-1060.htm
• Published: 10/14/14
• Revised: 03/26/15

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

3 http://cnx.org/contents/71aca310-6390-40c4-9001-561cde902a0c
4 http://cnx.org/contents/96b34405-9562-406b-bafb-90c5fb70f39e

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50 CHAPTER 7. ITSE1359-1060-SYNTAX

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Chapter 8

Itse1359-1065-Visualizing Python 1

8.1 Table of contents

• Preface (p. 51)
· Viewing tip (p. 52)
* Figures (p. 52)
* Listings (p. 52)
• General background information (p. 52)
• Recommendation (p. 52)
• Discussion and sample code (p. 53)
· Open the online text editor (p. 54)
· Three drop-down boxes (p. 54)
· Beginning the visualization process (p. 55)
· The red and green arrows (p. 55)
· Output following three presses of the Forward button (p. 55)
· Same situation, dierent code (p. 56)
· Stepping through the code (p. 57)
· The student torture program (p. 57)
· Sharing the code visualizer with a tutor (p. 57)
• Run the programs (p. 58)
• Miscellaneous (p. 58)

8.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX. This module concentrates on
the use of the Online Python Tutor 2 , which includes a free educational code visualizer tool created by
Philip Guo 3 .
This code visualizer tool 4 helps students overcome a fundamental barrier to learning programming:
understanding what happens as the computer executes each line of a program's source code. Using this code
visualizer tool, a teacher or student can write Python, Java, and JavaScript programs in the Web browser
and visualize what the computer is doing step-by-step as it executes those programs.
1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m53203/1.3/>.
2 http://pythontutor.com/
3 http://www.pgbovine.net/
4 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=edit

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52 CHAPTER 8. ITSE1359-1065-VISUALIZING PYTHON

8.2.1 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this module in a separate browser window and use the following
links to easily nd and view the Figures and Listings while you are reading about them.

8.2.1.1 Figures
• Figure 1. (p. 54) The online text editor.
• Figure 2. (p. 55) Beginning the visualization process.
• Figure 3. (p. 55) Output following three presses of the Forward button.
• Figure 4. (p. 56) Same situation, dierent code.
• Figure 5. (p. 57) The student torture program.

8.2.1.2 Listings
• Listing 1. (p. 53) A sample program with proper indentation.
• Listing 2. (p. 53) Another sample program with proper indentation.

8.3 General background information

I touched on the use of the code visualizer in the earlier module titled Itse1359-1050-Introduction to Scripts
5 . I also touched on the code visualizer in the module titled Itse1359-2510-Getting Started with the Online
Python Tutor Code Visualizer 6 in this book 7 . The purpose of this module is to provide additional
information related to the code visualizer.
When learning to program, it is often useful to be able to follow the execution of a program step-by-step.
A free online tool called the Online Python Tutor 8 makes this possible. The following quotation was copied
from pythontutor.com 9 .

" Online Python Tutor 10 is a free educational tool created by Philip Guo 11 that
helps students overcome a fundamental barrier to learning programming: understanding what
happens as the computer executes each line of a program's source code. Using this tool, a teacher
or student can write Python , Java , and JavaScript programs in the Web browser
and visualize what the computer is doing step-by-step as it executes those programs."

8.4 Recommendation
I recommend that from this point forward in this course, you copy and paste every sample program into the
code visualizer and observe the behavior of that code as you step through the program, one instruction at a
time. I believe that doing that will help you to better understand Python programming.
The procedure for doing that is as follows:

• Open the code visualizer 12 .

• Copy the example program code into the online text editor 13 .
5 http://cnx.org/contents/28ddaa84-fd39-4161-972a-e9edde592149
6 http://cnx.org/contents/66b8fc97-0d6f-4ed8-b3e8-f61d76c6bce1
7 http://cnx.org/contents/96b34405-9562-406b-bafb-90c5fb70f39e
8 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=edit
9 http://pythontutor.com/
10 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=edit
11 http://www.pgbovine.net/
12 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=edit
13 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=edit

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 53

• Select Python 3.3 in the pull-down list.

• Click the button labeled Visualize Execution .
• Use the Forward and Back buttons to step forward and backward through your code, one
instruction at a time, while observing the positions of the red and green arrows and observing the
information that appears on the screen to the right of the code window.

8.5 Discussion and sample code

The earlier module titled Itse1359-1060-Syntax 14 in this book 15 presented and explained the two Python
programs shown in Listing 1 (p. 53) and Listing 2 (p. 53) . I will illustrate the use of the code visualizer
with this pair of sample programs.

Listing 1. A sample program with proper indentation.

A = 3
B = 4

if B > A:
print(A) # begin group
print(B)
print(A + B) # end group
A = 6 # not part of above group
print(A)

Table 8.1

Listing 2. Another sample program with proper indentation.

A = 4
B = 3

if B > A:
print(A) # begin group
print(B)
print(A + B) # end group
A = 6 # not part of above group
print(A)

Table 8.2

14 http://cnx.org/contents/f62bf8c2-00f8-44ed-a24a-1fd30ef3d7fc
15 http://cnx.org/contents/96b34405-9562-406b-bafb-90c5fb70f39e

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54 CHAPTER 8. ITSE1359-1065-VISUALIZING PYTHON

8.5.1 Open the online text editor

When you rst open the online text editor 16 , a portion of the screen will look like Figure 1 (p. 54) .
Figure 1. The online text editor.

The blank portion at the top of Figure 1 (p. 54) is the text editor portion of the screen.

8.5.2 Three drop-down boxes

There are three drop-down boxes at the bottom of Figure 1 (p. 54) that allow you to select dierent options.
The dierent options in these boxes control the manner in which the output information is presented as you
16 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=edit

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 55

step through the program. In some cases, you might want to step through the same program more than
once with dierent sets of options selected.

8.5.3 Beginning the visualization process

Figure 2 (p. 55) shows the result of pasting the code from Listing 1 (p. 53) into the text editor and pressing
the button in Figure 1 (p. 54) labeled Visualize Execution .
Figure 2. Beginning the visualization process.

8.5.4 The red and green arrows

As indicated by the key in the bottom left corner of Figure 2 (p. 55) , two arrows will appear next to the
code as you step through the code. A red arrow shows the instruction that will be executed the next time
you press the Forward button. (Pressing the Back button moves the red arrow back one step.) The
green arrow shows the instruction that was most recently executed. (The green arrow isn't visible in Figure
2 (p. 55) because it is underneath the red arrow at the beginning.)

8.5.5 Output following three presses of the Forward button

Figure 3 (p. 55) shows the result of pressing the Forward button three times.
Figure 3. Output following three presses of the Forward button.

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56 CHAPTER 8. ITSE1359-1065-VISUALIZING PYTHON

We see from the green arrow on the left that the relational test in the if statement was the most recently
executed instruction.
We see on the right that the variables named A and B contain references (pointers) to objects of
type int containing values of 3 and 4 respectively.
Because B is greater than A , the relational test in the if statement (pointed to by the green
arrow) returned true when that statement was executed. This means that the three statements in the
indented block following the if statement will be executed. The red arrow points to the rst statement in
the indented block meaning that it will be executed the next time the user presses the Forward button.

8.5.6 Same situation, dierent code

Figure 4 (p. 56) shows the same situation using the code from Listing 2. (p. 53) instead of the code from
Listing 1 (p. 53) .
Figure 4. Same situation, dierent code.

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 57

Note that the values stored in the variables named A and B were reversed relative to the code in
Figure 3 (p. 55) . As a result, the if statement pointed to by the green arrow returned false instead of
true when that statement was executed. Because of that, execution of the indented code block following the
if statement will be skipped entirely and the red arrow now points to the statement immediately following
that code block. That is the next statement that will be executed.

8.5.7 Stepping through the code

As you use the Forward and Back buttons to step through the code, one instruction at a time, you can
observe the red and green arrows to gain a better understanding of the ow of control through the program.
(You will learn more about ow of control in future modules and you will probably nd that the code
visualizer is particularly useful when analyzing that code.)
If you are in a hurry, you can press the First button and the Last button to cause the code visualizer
to go the rst or last instruction in one step.

8.5.8 The student torture program

There are links to quite a few sample programs below the drop-down boxes shown in Figure 1 (p. 54) . (I
cropped them out of Figure 1 (p. 54) to save space.) One of those sample programs is named student
torture .
As a preview of things to come, Figure 5 (p. 57) shows the result of opening that program in the code
visualizer and pressing the Last button.
Figure 5. The student torture program.

8.5.9 Sharing the code visualizer with a tutor

Finally, there is another interesting sample program at http://pythontutor.com/ 17 that you can step through
and observe its behavior. While you are there, be sure to note your ability to share the code visualizer with
a friend or a tutor on another computer on the Internet and jointly analyze a program.
17 http://pythontutor.com/

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58 CHAPTER 8. ITSE1359-1065-VISUALIZING PYTHON

8.6 Run the programs

I encourage you to use the code in Listing 1 (p. 53) and Listing 2. (p. 53) along with the code visualizer
to repeat the procedures explained in this module. Conrm that you get results similar to those shown in
Figure 3 (p. 55) and Figure 4 (p. 56) .
Change the options in the drop-down boxes and observe the results.
Experiment with the code, making changes, and observing the results of your changes. Make certain that
you can explain why your changes behave as they do.
As mentioned earlier, I strongly recommend that from this point forward in this course, you copy and
paste every sample program into the code visualizer and observe the behavior of that code as you step
through the program, one instruction at a time. I believe that doing that will help you to better understand
Python programming.

8.7 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1065-Visualizing Python
• File: Itse1359-1065.htm
• Published: 01/31/16

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

Chapter 9

Itse1359-1080r-Review 1

9.1 Table of contents

• Preface (p. 59)
• Questions (p. 59)
· 1 (p. 59) , 2 (p. 60) , 3 (p. 60) , 4 (p. 60) , 5 (p. 60) , 6 (p. 60) , 7 (p. 60) , 8 (p. 60) , 9 (p. 60)
, 10 (p. 60) , 11 (p. 60) , 12 (p. 61) , 13 (p. 61) , 14 (p. 61) , 15 (p. 61) , 16 (p. 61) , 17 (p. 61)
, 18 (p. 61)
• Listing index (p. 61)
• Answers (p. 63)
• Miscellaneous (p. 65)

9.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
This module contains review questions and answers keyed to the module titled Itse1359-1080-Lists Part
1 .
Once you study that module, you should be able to answer the review questions in this module.
The questions and the answers in this module are connected by hyperlinks to make it easy for you to
navigate from the question to the answer and back again.
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: with the exception of two bitmap images that are used
solely as spacers to separate the question section from the answer section, all of the material in this module
is presented in plain text format and should be accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display.)

9.3 Questions
9.3.1 Question 1
True or False? A subscription in Python is how you go about getting magazines delivered to your mailbox.
Go to answer 1 (p. 65)
1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m51352/1.5/>.

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60 CHAPTER 9. ITSE1359-1080R-REVIEW

9.3.2 Question 2
Name three types of sequence objects.
Go to answer 2 (p. 65)

9.3.3 Question 3
Given the following nomenclature
primary "[" expression_list "]"
what is the requirement for the primary ?
Go to answer 3 (p. 65)

9.3.4 Question 4
If the primary is a sequence , what must be the type of expression_list?
Go to answer 4 (p. 65)

9.3.5 Question 5
True or False? If the primary is a sequence , the expression_list must evaluate to a positive integer or to
a slice containing positive integers.
Go to answer 5 (p. 65)

9.3.6 Question 6
Which item in the sequence is selected for an index value of -1?
Go to answer 6 (p. 65)

9.3.7 Question 7
True or False? Just like C, C++, and Java, Python supports a character type.
Go to answer 7 (p. 65)

9.3.8 Question 8
What is another name for a mapping ?
Go to answer 8 (p. 65)

9.3.9 Question 9
What is a mutable sequence?
Go to answer 9 (p. 64)

9.3.10 Question 10
True or False? A string is a sequence.
Go to answer 10 (p. 64)

9.3.11 Question 11
True or False? A string is a mutable sequence.
Go to answer 11 (p. 64)

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9.3.12 Question 12
What kinds of items can be placed in a list ?
Go to answer 12 (p. 64)

9.3.13 Question 13
How are lists formed from a syntax viewpoint?
Go to answer 13 (p. 64)

9.3.14 Question 14
Show how to create a simple list using program code.
Go to answer 14 (p. 64)

9.3.15 Question 15
Show how to access an item in a list using a subscription.
Go to answer 15 (p. 63)

9.3.16 Question 16
Show how to access a slice from a list.
Go to answer 16 (p. 63)

9.3.17 Question 17
Show how to concatenate two lists.
Go to answer 17 (p. 63)

9.3.18 Question 18
Show how to modify an item in a list using a subscription.
Go to answer 18 (p. 63)

9.4 Listing index

• Listing 1 (p. 64) . Answer 14.
• Listing 2 (p. 64) . Answer 15.
• Listing 3 (p. 63) . Answer 16.
• Listing 4 (p. 63) . Answer 17.
• Listing 5 (p. 63) . Answer 18.

What is the meaning of the following two images?

These images were inserted here simply to insert some space between the questions and the answers to
keep them from being visible on the screen at the same time.

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62 CHAPTER 9. ITSE1359-1080R-REVIEW

This image was also inserted for the purpose of inserting space between the questions and the answers.

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 63

9.5 Answers
9.5.1 Answer 18
Listing 5 (p. 63) shows how to modify an item in a list using a subscription.

Listing 5 . Answer 18.

listA = [3.14,59,"A string",1024]

listA[2] = "New string"

Table 9.1

Go back to Question 18 (p. 61)

9.5.2 Answer 17
Listing 4 (p. 63) shows how to concatenate two lists.

Listing 4 . Answer 17.

listA = [3.14,59,"A string",1024]

listB = [2,4,6,16]
listC = listA + listB

Table 9.2

Go back to Question 17 (p. 61)

9.5.3 Answer 16
Listing 3 (p. 63) shows how to access a slice from a list.

Listing 3 . Answer 16.

print(theList[0:3])

Table 9.3

Go back to Question 16 (p. 61)

9.5.4 Answer 15
Listing 2 (p. 64) shows how to access an item in a list using a subscription.

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64 CHAPTER 9. ITSE1359-1080R-REVIEW

Listing 2 . Answer 15.

print(theList[2])

Table 9.4

Go back to Question 15 (p. 61)

9.5.5 Answer 14
Listing 1 (p. 64) shows a simple list.

Listing 1 . Answer 14.

theList = [3.14,59,"A string",1024]

Table 9.5

Go back to Question 14 (p. 61)

9.5.6 Answer 13
Lists are formed by placing a comma-separated sequence of expressions in square brackets.
Go back to Question 13 (p. 61)

9.5.7 Answer 12
The items of a list are arbitrary Python objects.
Go back to Question 12 (p. 61)

9.5.8 Answer 11
False. The characters in a string cannot be modied after the string is created.
Go back to Question 11 (p. 60)

9.5.9 Answer 10
True. A string is a sequence.
Go back to Question 10 (p. 60)

9.5.10 Answer 9
Mutable sequences can be changed after they are created.
Go back to Question 9 (p. 60)

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 65

9.5.11 Answer 8
A dictionary.
Go back to Question 8 (p. 60)

9.5.12 Answer 7
False. There is no character type in Python. Rather, a string's items are characters. A character is not a
separate data type but a string containing exactly one character.
Go back to Question 7 (p. 60)

9.5.13 Answer 6
The last item in the sequence is selected for an index value of -1.
Go back to Question 6 (p. 60)

9.5.14 Answer 5
False. The integers may be positive or negative.
Go back to Question 5 (p. 60)

9.5.15 Answer 4
If the primary is a sequence , the expression_list must evaluate to an integer or a slice.
Go back to Question 4 (p. 60)

9.5.16 Answer 3
The primary must evaluate to an object of a sequence or mapping type.
Go back to Question 3 (p. 60)

9.5.17 Answer 2
string, tuple and list and possibly range object
Go back to Question 2 (p. 60)

9.5.18 Answer 1
False in the Python context. In Python, A subscription selects an item of a sequence object.
Go back to Question 1 (p. 59)

9.6 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1080r-Review
• File: Itse1359-1080r.htm
• Published: 10/15/14
• Revised: 02/21/15

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

66 CHAPTER 9. ITSE1359-1080R-REVIEW

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

Chapter 10

Itse1359-1090-Lists Part 2 1

10.1 Table of contents

• Preface (p. 68)
· Viewing tip (p. 68)
* Figures (p. 68)
* Listings (p. 68)
• Preface (p. 68)
• Introduction (p. 68)
· Manipulating lists (p. 69)
· Other ways to manipulate lists (p. 69)
• Some sample programs (p. 69)
· Replacing a slice (p. 69)
* Can change the length of the list (p. 69)
* The function named len() (p. 70)
* Replaces a three-element slice with a six-element list (p. 70)
* Length of the list is increased by 3 (p. 70)
* Program output (p. 70)
· Replacing an element with a list (p. 70)
* Behavior is dierent from above (p. 70)
* Produces nested lists (p. 70)
* Length is unchanged (p. 71)
* Program output from replacing an element with a list (p. 71)
* One element is itself a list (p. 72)
· A visualization (p. 72)
· Extracting elements from a nested list (p. 72)
* Display the nested list combination (p. 73)
* Double-square-bracket notation (p. 73)
* Program output from extracting elements from a nested list (p. 73)
· More on nested elements (p. 74)
* Create a list of lists (p. 75)
* Inner lists are dierent lengths (p. 75)
* Program behavior and output (p. 75)
1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m51355/1.6/>.

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67
68 CHAPTER 10. ITSE1359-1090-LISTS PART 2

* Getting the length of a nested list (p. 76)

· Arrays  not for beginners (p. 76)
* Python lists are more powerful (p. 76)
* Sub-arrays can be dierent sizes (p. 76)
* Types can also be dierent (p. 76)
· A three-dimensional array program (p. 76)
* Triple-square-bracket notation (p. 77)
* Visualization of a three-dimensional array (p. 77)
* Program behavior (p. 79)
* Output from a three-dimensional array program (p. 79)
• More information on lists (p. 79)
• Miscellaneous (p. 79)

10.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction
to Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX. It expands on the previous
module titled Itse1359-1080-Lists Part 1 2 by teaching you some other ways to manipulate lists.

10.2.1 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this module in a separate browser window and use the following
links to easily nd and view the Figures and the Listings while you are reading about them.
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: most of the Figures and all of the Listings in this module
are presented in plain text format and should be accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display.)

10.2.1.1 Figures
• Figure 1 (p. 70) . Program output.
• Figure 2 (p. 71) . Program output from replacing an element with a list.
• Figure 3 (p. 72) . Visualization
• Figure 4 (p. 74) . Program output from extracting elements from a nested list.
• Figure 5 (p. 75) . Output from more nested elements.
• Figure 6 (p. 77) . Visualization of a three-dimensional array.
• Figure 7 (p. 79) . Output from a three-dimensional array program.

10.2.1.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 69) . Replace a slice in a list.
• Listing 2 (p. 71) . Replacing an element with a list.
• Listing 3 (p. 73) . Extracting elements from a nested list.
• Listing 4 (p. 75) . More nested elements.
• Listing 5 (p. 77) . A three-dimensional array program.

10.3 Introduction
A previous module titled Itse1359-1080-Lists Part 1 3 introduced you to lists and some other structures as
well.
2 http://cnx.org/contents/81942bae-453e-4cce-ac50-6e9ed9f2c54e
3 http://cnx.org/contents/81942bae-453e-4cce-ac50-6e9ed9f2c54e

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

 69

It also introduced you to

• subscriptions
• sequences
• mutable sequences
• mappings
• slicing, and
• tuples.

10.3.1 Manipulating lists

That module showed you some of the ways that you can manipulate lists. The discussion was illustrated
using sample programs and visualizations.

10.3.2 Other ways to manipulate lists

This module carries that discussion forward by using sample programs to teach you other ways to manipulate
lists.

10.4 Some sample programs

10.4.1 Replacing a slice
You can replace a slice in a list with the elements from another list through assignment.

10.4.1.1 Can change the length of the list

Note that this operation can change the length of the original list.
The script in Listing 1 (p. 69) replaces a slice in a list with the elements from another list.

Listing 1 . Replace a slice in a list.

# Illustrates replacing a slice in a list

#
#----------------------------------------
print("Create and print a list")
listA = [100,200,300,400,500]
print(listA)
print("Original length is:")
print(len(listA))
print("Replace a slice")
listA[1:4] = [2,4,8,16,32,64]
print("Print the modified list")
print(listA)
print("Modified length is:")
print(len(listA))

Table 10.1

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70 CHAPTER 10. ITSE1359-1090-LISTS PART 2

10.4.1.2 The function named len()

This program also illustrates the use of the function named len() to get and print the length of the list.

10.4.1.3 Replaces a three-element slice with a six-element list

In this program, a slice of an original ve-element list, consisting of the elements from 1 through 3 inclusive,
is replaced by the elements of a new list consisting of six new elements.

10.4.1.4 Length of the list is increased by 3

Since three existing elements are replaced by six new elements, the overall length of the list is increased by
three elements.

10.4.1.5 Program output

The output from this program is shown in Figure 1 (p. 70) .

Figure 1 . Program output.

Create and print a list

[100, 200, 300, 400, 500]
Original length is:
5
Replace a slice
Print the modified list
[100, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 500]
Modified length is:
8

Table 10.2

As you can see in Figure 1 (p. 70) , the six new elements replaced the three original elements to increase
the length of the list from 5 to 8 elements.

10.4.2 Replacing an element with a list

It is also possible to replace an element in an existing list with a new list, as illustrated by the program in
Listing 2 (p. 71) .

10.4.2.1 Behavior is dierent from above

In this case, the behavior is dierent from that shown above where a slice from the original list was replaced
with the elements from a dierent list (even though the right operand of the assignment operator is the
same in both cases) .

10.4.2.2 Produces nested lists

When a single element is replaced by a list, the result is that a new list is nested inside the original list .

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 71

10.4.2.3 Length is unchanged

It is also interesting to note that the length of the list is unchanged by this operation since the list that
replaces the element is itself considered to be a single element. Therefore, the number of elements is not
changed.
This is illustrated in Listing 2 (p. 71) , where the element at index 2 of an original list is replaced with
a new list having six elements.

Listing 2 . Replacing an element with a list.

# Illustrates replacing an
# element with a slice
#
#-------------------------------
print("Create and print a list")
listA = [100,200,300,400,500]
print(listA)
print("Original length is:")
print(len(listA))
print("Replace an element")
listA[2] = [2,4,8,16,32,64]
print("Print the modified list")
print(listA)
print("Modified length is:")
print(len(listA))

Table 10.3

10.4.2.4 Program output from replacing an element with a list

The output from this program is shown in Figure 2 (p. 71) .

Figure 2 . Program output from replacing an element with a list.

Create and print a list

[100, 200, 300, 400, 500]
Original length is:
5
Replace an element
Print the modified list
[100, 200, [2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64], 400, 500]
Modified length is:
5

Table 10.4

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72 CHAPTER 10. ITSE1359-1090-LISTS PART 2

10.4.2.5 One element is itself a list

As you can see from Figure 2 (p. 71) , the result is that one of the elements in the original ve-element list
is replaced by a new list containing six elements. However, the length of the list is unchanged.
Again, it is important to note that this results in one list being nested inside of another list.

10.4.3 A visualization
The code visualization shown in Figure 3 (p. 72) summarizes the concepts that were explained in the previous
two sections. This image was produced by entering the ve statements shown in the code visualizer's 4 code
window and stepping through all ve instructions.
Figure 3. Visualization.

I recommend that you use the code visualizer 5 to step through this code and observe the state of the
program in memory as each instruction is executed. Try to correlate the behavior of this program with what
you learned in the sections above titled Replacing a slice (p. 69) and Replacing an element with a list (p.
70) .

10.4.4 Extracting elements from a nested list

Now I am going to illustrate the syntax for extracting elements from a nested list using pairs of matching
square brackets . Listing 3 (p. 73) is an expansion of Listing 2 (p. 71) .

4 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=display
5 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=display

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

 73

Listing 3 . Extracting elements from a nested list.

# Illustrates extracting a
# list element and extracting
# elements from a nested list
#
#-------------------------------
print("Create and print a list")
listA = [100,200,300,400,500]
print(listA)
print("Original length is:")
print(len(listA))
print("Replace an element")
listA[2] = [2,4,8,16,32,64]
print("Print the modified list")
print(listA)
print("Modified length is:")
print(len(listA))
print("Extract and display each")
print(" element in the list")
print(listA[0])
print(listA[1])
print(listA[2])
print(listA[3])
print(listA[4])

print("Extract and display each")

print(" element in nested list")
print(listA[2][0])
print(listA[2][1])
print(listA[2][2])
print(listA[2][3])
print(listA[2][4])
print(listA[2][5])

Table 10.5

10.4.4.1 Display the nested list combination

After nesting a list as element 2 in another list, the program displays the value of each of the elements of
the original list. When element 2 is displayed, it can be seen to be another list.

10.4.4.2 Double-square-bracket notation

Then the program uses double-square-bracket notation (listA[2][4]) to extract and display each of the
elements in the nested inner list that comprises element 2 of the outer list.

10.4.4.3 Program output from extracting elements from a nested list

The output from this program is shown in Figure 4 (p. 74) .

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74 CHAPTER 10. ITSE1359-1090-LISTS PART 2

Figure 4 . Program output from extracting elements from a nested list.

Create and print a list

[100, 200, 300, 400, 500]
Original length is:
5
Replace an element
Print the modified list
[100, 200, [2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64], 400, 500]
Modified length is:
5
Extract and display each
element in the list
100
200
[2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64]
400
500
Extract and display each
element in nested list
2
4
8
16
32
64

Table 10.6

10.4.5 More on nested elements

The program in Listing 4 (p. 75) illustrates some additional aspects of nested elements.

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 75

Listing 4 . More nested elements.

# Illustrates more nested elements

#
#-----------------------------------------
print("Create and print a list\
with 3 nested elements")
listA = [[2,4],[8,16,32],[64,128,256,512]]
print(listA)
print("Number of elements is:")
print(len(listA))
print("Length of Element 0 is")
print(len(listA[0]))
print("Length of Element 1 is")
print(len(listA[1]))
print("Length of Element 2 is")
print(len(listA[2]))

Table 10.7

10.4.5.1 Create a list of lists

This program denes a three-element list containing three nested lists.
In other words, each of the elements in the outer list is itself a list.

10.4.5.2 Inner lists are dierent lengths

Furthermore, the lengths of the inner nested lists are not the same. The lengths of the inner nested lists are
2, 3, and 4 elements each, respectively.

10.4.5.3 Program behavior and output

The output from the program is shown in Figure 5 (p. 75) . The program displays the entire list, and then
gets and displays the lengths of each of the nested lists.

Figure 5 . Output from more nested elements.

Create and print a list with 3 nested elements

[[2, 4], [8, 16, 32], [64, 128, 256, 512]]
Number of elements is:
3
Length of Element 0 is
2
Length of Element 1 is
3
Length of Element 2 is
4

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76 CHAPTER 10. ITSE1359-1090-LISTS PART 2

Table 10.8

10.4.5.4 Getting the length of a nested list

Note in particular the syntax used to pass a parameter to the len() method in order to get the length of
a nested list (len(listA[1]) ) .

10.4.6 Arrays  not for beginners

If you are a beginning programmer, you may want to skip this section. If you are an experienced programmer,
you may have observed that a Python lists bear a striking resemblance to arrays in other programming
environments.

10.4.6.1 Python lists are more powerful

However, Python lists are more powerful than the arrays I am aware of in other programming environments,
including Java.

10.4.6.2 Sub-arrays can be dierent sizes

For example as in Java, when a Python list is used to construct a multidimensional array, the sub arrays
don't have to be of the same size.

10.4.6.3 Types can also be dierent

However, unlike Java, the elements in the array don't even have to be of the same type (granted that the
elements in a Java array can be of dierent types so long as there is an inheritance or Interface relationship
among them).

10.4.7 A three-dimensional array program

The program in Listing 5 (p. 77) might represent what an experienced programmer would consider to be a
three-dimensional array of integer data in some other programming environment.

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 77

Listing 5 . A three-dimensional array program.

# Illustrates a three-dimensional array list

#
#----------------------------------------------------
print("Create and print a\
three-dimensional array list")
listA = [[[[1],[2]],[[3],[4]]],[[[5],[6]],[[7],[8]]]]
print(listA)
print("Print each element")
print(listA[0][0][0])
print(listA[0][0][1])
print(listA[0][1][0])
print(listA[0][1][1])
print(listA[1][0][0])
print(listA[1][0][1])
print(listA[1][1][0])
print(listA[1][1][1])

Table 10.9

10.4.7.1 Triple-square-bracket notation

Pay particular attention to the triple square bracket notation that is used to access and print each element
in the array. This is very similar to the syntax in other programming languages.

10.4.7.2 Visualization of a three-dimensional array

Figure 6 (p. 77) shows a visualization 6 of the three-dimensional array pointed to by the variable named
listA in Listing 5 (p. 77) . In programming, we deal with arrays having one, two, three or more dimensions.
As you can see, even a three-dimensional array is a relatively complex structure.
Figure 6. Visualization of a three-dimensional array.
6 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=display

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78 CHAPTER 10. ITSE1359-1090-LISTS PART 2

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 79

10.4.7.3 Program behavior

This program

• Creates and populates the list that represents a three-dimensional array.

• Displays the entire array as a set of nested lists.
• Displays the contents of each element in the array.

10.4.7.4 Output from a three-dimensional array program

The output from the program is shown in Figure 7 (p. 79) . The triple-square-bracket notation in the
program of Listing 5 (p. 77) is essentially the same notation that would be used to access the individual
elements in a three-dimensional array in C, C++, or Java.

Figure 7 . Output from a three-dimensional array program.

Create and print a three-dimensional array list

[[[[1], [2]], [[3], [4]]], [[[5], [6]], [[7], [8]]]]
Print each element
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]

Table 10.10

10.5 More information on lists

There is quite a lot more that you will need to learn about lists. However, I will defer that discussion for a
future module where I discuss the use of a list as a data structure or a container .

10.6 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1090-Lists Part 2
• File: Itse1359-1090.htm
• Published: 10/15/14
• Revised: 01/31/16

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

80 CHAPTER 10. ITSE1359-1090-LISTS PART 2

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

Chapter 11

Itse1359-1110-Nested Tuples 1

11.1 Table of contents

• Preface (p. 81)
· Viewing tip (p. 81)
* Figures (p. 81)
* Listings (p. 82)
• Introduction (p. 82)
• What is a tuple? (p. 82)
• Sample program (p. 82)
· Create two tuples (p. 82)
· Nesting the tuples (p. 83)
· Get the length of the new tuple (p. 84)
• Complete program listing (p. 85)
• Visualization of the tuples (p. 86)
• Run the program (p. 86)
• Miscellaneous (p. 86)

11.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.

11.2.1 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this module in a separate browser window and use the following
links to easily nd and view the Figures and Listings while you are reading about them.
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: most of the Figures all of the Listings in this module are
presented in plain text format and should be accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display.)

11.2.1.1 Figures
• Figure 1 (p. 83) . Output from the code in Listing 1.
• Figure 2 (p. 84) . Output from the code in Listing 2.
1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m51387/1.5/>.

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81
82 CHAPTER 11. ITSE1359-1110-NESTED TUPLES

• Figure 3 (p. 84) . Output from the code in Listing 3.

• Figure 4 (p. 85) . Output from the code in Listing 4.
• Figure 5 (p. 86) . Visualization of the tuples

11.2.1.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 83) . Beginning of the program.
• Listing 2 (p. 83) . Nesting the tuples.
• Listing 3 (p. 84) . Get the length of the new tuple.
• Listing 4 (p. 85) . Complete program listing.

11.3 Introduction
Previous modules have introduced you to lists, subscriptions, sequences, mutable sequences, mappings,
slicings, and tuples.
The earlier module titled Itse1359-1100-Indexing and Slicing Tuples 2 showed you:
• How to create a tuple.
• How to access a tuple item using indexing.
• How to slice a tuple.
This module will expand your knowledge of tuples by teaching you about nesting tuples within other tuples.

11.4 What is a tuple ?

To briey repeat part of what you learned in the earlier module, a tuple is like a list whose values cannot
be modied. In other words, a tuple is immutable.
• Tuples are normally written as a sequence of items contained in (optional) matching parentheses.
• A tuple is an immutable sequence.
• Items in a tuple are accessed using a numeric index.
Tuples can contain other compound objects, including lists, dictionaries, and other tuples. Hence, tuples
can be nested inside of other tuples.

11.5 Sample program

Listing 4 (p. 85) shows a complete listing of a Python program that
• Creates two tuples.
• Nests them in a third tuple.
• Determines the length (number of items) in the tuple containing the two nested tuples.
• Prints various items of information along the way.
A visualization 3 of the tuples in this program is provided in Figure 5 (p. 86) .

11.5.1 Create two tuples

The beginning of the program is shown in Listing 1 (p. 83) .

2 http://cnx.org/contents/59b92f58-fa74-4624-a37a-37ab2794536a
3 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=display

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 83

Listing 1 . Beginning of the program.

# Illustrates creating and displaying nested tuples

#--------------------------------------------------

print("Create/print one tuple")

t1 = 1,2
print(t1)
print("Create/print another tuple")
t2 = "a","b"
print(t2)

Table 11.1

The code in Listing 1 (p. 83) creates and displays the two tuples.
Figure 1 (p. 83) shows the output produced by the code fragment in Listing 1 (p. 83) .

Figure 1 . Output from the code in Listing 1.

Create/print one tuple

(1, 2)
Create/print another tuple
('a', 'b')

Table 11.2

The remaining parts of this program will be presented and discussed as code fragments in subsequent
Listings. As mentioned above, a complete listing of the program is shown in Listing 4 (p. 85) .
A consolidated view of the output from the program is shown in Figure 4 (p. 85) .

11.5.2 Nesting the tuples

The code in Listing 2 (p. 83) nests the two tuples, t1 and t2 , produced earlier, along with two strings,
in a new tuple. The new tuple is assigned to the variable named t3 .

Listing 2 . Nesting the tuples.

print("Create/print nested tuple")

t3 = "A",t1,"B",t2
print(t3)

Table 11.3

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84 CHAPTER 11. ITSE1359-1110-NESTED TUPLES

All that is required to nest the existing tuples in a new tuple is to list the variables that reference the two
existing tuples in a comma-separated list of items for creation of the new tuple. (Note that the optional
parentheses were omitted in Listing 2 (p. 83) .)
Figure 2 (p. 84) shows the output for the new tuple containing two nested tuples.

Figure 2 . Output from the code in Listing 2.

Create/print nested tuple

('A', (1, 2), 'B', ('a', 'b'))

Table 11.4

Note that the two nested tuples retain their identity as tuples, as indicated by the fact that the parentheses
surrounding the items in the two nested tuples are preserved in the new tuple. This is also indicated by the
visualization 4 in Figure 5 (p. 86) .

11.5.3 Get the length of the new tuple

The code in Listing 3 (p. 84) shows code that gets and displays the length of the new tuple that contains
the two nested tuples.

Listing 3 . Get the length of the new tuple.

print("Length of nested tuple is:")

print(len(t3))

Table 11.5

The length is a measure of the number of items in the tuple, and is obtained using the method named
len .
Figure 3 (p. 84) shows the output produced by the code in Listing 3 (p. 84) , including the length of the
new tuple containing the two nested tuples.

Figure 3 . Output from the code in Listing 3.

Length of nested tuple is:

4

Table 11.6

4 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=display

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 85

It is important to note that even though the tuple shown in Figure 2 (p. 84) actually consists of six
individual items (ignoring parentheses) , each of the nested tuples is treated as a single item, giving a
length of only four items for the tuple that contains the two nested tuples.
This would be true regardless of the length of the nested tuples.
You will learn in a future module that a double square-bracket indexing notation can be used to gain
access to the individual items in tuples that are nested inside of other tuples.

11.6 Complete program listing

A complete listing of the program is shown in Listing 4 (p. 85) .

Listing 4 . Complete program listing.

# Illustrates creating and displaying nested tuples

#--------------------------------------------------

print("Create/print one tuple")

t1 = 1,2
print(t1)
print("Create/print another tuple")
t2 = "a","b"
print(t2)
print("Create/print nested tuple")
t3 = "A",t1,"B",t2
print(t3)
print("Length of nested tuple is:")
print(len(t3))

Table 11.7

Figure 4 (p. 85) shows a consolidated view of the output produced by this program.

Figure 4 . Output from the code in Listing 4.

Create/print one tuple

(1, 2)
Create/print another tuple
('a', 'b')
Create/print nested tuple
('A', (1, 2), 'B', ('a', 'b'))
Length of nested tuple is:
4

Table 11.8

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

86 CHAPTER 11. ITSE1359-1110-NESTED TUPLES

11.7 Visualization of the tuples

A visualization 5 of the tuples from this program is shown in Figure 5 (p. 86) .
Figure 5. Visualization of the tuples.

11.8 Run the program

I encourage you to copy the code from Listing 4 (p. 85) . Execute the code and conrm that you get the
same results as those shown in Figure 4 (p. 85) . Experiment with the code, making changes, and observing
the results of your changes. Make certain that you can explain why your changes behave as they do.

11.9 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1110-Nested Tuples
• File: Itse1359-1110.htm
• Published: 10/19/14
• Revised: 01/31/16

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
5 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=display

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

 87

I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

88 CHAPTER 11. ITSE1359-1110-NESTED TUPLES

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

Chapter 12

Itse1359-1110r-Review 1

12.1 Table of contents

• Preface (p. 89)
• Questions (p. 89)
· 1 (p. 89) , 2 (p. 90)
• Figure index (p. 91)
• Listing index (p. 91)
• Answers (p. 92)
• Miscellaneous (p. 93)

12.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
This module contains review questions and answers keyed to the module titled Itse1359-1110-Nested
Tuples .
Once you study that module, you should be able to answer the review questions in this module.
The questions and the answers in this module are connected by hyperlinks to make it easy for you to
navigate from the question to the answer and back again.
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: with the exception of two bitmap images that are used
solely as spacers to separate the question section from the answer section, all of the material in this module
is presented in plain text format and should be accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display.)

12.3 Questions
12.3.1 Question 1
True or False? The program code in Listing 1 (p. 90) produces the output shown in Figure 1 (p. 90) .

1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m51393/1.3/>.

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89
90 CHAPTER 12. ITSE1359-1110R-REVIEW

Listing 1 . Question 1 program code.

t1 = 1,2
print(t1)

t2 = "a","b"
print(t2)

t3 = "A",t1,"B",t2
print(t3)

Table 12.1

Figure 1 . Question 1 possible output.

(1, 2)
('a', 'b')
('A', (1, 2), 'B', ('a', 'b'))

Table 12.2

Go to answer 1 (p. 93)

12.3.2 Question 2
True or False? The program code in Listing 2 (p. 90) produces the output shown in Figure 2 (p. 91) .

Listing 2 . Question 2 program code.

t1 = 1,2
print(t1)

t2 = "a","b"
print(t2)

t3 = "A",t1,"B",t2
print(t3)
print(len(t3))

Table 12.3

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

 91

Figure 2 . Question 2 possible output.

(1, 2)
('a', 'b')
('A', (1, 2), 'B', ('a', 'b'))
6

Table 12.4

Go to answer 2 (p. 92)

12.4 Figure index

• Figure 1 (p. 90) . Question 1 possible output.
• Figure 2 (p. 91) . Question 2 possible output.
• Figure 3 (p. 92) . Question 2 actual output.

12.5 Listing index

• Listing 1 (p. 90) . Question 1 program code.
• Listing 2 (p. 90) . Question 2 program code.
What is the meaning of the following two images?
These images were inserted here simply to insert some space between the questions and the answers to
keep them from being visible on the screen at the same time.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

92 CHAPTER 12. ITSE1359-1110R-REVIEW

This image was also inserted for the purpose of inserting space between the questions and the answers.

12.6 Answers
12.6.1 Answer 2
False. The actual output is shown in Figure 3 (p. 92) . The code in Listing 2 (p. 90) produces a tuple
containing two other nested tuples. A nested tuple counts as only one element in the length of a tuple
containing nested tuples.

Figure 3 . Question 2 actual output.

(1, 2)
('a', 'b')
('A', (1, 2), 'B', ('a', 'b'))
4

Table 12.5

Go back to Question 2 (p. 90)

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

 93

12.6.2 Answer 1
True.
Go back to Question 1 (p. 89)

12.7 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1110r-Review
• File: Itse1359-1110r.htm
• Published: 10/19/14
• Revised: 02/23/15

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

94 CHAPTER 12. ITSE1359-1110R-REVIEW

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

Chapter 13

Itse1359-1120-Empty and Single-Item

Tuples 1

13.1 Table of contents

• Preface (p. 95)
· Viewing tip (p. 95)
* Figures (p. 96)
* Listings (p. 96)
• Introduction (p. 96)
• What is a tuple? (p. 96)
• Sample program (p. 96)
· Empty, single-item, and nested tuples (p. 96)
· An empty tuple (p. 97)
· A tuple with only one element (p. 97)
· Nested tuples (p. 98)
· Doubly-nested tuples (p. 99)
• Complete program listing (p. 99)
• Visualization of the tuples (p. 101)
• Run the program (p. 101)
• Miscellaneous (p. 101)

13.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.

13.2.1 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this module in a separate browser window and use the following
links to easily nd and view the Figures and the Listings while you are reading about them.
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: Most of the Figures and all of the Listings in this module
are presented in plain text format and should be accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display.)
1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m51383/1.4/>.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

95
96 CHAPTER 13. ITSE1359-1120-EMPTY AND SINGLE-ITEM TUPLES

13.2.1.1 Figures
• Figure 1 (p. 97) . Output from the code in Listing 1.
• Figure 2 (p. 98) . Output from the code in Listing 2.
• Figure 3 (p. 99) . Output from the code in Listing 3.
• Figure 4 (p. 100) . Consolidated output from the program in Listing 4.
• Figure 5 (p. 101) . Visualization of the tuples.

13.2.1.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 97) . Beginning of the program.
• Listing 2 (p. 97) . A tuple with only one element.
• Listing 3 (p. 98) . Create and print nested tuples.
• Listing 4 (p. 99) . Create and print nested tuples.

13.3 Introduction
This module is part of a series of modules designed to teach you about tuples in Python.
Previous modules have illustrated
• How to create a tuple.
• How to access a tuple item using indexing.
• How to slice a tuple.
• How to nest tuples.
This module will teach you how to create empty tuples and tuples containing only one item.

13.4 What is a tuple ?

A tuple is like a list whose values cannot be modied. It is an ordered list of objects, and it can contain
references to any type of object.
• Tuples are normally written as a sequence of items contained in (optional) matching parentheses.
• A tuple is an immutable sequence.
• Items in a tuple are accessed using a numeric index.
• Tuples can be nested.

13.5 Sample Program

13.5.1 Empty, single-item, and nested tuples
Listing 4 (p. 99) shows a Python program that
• Creates an empty tuple.
• Creates a single-item tuple.
• Nests the two tuples along with some strings in a third tuple.
• Determines the length of each of the tuples.
• Displays all of the above
A consolidated output from the program is shown in Figure 4 (p. 100) .
A visualization 2 of the tuples in the program is provided in Figure 5 (p. 101) .
2 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=display

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

 97

13.5.2 An empty tuple

I will explain this program in fragments. The beginning of the program is shown in Listing 1 (p. 97) .

Listing 1 . Beginning of the program.

# Illustrates empty tuples and tuples with only one element

#----------------------------------------------------------

print("Create and print empty tuple")

t1 = ()
print(t1)
print("Length of empty tuple is")
print(len(t1))

Table 13.1

As you might have guessed from the name, an empty tuple is just a pair of empty parentheses as shown
by the second statement in Listing 1 (p. 97) . (The parentheses aren't optional for an empty tuple.)
Figure 1 (p. 97) shows the output produced by the code in Listing 1 (p. 97) . The empty tuple is
displayed simply as a pair of empty parentheses, and the length of the empty tuple is shown to be zero.

Figure 1 . Output from the code in Listing 1.

Create and print empty tuple

()
Length of empty tuple is
0

Table 13.2

13.5.3 A tuple with only one element

There are probably no surprises regarding an empty tuple. However, there may be some surprises in the
code fragment shown in Listing 2 (p. 97) . This fragment deals with a tuple containing only one element.

Listing 2 . A tuple with only one element.

continued on next page

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98 CHAPTER 13. ITSE1359-1120-EMPTY AND SINGLE-ITEM TUPLES

print("Create and print one-element tuple")

# Note the req trailing comma
t2 = "a",
print(t2)
print("Length of one-element tuple is:")
print(len(t2))

Table 13.3

The syntax for creating a tuple with only one element is rather ugly, but is required to avoid ambiguity.
In particular, it is necessary to follow the single tuple item with a comma as shown in the third line of text
in Listing 2 (p. 97) .
Had I written that line simply as follows without the extra comma,
t2 = "a"
the result would have been to create a new variable named t2 whose contents would be the string "a".
(The parentheses are optional here but the comma is required with or without the parentheses.)
This would not indicate a tuple at all. The extra comma is required to make a single-item tuple unique
and to distinguish it from other possibilities.
Figure 2 (p. 98) shows the output produced by the code in Listing 2 (p. 97) . The single-item tuple
is shown in the third line of text in Listing 2 (p. 97) . As is always the case, the tuple is displayed in
parentheses.

Figure 2 . Output from the code in Listing 2.

Create and print one-element tuple

('a',)
Length of one-element tuple is:
1

Table 13.4

The length of the tuple as shown in Figure 2 (p. 98) is one (1) item.

13.5.4 Nested tuples

Just to give you a little more practice in dealing with nested tuples, the code in Listing 3 (p. 98) nests the
two tuples created above into a new tuple and stores a reference to the new tuple in the variable named t3
.

Listing 3 . Create and print nested tuples.

continued on next page

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 99

print("Create and print nested tuple")

t3 = "A",t1,"B",(t2,"Z"),"C"
print(t3)

print("Length of nested tuple is")

print(len(t3))

Table 13.5

13.5.5 Doubly-nested tuples

However unlike previous sample programs, in this case, literal parentheses are used to cause the tuple named
t2 to be doubly nested.
In particular, as shown by the second statement in Listing 3 (p. 98) , the tuple named t2 and the string
"Z" are used to create a tuple, which in turn, is nested in the tuple assigned to the variable named t3 .
This is also shown in the visualization 3 in Figure 5 (p. 101) .
The double nesting is evidenced by the extra parentheses in the second line of text in the output shown
in Figure 3 (p. 99) .

Figure 3 . Output from the code in Listing 3.

Create and print nested tuple

('A', (), 'B', (('a',), 'Z'), 'C')
Length of nested tuple is
5

Table 13.6

The length of the tuple is also shown in Figure 3 (p. 99) . Even though the tuple named t3 contains
two nested tuples (one of which is doubly-nested) , its overall length is only ve (5) items.
One of the tuples nested inside of t3 has a length of zero but it still counts as one item when the length
of t3 is determined.

13.6 Complete program listing

A complete listing of the program is shown in Listing 4 (p. 99) .

Listing 4 . Complete program listing.

continued on next page

3 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=display

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100 CHAPTER 13. ITSE1359-1120-EMPTY AND SINGLE-ITEM TUPLES

# Illustrates empty tuples and tuples with only one element

#----------------------------------------------------------

print("Create and print empty tuple")

t1 = ()
print(t1)
print("Length of empty tuple is")
print(len(t1))

print("Create and print one-element tuple")

# Note the req trailing comma
t2 = "a",
print(t2)
print("Length of one-element tuple is:")
print(len(t2))

print("Create and print nested tuple")

t3 = "A",t1,"B",(t2,"Z"),"C"
print(t3)

print("Length of nested tuple is")

print(len(t3))

Table 13.7

A consolidated output from the program is shown in Figure 4 (p. 100) .

Figure 4 . Consolidated output from the program in Listing 4.

Create and print empty tuple

()
Length of empty tuple is
0
Create and print one-element tuple
('a',)
Length of one-element tuple is:
1
Create and print nested tuple
('A', (), 'B', (('a',), 'Z'), 'C')
Length of nested tuple is
5

Table 13.8

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

 101

13.7 Visualization of the tuples

A visualization 4 of the tuples in the program is provided in Figure 5 (p. 101) .
Figure 5. Visualization of the tuples.

13.8 Run the program

I encourage you to copy the code from Listing 4 (p. 99) . Execute the code and conrm that you get the
same results as those shown in Figure 4 (p. 100) . Experiment with the code, making changes, and observing
the results of your changes. Make certain that you can explain why your changes behave as they do.

13.9 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1120-Empty and Single-Item Tuples
• File: Itse1359-1120.htm
• Published: 10/19/14
• Revised: 01/31/16

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
4 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=display

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

102 CHAPTER 13. ITSE1359-1120-EMPTY AND SINGLE-ITEM TUPLES

I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

Chapter 14

Itse1359-1120r-Review 1

14.1 Table of contents

• Preface (p. 103)
• Questions (p. 103)
· 1 (p. 103) , 2 (p. 104) , 3 (p. 105) , 4 (p. 105) , 5 (p. 105)
• Figure index (p. 106)
• Answers (p. 108)
• Miscellaneous (p. 109)

14.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
This module contains review questions and answers keyed to the module titled Itse1359-1120-Empty and
Single-Item Tuples .
Once you study that module, you should be able to answer the review questions in this module.
The questions and the answers in this module are connected by hyperlinks to make it easy for you to
navigate from the question to the answer and back again.
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: with the exception of two bitmap images that are used
solely as spacers to separate the question section from the answer section, all of the material in this module
is presented in plain text format and should be accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display.)

14.3 Questions
14.3.1 Question 1
True or False? The code in Figure 1 (p. 104) creates and prints an empty tuple producing the output shown
in Figure 2 (p. 104) .

1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m51376/1.3/>.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

103
104 CHAPTER 14. ITSE1359-1120R-REVIEW

Figure 1 . Question 1 program code.

t1 =
print(t1)

print(len(t1))

Table 14.1

Figure 2 . Question 1 possible output.

()
0

Table 14.2

Go to answer 1 (p. 109)

14.3.2 Question 2
True or False? The code in Figure 4 (p. 104) creates and prints an empty tuple producing the output shown
in Figure 5 (p. 104) .

Figure 4 . Question 2 program code.

t1 = ()
print(t1)

print(len(t1))

Table 14.3

Figure 5 . Question 2 possible output.

()
0

Table 14.4

Go to answer 2 (p. 109)

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

 105

14.3.3 Question 3
True or False? The code in Figure 6 (p. 105) produces the output shown in Figure 7 (p. 105) .

Figure 6 . Question 3 program code.

t2 = ("a")
print(t2)

Table 14.5

Figure 7 . Question 3 possible output.

('a')

Table 14.6

Go to answer 3 (p. 108)

14.3.4 Question 4
True or False? The code in Figure 9 (p. 105) produces the output shown in Figure 10 (p. 105) .

Figure 9 . Question 4 program code.

t2 = ("a",)
print(t2)

Table 14.7

Figure 10 . Question 4 possible output.

('a',)

Table 14.8

Go to answer 4 (p. 108)

14.3.5 Question 5
True or False? The code in Figure 11 (p. 106) produces the output shown in Figure 12 (p. 106) .

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

106 CHAPTER 14. ITSE1359-1120R-REVIEW

Figure 11 . Question 5 program code.

t1 = ()
print(t1)
print(len(t1))

t2 = ("a",)
print(t2)
print(len(t2))

t3 = "A",t1,"B",(t2,"Z"),"C"
print(t3)
print(t3[3][0])
print(len(t3))

Table 14.9

Figure 12 . Question 5 possible output.

()
0
('a',)
1
('A', (), 'B', (('a',), 'Z'), 'C')
('a',)
5

Table 14.10

Go to answer 5 (p. 108)

14.4 Figure index

• Figure 1 (p. 104) . Question 1 program code.
• Figure 2 (p. 104) . Question 1 possible output.
• Figure 3 (p. 109) . Question 1 actual output.
• Figure 4 (p. 104) . Question 2 program code.
• Figure 5 (p. 104) . Question 2 possible output.
• Figure 6 (p. 105) . Question 3 program code.
• Figure 7 (p. 105) . Question 3 possible output.
• Figure 8 (p. 109) . Question 3 actual output.
• Figure 9 (p. 105) . Question 4 program code.
• Figure 10 (p. 105) . Question 4 possible output.
• Figure 11 (p. 106) . Question 5 program code.
• Figure 12 (p. 106) . Question 5 possible output.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

 107

What is the meaning of the following two images?

These images were inserted here simply to insert some space between the questions and the answers to
keep them from being visible on the screen at the same time.

This image was also inserted for the purpose of inserting space between the questions and the answers.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

108 CHAPTER 14. ITSE1359-1120R-REVIEW

14.5 Answers
14.5.1 Answer 5
True. Note the indexing using double square bracket notation.
Go back to Question 5 (p. 105)

14.5.2 Answer 4
True.
Go back to Question 4 (p. 105)

14.5.3 Answer 3
False. The output is shown in Figure 8 (p. 109) . The code in Figure 6 (p. 105) doesn't recognize the item
in parentheses as a tuple. It is being treated as an ordinary variable. It needs a comma to be recognized as
a tuple.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

 109

Figure 8 . Question 3 actual output.

Table 14.11

Go back to Question 3 (p. 105)

14.5.4 Answer 2
True.
Go back to Question 2 (p. 104)

14.5.5 Answer 1
False. The actual output is shown in Figure 3 (p. 109) . While the parentheses are optional when creating
and populating a non-empty tuple, they are not optional when creating an empty tuple.

Figure 3 . Question 1 actual output.

File "1359-1120r-01.py", line 3

t1 =
^
SyntaxError: invalid syntax

Table 14.12

Go back to Question 1 (p. 103)

14.6 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1120r-Review
• File: Itse1359-1120r.htm
• Published: 10/19/14
• Revised: 02/23/15

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

110 CHAPTER 14. ITSE1359-1120R-REVIEW

In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

Chapter 15

Itse1359-1130-Unpacking Tuples 1

15.1 Table of contents

• Preface (p. 111)
· Viewing tip (p. 111)
* Figures (p. 112)
* Listings (p. 112)
• Introduction (p. 112)
• What is a tuple? (p. 112)
• Sample program (p. 112)
· Program to unpack a tuple (p. 112)
· Tuples can be concatenated (p. 113)
· Unusual syntax (p. 113)
· Packing and unpacking a tuple (p. 114)
· Unpack the tuple into the mutable list (p. 115)
• Complete program listing (p. 115)
• Visualization of the tuples in the program (p. 116)
• Run the program (p. 117)
• Miscellaneous (p. 119)

15.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.

15.2.1 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this module in a separate browser window and use the following
links to easily nd and view the Figures and Listings while you are reading about them.
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: most of the Figures and all of the Listings in this module
are presented in plain text format and should be accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display.)
1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m51378/1.4/>.

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112 CHAPTER 15. ITSE1359-1130-UNPACKING TUPLES

15.2.1.1 Figures
• Figure 1 (p. 113) . Output from the code in Listing 1.
• Figure 2 (p. 114) . Output from the code in Listing 2.
• Figure 3 (p. 115) . Output from the code in Listing 3.
• Figure 4 (p. 116) . Output from the code in Listing 4.
• Figure 5 (p. 117) . Visualization of the tuples in the program.
• Figure 6 (p. 119) . Output from the modied program.

15.2.1.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 113) . Beginning of the program.
• Listing 2 (p. 114) . Unpack the tuple and print individual elements.
• Listing 3 (p. 115) . Unpack the tuple into the mutable list.
• Listing 4 (p. 115) . Complete program listing.

15.3 Introduction
This module is part of a series of modules designed to teach you about tuples.
Earlier modules have illustrated

• How to create (pack) a tuple.

• How to access a tuple item using indexing.
• How to slice a tuple.
• How to nest tuples.
• How to create empty tuples.
• How to create single-item tuples.

This module will teach you about unpacking tuples.

15.4 What is a tuple ?

A tuple is an immutable ordered list of objects. It can contain references to any type of object. See earlier
modules in this series for a more detailed description.

15.5 Sample program

15.5.1 Program to unpack a tuple
Listing 4 (p. 115) presents a Python program that:

• Creates (packs) two simple tuples.

• Creates (packs) a third tuple by concatenating the rst two tuples.
• Displays the third tuple.
• Unpacks the third tuple, assigning each item of the tuple into a separate variable.
• Displays each of the variables.
• Creates and displays a mutable list object containing ve strings.
• Unpacks the tuple created earlier assigning the four items from the tuple into the rst four items in
the list.
• Displays the list.

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 113

Figure 4 (p. 116) shows the output produced by the program in Listing 4 (p. 115) .
Figure 5 (p. 117) shows a visualization of the tuples in the program after the rst ve statements in the
code block have been executed. This is a case where you need to step through the program and observe
changes in the diagram on the right to appreciate the behavior of the program.
I will explain this program in fragments. Listing 1 (p. 113) shows the beginning of the program.

Listing 1 . Beginning of the program.

# Illustrates unpacking a tuple

#------------------------------

# Create a pair of tuples

t1 = 1,2
t2 = "A","B"

# Concatenate and print them

t3 = t1 + t2
print(t3)

Table 15.1

15.5.2 Tuples can be concatenated

As shown in Listing 1 (p. 113) , tuples support the concatenation (+) operator. You can concatenate two or
more tuples to produce a new tuple. This program creates two simple tuples, and then concatenates them
to create a third tuple.
Figure 1 (p. 113) shows the output produced by the code in Listing 1 (p. 113) . By now, the creation
and display of simple tuples should be very familiar to you based on earlier modules. Therefore, I won't
discuss this part of the program further.

Figure 1 . Output from the code in Listing 1.

(1, 2, 'A', 'B')

Table 15.2

15.5.3 Unusual syntax

The code in Listing 2 (p. 114) is not quite so straightforward. In fact, it looks rather strange if you come
from a conventional C, C++, or Java programming background.

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114 CHAPTER 15. ITSE1359-1130-UNPACKING TUPLES

Listing 2 . Unpack the tuple and print individual elements.

# Unpack the tuple and print individual elements

w,x,y,z = t3
print(w)
print(x)
print(y)
print(z)

Table 15.3

Figure 2 (p. 114) shows the output produced by the code in Listing 2 (p. 114) .

Figure 2 . Output from the code in Listing 2.

1
2
A
B

Table 15.4

If you compare this output with the original tuple in Listing 1 (p. 113) , or with the previous output in
Figure 1 (p. 113) , you will see that each of the individual items in the tuple (in left-to-right order) were
assigned respectively to the variables named w , x , y , and z .
Thus, the lines of output produced by printing these four variables in Figure 2 (p. 114) match the items
in the original tuple that was created in Listing 1 (p. 113) and displayed in Figure 1 (p. 113) .

15.5.4 Packing and unpacking a tuple

Version 3 of The Python Tutorial  5.3. Tuples and Sequences 2 refers to the rst, second, and third
statements in Listing 1 (p. 113) as tuple packing using the following example:
The statement t = 12345, 54321, 'hello!' is an example of tuple packing: the values 12345, 54321
and 'hello!' are packed together in a tuple. The reverse operation is also possible
An early version of The Python Tutorial  5.3 Tuples and Sequences 3 refers to the rst statement in Listing
2 (p. 114) as tuple unpacking .
The current version of The Python Tutorial  5.3. Tuples and Sequences 4 (September 2014) refers to
that operation more generally as sequence unpacking .
That tutorial continues by telling us
"... sequence unpacking requires that there are as many variables on the left side of the equals
sign as there are elements in the sequence."
If you try to run a program that doesn't meet these criteria, you will get an error similar to the following:
ValueError: too many values to unpack (expected 3)
2 https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/datastructures.html#tuples-and-sequences
3 https://docs.python.org/release/1.5.1p1/tut/tuples.html
4 https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/datastructures.html#tuples-and-sequences

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 115

15.5.5 Unpack the tuple into the mutable list

Just to make things a little more interesting, I decided to combine the use of a tuple (an immutable list)
and a regular mutable list in this program.
Listing 3 (p. 115) contains the code to create a mutable list populated with ve string characters.

Listing 3 . Unpack the tuple into the mutable list.

# Create and print a list

L1 = ["a","b","c","d","e"]

# Unpack tuple into the list and print it

print(L1)
L1[0],L1[1],L1[2],L1[3] = t3
print(L1)

Table 15.5

Then the list is displayed, as shown by the rst line of text in Figure 3 (p. 115) . The rst line of output
in Figure 3 (p. 115) shows the contents of the list just after it is created and populated.

Figure 3 . Output from the code in Listing 3.

['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e']

[1, 2, 'A', 'B', 'e']

Table 15.6

Then the code in Listing 3 (p. 115) unpacks the four-element tuple referred to by t3 into the rst four
elements in the list. (Remember, a list is mutable, so the values of its items can be changed.)
Then the contents of the list are displayed again producing the second line of text in Figure 3 (p. 115) .
As you can see from Figure 3 (p. 115) , the rst four items in the list were replaced by the four items from
the tuple. The fth item in the list was not modied.

15.5.6 Complete program listing

A complete listing of the program discussed above is provided in Listing 4 (p. 115) .

Listing 4 . Complete program listing.

continued on next page

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116 CHAPTER 15. ITSE1359-1130-UNPACKING TUPLES

# Illustrates unpacking a tuple

#------------------------------

# Create a pair of tuples

t1 = 1,2
t2 = "A","B"

# Concatenate and print them

t3 = t1 + t2
print(t3)

# Unpack the tuple and print individual elements

w,x,y,z = t3
print(w)
print(x)
print(y)
print(z)

# Create and print a list

L1 = ["a","b","c","d","e"]
# Unpack tuple into the list and print it
print(L1)
L1[0],L1[1],L1[2],L1[3] = t3
print(L1)

Table 15.7

Figure 4 (p. 116) shows the output from the code in Listing 4 (p. 115) .

Figure 4 . Output from the code in Listing 4.

(1, 2, 'A', 'B')

1
2
A
B
['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e']
[1, 2, 'A', 'B', 'e']

Table 15.8

15.6 Visualization of the tuples in the program

Figure 5 (p. 117) shows a visualization of the tuples in the program after the rst ve statements in the code
block have been executed. This is a case where you need to step through the program and observe changes
in the diagram on the right to appreciate the behavior of the program.

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 117

Figure 5. Visualization of the tuples in the program.

15.7 Run the program

I encourage you to copy the code from Listing 4 (p. 115) . Execute the code and conrm that you get the
same results as those shown in Figure 4 (p. 116) . Experiment with the code, making changes, and observing
the results of your changes. Make certain that you can explain why your changes behave as they do.
For example, you might want to try the following experiment. There is a line in the program shown in
Listing 4 (p. 115) that reads as follows:
L1 = ["a","b","c","d","e"]
Modify the program, changing this line so that it reads as follows:
L1 = ("a","b","c","d","e")
or
L1 = "a","b","c","d","e"
By now you should recognize that either of these modications will change L1 from an ordinary mutable
list to a tuple (an immutable list) .
Now execute the modied program. Your output should look something like that shown in Figure 6 (p.
119) .

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118 CHAPTER 15. ITSE1359-1130-UNPACKING TUPLES

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 119

Figure 6 . Output from the modied program.

(1, 2, 'A', 'B')

1
2
A
B
('a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e')
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "1359-1130-07.py", line 24, in <module>
L1[0],L1[1],L1[2],L1[3] = t3
TypeError: 'tuple' object does not support item assignment

Table 15.9

Everything should work well until the attempt is made to unpack the tuple named t3 and to assign the
items from that tuple into the individual items of the new tuple named L1 .
The items in a tuple are immutable, meaning that they cannot be changed. Therefore, the program
crashes at this point with the error shown in Figure 6 (p. 119) .

15.8 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1130-Unpacking Tuples
• File: Itse1359-1130.htm
• Published: 10/19/14
• Revised: 01/31/16

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

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120 CHAPTER 15. ITSE1359-1130-UNPACKING TUPLES

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Chapter 16

Itse1359-1130r-Review 1

16.1 Table of contents

• Preface (p. 121)
• Questions (p. 121)
· 1 (p. 121) , 2 (p. 122) , 3 (p. 123)
• Figure index (p. 125)
• Answers (p. 126)
• Miscellaneous (p. 127)

16.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
This module contains review questions and answers keyed to the module titled Itse1359-1230-The if
Statement .
Once you study that module, you should be able to answer the review questions in this module.
The questions and the answers in this module are connected by hyperlinks to make it easy for you to
navigate from the question to the answer and back again.
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: with the exception of two bitmap images that are used
solely as spacers to separate the question section from the answer section, all of the material in this module
is presented in plain text format and should be accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display.
Note however that the required indentation may not be properly represented by an audio screen reader.)

16.3 Questions
16.3.1 Question 1
True or False? The code in Figure 1 (p. 122) produces the output shown in Figure 2 (p. 122) .

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122 CHAPTER 16. ITSE1359-1130R-REVIEW

Figure 1 . Question 1 program code.

dogs = ["Affenpinscher","Afgan Hound","Akita"]

if len(dogs) != 2:
print(dogs[0])
print(dogs[1])
print(dogs[2])
print("Length of dogs list = " + str(len(dogs)))

if not(len(dogs) == 3):
print(dogs[0])
print(dogs[1])
print(dogs[2])
print(dogs)

Table 16.1

Figure 2 . Question 1 possible output.

Affenpinscher
Afgan Hound
Akita
Length of dogs list = 3
['Affenpinscher', 'Afgan Hound', 'Akita']

Table 16.2

Go to answer 1 (p. 127)

16.3.2 Question 2
True or False? The code in Figure 3 (p. 123) produces the output shown in Figure 4 (p. 123) .

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 123

Figure 3 . Question 2 program code.

weather = ["sunshine","rain"]

weatherToday = weather[1]

if weatherToday == "rain":
print("It's raining, visit the museum.")
else:
print("Sunshine, go to the beach.");

print("Vacation is over, go home.")

Table 16.3

Figure 4 . Question 2 possible output.

Sunshine, go to the beach.

Vacation is over, go home.

Table 16.4

Go to answer 2 (p. 126)

16.3.3 Question 3
True or False? The code in Figure 6 (p. 123) produces the output shown in Figure 7 (p. 125) .

Figure 6 . Question 3 program code.

weather = ["sunshine","rain","snow"]

weatherToday = weather[2]

if weatherToday == "rain":
print("It's raining, visit the museum.")
elif weatherToday == "sunshine":
print("Sunshine, go to the beach.")
else:
print("It's snowing, go skiing.")

print("Vacation is over, go home.")

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124 CHAPTER 16. ITSE1359-1130R-REVIEW

Table 16.5

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 125

Figure 7 . Question 3 possible output.

It's snowing, go skiing.

Vacation is over, go home.

Table 16.6

Go to answer 3 (p. 126)

16.4 Figure index

• Figure 1 (p. 122) . Question 1 program code.
• Figure 2 (p. 122) . Question 1 possible output.
• Figure 3 (p. 123) . Question 2 program code.
• Figure 4 (p. 123) . Question 2 possible output.
• Figure 5 (p. 126) . Question 2 actual output.
• Figure 6 (p. 123) . Question 3 program code.
• Figure 7 (p. 125) . Question 3 possible output.

What is the meaning of the following two images?

These images were inserted here simply to insert some space between the questions and the answers to
keep them from being visible on the screen at the same time.

This image was also inserted for the purpose of inserting space between the questions and the answers.

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126 CHAPTER 16. ITSE1359-1130R-REVIEW

16.5 Answers
16.5.1 Answer 3
True.
Go back to Question 3 (p. 123)

16.5.2 Answer 2
False. The actual output is shown in Figure 5 (p. 126) .

Figure 5 . Question 2 actual output.

It's raining, visit the museum.

Vacation is over, go home.

Table 16.7

Go back to Question 2 (p. 122)

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 127

16.5.3 Answer 1
True.
Go back to Question 1 (p. 121)

16.6 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1230r-Review
• File: Itse1359-1230r.htm
• Published: 10/21/14
• Revised: 02/25/15

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

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128 CHAPTER 16. ITSE1359-1130R-REVIEW

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Chapter 17

Itse1359-1210r-Review 1

17.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 129)
• Questions (p. 129)
· 1 (p. 129) , 2 (p. 130) , 3 (p. 131) , 4 (p. 132)
• Figure index (p. 133)
• Answers (p. 134)
• Miscellaneous (p. 135)

17.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
This module contains review questions and answers keyed to the module titled Itse1359-1210-The While
Loop .
Once you study that module, you should be able to answer the review questions in this module.
The questions and the answers in this module are connected by hyperlinks to make it easy for you to
navigate from the question to the answer and back again.
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: with the exception of two bitmap images that are used
solely as spacers to separate the question section from the answer section, all of the material in this module
is presented in plain text format and should be accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display.
Note however that the required indentation may not be properly represented by an audio screen reader.)

17.3 Questions
17.3.1 Question 1
True or False? The code in Figure 1 (p. 130) produces the output shown in Figure 2 (p. 130) .

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129
130 CHAPTER 17. ITSE1359-1210R-REVIEW

Figure 1 . Question 1 program code.

# Illustrates the use of a while loop to manipulate a list

aList = ["a","b","c"]
print(aList)

count = 6
while count <= 5:
count = count + 1
print(count)
aList.append(count)

print(aList)

Table 17.1

Figure 2 . Question 1 possible output.

['a', 'b', 'c']

1
2
3
4
5
6
['a', 'b', 'c', 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Table 17.2

Go to answer 1 (p. 135)

17.3.2 Question 2
True or False? The code in Figure 4 (p. 131) produces the output shown in Figure 5 (p. 131) .

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 131

Figure 4 . Question 2 program code.

# Illustrates the use of a while loop to manipulate a list

aList = ["a","b","c"]
print(aList)

count = 0
while count <= 5:
count = count + 1
print(count)
aList.append(count)

print(aList)

Table 17.3

Figure 5 . Question 2 possible output.

['a', 'b', 'c']

1
2
3
4
5
6
['a', 'b', 'c', 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Table 17.4

Go to answer 2 (p. 134)

17.3.3 Question 3
True or False? The code in Figure 7 (p. 132) produces the output shown in Figure 8 (p. 132) .

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132 CHAPTER 17. ITSE1359-1210R-REVIEW

Figure 7 . Question 3 program code.

# Illustrates the use of a while loop to manipulate a list

aList = ["a","b","c"]
print(aList)

count = 0
while count <= 5:
count = count + 1
print(count)
aList.append(count)

print(aList)

Table 17.5

Figure 8 . Question 3 possible output.

['a', 'b', 'c']

1
2
3
4
5
6
['a', 'b', 'c', 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Table 17.6

Go to answer 3 (p. 134)

17.3.4 Question 4
True or False? The two statements shown in Figure 9 (p. 132) produce the same result.

Figure 9 . Question 9.

count = count + 1

count += 1

Table 17.7

Go to answer 4 (p. 134)

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 133

17.4 Figure index

• Figure 1 (p. 130) . Question 1 program code.
• Figure 2 (p. 130) . Question 1 possible output.
• Figure 3 (p. 135) . Question 1 actual output.
• Figure 4 (p. 131) . Question 2 program code.
• Figure 5 (p. 131) . Question 2 possible output.
• Figure 6 (p. 134) . Question 2 actual output.
• Figure 7 (p. 132) . Question 3 program code.
• Figure 8 (p. 132) . Question 3 possible output.
• Figure 9 (p. 132) . Question 9.

What is the meaning of the following two images?

These images were inserted here simply to insert some space between the questions and the answers to
keep them from being visible on the screen at the same time.

This image was also inserted for the purpose of inserting space between the questions and the answers.

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134 CHAPTER 17. ITSE1359-1210R-REVIEW

17.5 Answers
17.5.1 Answer 4
True.
Go back to Question 4 (p. 132)

17.5.2 Answer 3
True.
Go back to Question 3 (p. 131)

17.5.3 Answer 2
False. The output is shown in Figure 6 (p. 134) . The indentation in Figure 4 (p. 131) is not correct for the
output shown in Figure 5 (p. 131) .

Figure 6 . Question 2 actual output.

continued on next page

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 135

['a', 'b', 'c']

6
['a', 'b', 'c', 6]

Table 17.8

Go back to Question 2 (p. 130)

17.5.4 Answer 1
False. The output is shown in Figure 3 (p. 135) . The code in the body of the while loop is never executed
because the conditional clause returns false the rst time it is tested.

Figure 3 . Question 1 actual output.

['a', 'b', 'c']

['a', 'b', 'c']

Table 17.9

Go back to Question 1 (p. 129)

17.6 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.
Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1210r-Review
• File: Itse1359-1210r.htm
• Published: 10/26/14
• Revised: 02/25/15

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.
-end-

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136 CHAPTER 17. ITSE1359-1210R-REVIEW

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Chapter 18

Itse1359-1220-Operators 1

18.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 137)
· What you have learned (p. 137)
· What you will learn (p. 138)
· Viewing tip (p. 138)
* Figures (p. 138)
* Listings (p. 138)
• Operators (p. 138)
· Arithmetic operators (p. 139)
· Relational operators (p. 139)
· Logical operators (p. 139)
· Bit shift operators (p. 141)
· Miscellaneous operators (p. 141)
• Discussion and sample code (p. 141)
• Miscellaneous (p. 142)

18.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.

18.2.1 What you have learned

Early modules in this collection included instruction on the following topics:

• numbers
• variables
• identiers
• strings
• scripts
• lists
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138 CHAPTER 18. ITSE1359-1220-OPERATORS

This instruction has prepared you to use Python as a very fancy desk calculator.
A more recent module provided instruction on the concepts of repetition and decision logic using the
while loop as an example.

18.2.2 What you will learn

Prior to encountering the conditional clause in the while loop, all of the code involving operators was
fairly self explanatory:

• addition
• subtraction
• multiplication
• division
• assignment

However, when examining the while loop, we were confronted with an operator that was less self explanatory
 the l ess than or equal operator. This suggests that this is the point in this collection where we need to
describe all, or at least most of the operators used in Python. That is the purpose of this module.

18.2.3 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this module in a separate browser window and use the following
links to easily nd and view the Figures and the Listings while you are reading about them.
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: all of the Figures and the Listings in this module are
presented in plain text format and should be accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display.
Note however that the required indentation may not be properly represented by an audio screen reader.)

18.2.3.1 Figures
• Figure 1 (p. 139) . Arithmetic operators.
• Figure 2 (p. 139) . Relational operators.
• Figure 3 (p. 140) . Logical operators.
• Figure 4 (p. 141) . Bit shift operators.
• Figure 5 (p. 141) . Miscellaneous operators.

18.2.3.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 140) . Logical operators "and", "or", and "not".

18.3 Operators
The material on operators contained in this module was mainly extracted from 10.3.1. Mapping Operators
to Functions 2 in The Python Standard Library 3 .
2 https://docs.python.org/3/library/operator.html#mapping-operators-to-functions
3 https://docs.python.org/3/library/index.html

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 139

18.3.1 Arithmetic operators

As the name implies, the arithmetic operators are used for performing arithmetic. However, some of the
operators are "overloaded" meaning that the behavior of the operator depends on the types of the operands.
For example, as you learned in an earlier module, the (+) operator is used both for arithmetic addition and
string concatenation.
Figure 1 (p. 139) shows all or at least most of the arithmetic operators.

Figure 1 . Arithmetic operators.

+ Addition a + b
+ Positive + a (does essentially nothing)
- Subtraction a - b
- Negation - a (change sign of operand)
* Multiplication a * b
** Exponentiation a ** b
/ Division a / b (floating point division)
// Division a // b (integer division)
% Modulo a % b

Table 18.1

With the exception of (//) and (%), the behavior of all of the operators in Figure 1 (p. 139) should be
self-explanatory. The behavior of those two operators was explained in the earlier module titled Itse1359-
1020-Numbers .

18.3.2 Relational operators

These are the operators that are typically used in the conditional clause of decision logic. Basically the
operators test to determine if the operator describes the relationship between the left and right operands. If
so, the expression returns true. Otherwise, it returns false.
Figure 2 (p. 139) shows all, or at least most of the relational operators.

Figure 2 . Relational operators.

< a < b (true if a is less than b)

<= a <= b (true if a is less than or equal to b)
== a == b (true if a is equal to b)
!= a != b (true if a is not equal to b)
>= a >= b (true if a is greater than or equal to b)
> a > b (true if a is greater than b)

Table 18.2

18.3.3 Logical operators

The logical operators are shown in Figure 3 (p. 140) .

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140 CHAPTER 18. ITSE1359-1220-OPERATORS

Figure 3 . Logical operators.

and And a and b (true if both a and b are true)

or Inclusive Or a or b (true if either a or b are true)
not Negation not a (switch a from true to false
or from false to true)

& Bitwise And a & b

^ Bitwise Exclusive Or a ^ b
| Bitwise Inclusive Or a | b
∼ Bitwise Inversion ∼ a

Table 18.3

The operators in Figure 3 (p. 140) are often used to embellish the relational operators from Figure 2 (p.
139) in decision logic.
The rst operator ( and ) returns true if both operands are true.
The second operator ( or ) returns true if either operand is true.
The third operator ( not ) has only one operand and it is on the right side of the operator. It switches
the operand from true to false or from false to true.
The script in Listing 1 (p. 140) shows examples of the use of these three operators in conjunction with
the equality relational operator.

Listing 1 . Logical operators "and", "or", and "not".

a=5
print(a==5 and a==5)
print(a==5 and a==4)
print(a==5 and not a==5)
print(a==5 and not a==4)

print(a==5 or a==5)
print(a==5 or a==4)
print(a==4 or a==4)

#This script produces the following output:

True
False
False
True
True
True
False

Table 18.4

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

 141

The last four operators in Figure 3 (p. 140) are used to perform logical operations at the bit level. An
explanation of these operators is beyond the scope of this module.

18.3.4 Bit shift operators

The operators in Figure 4 (p. 141) are used to shift bits to the right or left. As with the bitwise logical
operators, a discussion of the behavior of these operators is beyond the scope of this module.

Figure 4 . Bit shift operators.

Left Shift a  b
Right Shift a  b

Table 18.5

18.3.5 Miscellaneous operators

Figure 5 (p. 141) shows a variety of miscellaneous operators. You are already familiar with the behavior of
the concatenation operator. The behavior of the remaining operators will be explained when and if they are
used in future modules.

Figure 5 . Miscellaneous operators.

Concatenation seq1 + seq2

Containment Test obj in seq

Identity a is b
Identity a is not b
Indexed Assignment obj[k] = v
Indexed Deletion del obj[k]
Indexing obj[k]
Slice Assignment seq[i:j] = values
Slice Deletion del seq[i:j]
Slicing seq[i:j]
String Formatting s % obj
Truth Test obj truth(obj)

Table 18.6

18.4 Discussion and sample code

Other than the code shown in Listing 1 (p. 140) , I won't present code to illustrate the use of these operators
in this module. Instead, I will use the operators in code in future modules and discuss them, as appropriate
when they are used.

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142 CHAPTER 18. ITSE1359-1220-OPERATORS

18.5 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1220-Operators
• File: Itse1359-1220.htm
• Published: 10/26/14
• Revised: 02/25/15

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

Chapter 19

Itse1359-1220r-Review 1

19.1 Table of contents

• Preface (p. 143)
• Questions (p. 143)
· 1 (p. 143) , 2 (p. 144) , 3 (p. 145)
• Figure index (p. 146)
• Answers (p. 147)
• Miscellaneous (p. 148)

19.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
This module contains review questions and answers keyed to the module titled Itse1359-1220-Operators.
Once you study that module, you should be able to answer the review questions in this module.
The questions and the answers in this module are connected by hyperlinks to make it easy for you to
navigate from the question to the answer and back again.
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: with the exception of two bitmap images that are used
solely as spacers to separate the question section from the answer section, all of the material in this module
is presented in plain text format and should be accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display.
Note however that the required indentation may not be properly represented by an audio screen reader.)

19.3 Questions
19.3.1 Question 1
True or False? The code in Figure 1 (p. 143) produces the output shown in Figure 2 (p. 144) .

Figure 1 . Question 1 program code.

continued on next page

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143
144 CHAPTER 19. ITSE1359-1220R-REVIEW

count = 0
while count <= 5 and 3*count//2 <=5:
count = count + 1
print(count)

print(count)

Table 19.1

Figure 2 . Question 1 possible output.

1
2
3
4
4

Table 19.2

Go to answer 1 (p. 148)

19.3.2 Question 2
True or False? The code in Figure 3 (p. 144) produces the output shown in Figure 4 (p. 145) .

Figure 3 . Question 2 program code.

count = 0
while count < 5 or 2*count+1 < 15:
count = count + 1
print(count)

print(count)

Table 19.3

Figure 4 . Question 2 possible output.

continued on next page

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 145

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
7

Table 19.4

Go to answer 2 (p. 148)

19.3.3 Question 3
True or False? The code in Figure 5 (p. 145) produces the output shown in Figure 6 (p. 145) .

Figure 5 . Question 3 program code.

count = 0
while not(count >= 5 and 2*count+1 >= 15):
count = count + 1
print(count)

print(count)

Table 19.5

Figure 6 . Question 3 possible output.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
8

Table 19.6

Go to answer 3 (p. 147)

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146 CHAPTER 19. ITSE1359-1220R-REVIEW

19.4 Figure index

• Figure 1 (p. 143) . Question 1 program code.
• Figure 2 (p. 144) . Question 1 possible output.
• Figure 3 (p. 144) . Question 2 program code.
• Figure 4 (p. 145) . Question 2 possible output.
• Figure 5 (p. 145) . Question 3 program code.
• Figure 6 (p. 145) . Question 3 possible output.
• Figure 7 (p. 147) . Question 3 actual output.

What is the meaning of the following two images?

These images were inserted here simply to insert some space between the questions and the answers to
keep them from being visible on the screen at the same time.

This image was also inserted for the purpose of inserting space between the questions and the answers.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

 147

19.5 Answers
19.5.1 Answer 3
False. The actual output is shown in Figure 7 (p. 147) .

Figure 7 . Question 3 actual output.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
7

Table 19.7

Go back to Question 3 (p. 145)

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148 CHAPTER 19. ITSE1359-1220R-REVIEW

19.5.2 Answer 2
True.
Go back to Question 2 (p. 144)

19.5.3 Answer 1
True.
Go back to Question 1 (p. 143)

19.6 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1220r-Review
• File: Itse1359-1220r.htm
• Published: 10/26/14
• Revised: 02/25/15

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

Chapter 20

Itse1359-1230r-Review 1

20.1 Table of contents

• Preface (p. 149)
• Questions (p. 149)
· 1 (p. 149) , 2 (p. 150) , 3 (p. 151)
• Image index (p. 153)
• Answers (p. 154)
• Miscellaneous (p. 155)

20.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
This module contains review questions and answers keyed to the module titled Itse1359-1230-The if
Statement .
Once you study that module, you should be able to answer the review questions in this module.
The questions and the answers in this module are connected by hyperlinks to make it easy for you to
navigate from the question to the answer and back again.
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: with the exception of two bitmap images that are used
solely as spacers to separate the question section from the answer section, all of the material in this module
is presented in plain text format and should be accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display.
Note however that the required indentation may not be properly represented by an audio screen reader.)

20.3 Questions
20.3.1 Question 1
True or False? The code in Image 1 (p. 150) produces the output shown in Image 2 (p. 150) .

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149
150 CHAPTER 20. ITSE1359-1230R-REVIEW

Image 1 . Question 1 program code.

dogs = ["Affenpinscher","Afgan Hound","Akita"]

if len(dogs) != 2:
print(dogs[0])
print(dogs[1])
print(dogs[2])
print("Length of dogs list = " + str(len(dogs)))

if not(len(dogs) == 3):
print(dogs[0])
print(dogs[1])
print(dogs[2])
print(dogs)

Table 20.1

Image 2 . Question 1 possible output.

Affenpinscher
Afgan Hound
Akita
Length of dogs list = 3
['Affenpinscher', 'Afgan Hound', 'Akita']

Table 20.2

Go to answer 1 (p. 155)

20.3.2 Question 2
True or False? The code in Image 3 (p. 151) produces the output shown in Image 4 (p. 151) .

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 151

Image 3 . Question 2 program code.

weather = ["sunshine","rain"]

weatherToday = weather[1]

if weatherToday == "rain":
print("It's raining, visit the museum.")
else:
print("Sunshine, go to the beach.");

print("Vacation is over, go home.")

Table 20.3

Image 4 . Question 2 possible output.

Sunshine, go to the beach.

Vacation is over, go home.

Table 20.4

Go to answer 2 (p. 154)

20.3.3 Question 3
True or False? The code in Image 6 (p. 151) produces the output shown in Image 7 (p. 153) .

Image 6 . Question 3 program code.

weather = ["sunshine","rain","snow"]

weatherToday = weather[2]

if weatherToday == "rain":
print("It's raining, visit the museum.")
elif weatherToday == "sunshine":
print("Sunshine, go to the beach.")
else:
print("It's snowing, go skiing.")

print("Vacation is over, go home.")

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152 CHAPTER 20. ITSE1359-1230R-REVIEW

Table 20.5

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 153

Image 7 . Question 3 possible output.

It's snowing, go skiing.

Vacation is over, go home.

Table 20.6

Go to answer 3 (p. 154)

20.4 Image index

• Image 1 (p. 150) . Question 1 program code.
• Image 2 (p. 150) . Question 1 possible output.
• Image 3 (p. 151) . Question 2 program code.
• Image 4 (p. 151) . Question 2 possible output.
• Image 5 (p. 154) . Question 2 actual output.
• Image 6 (p. 151) . Question 3 program code.
• Image 7 (p. 153) . Question 3 possible output.

What is the meaning of the following two images?

These images were inserted here simply to insert some space between the questions and the answers to
keep them from being visible on the screen at the same time.

This image was also inserted for the purpose of inserting space between the questions and the answers.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

154 CHAPTER 20. ITSE1359-1230R-REVIEW

20.5 Answers
20.5.1 Answer 3
True.
Go back to Question 3 (p. 151)

20.5.2 Answer 2
False. The actual output is shown in Image 5 (p. 154) .

Image 5 . Question 2 actual output.

It's raining, visit the museum.

Vacation is over, go home.

Table 20.7

Go back to Question 2 (p. 150)

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 155

20.5.3 Answer 1
True.
Go back to Question 1 (p. 149)

20.6 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1230r-Review
• File: Itse1359-1230r.htm
• Published: 10/21/14
• Revised: 12/28/14

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

156 CHAPTER 20. ITSE1359-1230R-REVIEW

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

Chapter 21

Itse1359-1240r-Review 1

21.1 Table of contents

• Preface (p. 157)
• Questions (p. 157)
· 1 (p. 157) , 2 (p. 158)
• Figure index (p. 159)
• Answers (p. 161)
• Miscellaneous (p. 161)

21.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
This module contains review questions and answers keyed to the module titled Itse1359-1240-The for
Loop .
Once you study that module, you should be able to answer the review questions in this module.
The questions and the answers in this module are connected by hyperlinks to make it easy for you to
navigate from the question to the answer and back again.
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: with the exception of two bitmap images that are used
solely as spacers to separate the question section from the answer section, all of the material in this module
is presented in plain text format and should be accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display.
Note however that the required indentation may not be properly represented by an audio screen reader.)

21.3 Questions
21.3.1 Question 1
True or False? The code in Figure 1 (p. 158) produces the output shown in Figure 2 (p. 158) .

1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m51415/1.3/>.

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157
158 CHAPTER 21. ITSE1359-1240R-REVIEW

Figure 1 . Question 1 program code.

dogs = ["Affenpinscher","Afgan Hound","Akita"]

for breed in dogs:

print(breed)
print("Length of dogs list = " + str(len(dogs)))

for letter in dogs[2]:

print(letter)
print(dogs[2])

Table 21.1

Figure 2 . Question 1 possible output.

Akita
Afgan Hound
Affenpinscher
Length of dogs list = 3
A
k
i
t
a
Akita

Table 21.2

Go to answer 1 (p. 161)

21.3.2 Question 2
True or False? The code in Figure 4 (p. 159) produces the output shown in Figure 5 (p. 159) .

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

 159

Figure 4 . Question 2 program code.

breed = "Dachshund"
for index in range(2,len(breed),3):
print("Letter at index " + str(index) + " is " + breed[index])
print(breed)

sum = 0
for cnt in range(5):
sum += 2*cnt
print("cnt = " + str(cnt) + ", sum = " + str(sum))

Table 21.3

Figure 5 . Question 2 possible output.

Letter at index 2 is c
Letter at index 5 is h
Letter at index 8 is d
Dachshund
cnt = 0, sum = 0
cnt = 1, sum = 2
cnt = 2, sum = 6
cnt = 3, sum = 12
cnt = 4, sum = 20

Table 21.4

Go to answer 2 (p. 161)

21.4 Figure index

• Figure 1 (p. 158) . Question 1 program code.
• Figure 2 (p. 158) . Question 1 possible output.
• Figure 3 (p. 161) . Question 1 actual output.
• Figure 4 (p. 159) . Question 2 program code.
• Figure 5 (p. 159) . Question 2 possible output.

What is the meaning of the following two images?

These images were inserted here simply to insert some space between the questions and the answers to
keep them from being visible on the screen at the same time.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

160 CHAPTER 21. ITSE1359-1240R-REVIEW

This image was also inserted for the purpose of inserting space between the questions and the answers.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

 161

21.5 Answers
21.5.1 Answer 2
True.
Go back to Question 2 (p. 158)

21.5.2 Answer 1
False. The actual output is shown in Figure 3 (p. 161) .

Figure 3 . Question 1 actual output.

Affenpinscher
Afgan Hound
Akita
Length of dogs list = 3
A
k
i
t
a
Akita

Table 21.5

Go back to Question 1 (p. 157)

21.6 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1240r-Review
• File: Itse1359-1240r.htm
• Published: 10/21/14
• Revised: 02/25/15

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

162 CHAPTER 21. ITSE1359-1240R-REVIEW

a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

Chapter 22

Itse1359-1250-Nested Loops 1

22.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 163)
· What you have learned (p. 163)
· What you will learn (p. 163)
· Viewing tip (p. 163)
* Figures (p. 164)
* Listings (p. 164)
• General background information (p. 164)
• Discussion and sample code (p. 165)
• Visualizing the program code (p. 167)
• Run the program (p. 167)
• Miscellaneous (p. 167)

22.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.

22.2.1 What you have learned

You have learned how to construct while loops, for loops, and if statements in recent modules on
control ow in Python.

22.2.2 What you will learn

In this module, you will learn that loops can be nested and how to nest them.

22.2.3 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this module in a separate browser window and use the following
links to easily nd and view the Figures and the Listings while you are reading about them.
1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m51428/1.3/>.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

163
164 CHAPTER 22. ITSE1359-1250-NESTED LOOPS

(Note to blind and visually impaired students: most of the Figures and all of the Listings in this module
are presented in plain text format and should be accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display.
Note however that the required indentation may not be properly represented by an audio screen reader.)

22.2.3.1 Figures
• Figure 1 (p. 164) . Syntax for nested while loops.
• Figure 2 (p. 164) . Syntax for nested for loops
• Figure 3 (p. 166) . Output from the code in Listing 1.

22.2.3.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 165) . An example of nested while and for loops.

22.3 General background information

Python allows you to nest while loops and for loops inside of while loops and for loops to a greater
depth than you are likely to need.
Figure 1 (p. 164) shows the general syntax for nested while loops.

Figure 1 . Syntax for nested while loops.

while expression:
while expression:
while expression:
statement(s)
statement(s)
statement(s)

Table 22.1

Figure 2 (p. 164) shows the general syntax of nested for loops.

Figure 2 . Syntax for nested for loops

for var in sequence:

for var in sequence:
statements(s)
statements(s)

Table 22.2

The syntax can become more complicated than that shown in either Figure 1 (p. 164) or Figure 2 (p.
164) . This is particularly true when you mix while loops and for loops in a nested construct.

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 165

22.4 Discussion and sample code

Listing 1 (p. 165) shows a program with a while loop nested inside of a for loop which in turn is nested
inside of another while loop.

Listing 1 . An example of nested while and for loops.

# Illustrates nested loops--------------------------------------------------

leftDigit = 0
rightDigit = 0

while leftDigit < 3:

for middleDigit in range(3):

rightDigit = 0
print("") #blank line

while rightDigit < 3:

print(str(leftDigit) + "-" + str(middleDigit) + "-" + str(rightDigit))
rightDigit += 1
#end inner while loop

#end for loop

leftDigit += 1
#end outer while loop

Table 22.3

Figure 3 (p. 166) shows the output from the code in Listing 1 (p. 165) . Note that the blank lines were
inserted to make the material in Figure 3 (p. 166) easier to read.

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166 CHAPTER 22. ITSE1359-1250-NESTED LOOPS

Figure 3 . Output from the code in Listing 1.

0-0-0
0-0-1
0-0-2

0-1-0
0-1-1
0-1-2

0-2-0
0-2-1
0-2-2

1-0-0
1-0-1
1-0-2

1-1-0
1-1-1
1-1-2

1-2-0
1-2-1
1-2-2

2-0-0
2-0-1
2-0-2

2-1-0
2-1-1
2-1-2

2-2-0
2-2-1
2-2-2

Table 22.4

This program simulates a scaled-down version of the odometer in your car. This odometer, however,
only has three digits and each digit is limited to the values of 0, 1, and 2. In other words, Each digit of the
odometer rolls over to 0 when its value exceeds 2.
The program begins by creating two working variables named leftDigit and rightDigit and initializing
their values to zero. These are essentially counter variables for the outermost while loop and the innermost
while loop in Listing 1 (p. 165) . They are also the left-most and right-most digits shown in the columns
of digits in Figure 3 (p. 166) .
It isn't necessary to create a separate working variable for the middle digit. That variable, named
middleDigit is created as part of the for loop statement in Listing 1 (p. 165) .

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 167

If you compare the code in Listing 1 (p. 165) with the output in Figure 3 (p. 166) , you will see that the
for loop goes through its full range of iterations (3) for each iteration of the outermost while loop.
You will also see that the innermost while loop goes through its full range of iterations (3) for every
iteration of the for loop. As a result, the innermost while loop goes through nine iterations for every
iteration of the outermost while loop.
When you think about the behavior of nested loops, think of an odometer. That may help you to
remember how they behave.

22.5 Visualizing the program code

I recommend that you create a visualization 2 for the code in Listing 1 (p. 165) and step through the program
one instruction at a time. As you do that, pay attention to the movements of the red and green arrows on
the left, the diagram on the right, and the printed material at the bottom. That should help you to better
understand the behavior of nested loops.

22.6 Run the program

I also encourage you to copy the code from Listing 1 (p. 165) . Execute the code and conrm that you
get the same results as those shown in Figure 3 (p. 166) . Experiment with the code, making changes, and
observing the results of your changes. Make certain that you can explain why your changes behave as they
do. For example, rewrite the program using all while loops, all for loops, or some other combination of
while loops and for loops.

22.7 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.
Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1250-Nested Loops
• File: Itse1359-1250.htm
• Published: 10/26/14
• Revised: 02/25/15

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.
-end-
2 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=display

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168 CHAPTER 22. ITSE1359-1250-NESTED LOOPS

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Chapter 23

Itse1359-1250r-Review 1

23.1 Table of contents

• Preface (p. 169)
• Questions (p. 169)
· 1 (p. 169)
• Figure index (p. 171)
• Answers (p. 173)
• Miscellaneous (p. 174)

23.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
This module contains review questions and answers keyed to the module titled Itse1359-1250-Nested
Loops .
Once you study that module, you should be able to answer the review questions in this module.
The questions and the answers in this module are connected by hyperlinks to make it easy for you to
navigate from the question to the answer and back again.
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: with the exception of two bitmap images that are used
solely as spacers to separate the question section from the answer section, all of the material in this module
is presented in plain text format and should be accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display.
Note however that the required indentation may not be properly represented by an audio screen reader.)

23.3 Questions
23.3.1 Question 1
True or False? The code in Figure 1 (p. 170) produces the output shown in Figure 2 (p. 171) .

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169
170 CHAPTER 23. ITSE1359-1250R-REVIEW

Figure 1 . Question 1 program code.

leftDigit = 0
rightDigit = 0

while leftDigit < 3:

for middleDigit in range(3,0,-1):

rightDigit = 0
print("") #blank line

while rightDigit < 3:

print(str(leftDigit) + "-" + str(middleDigit) + "-" + str(rightDigit))
rightDigit += 1
#end inner while loop

#end for loop

leftDigit += 1
#end outer while loop

Table 23.1

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 171

Figure 2 . Question 1 possible output.

0-0-0
0-0-1
0-0-2

0-1-0
0-1-1
0-1-2

0-2-0
0-2-1
0-2-2

1-0-0
1-0-1
1-0-2

1-1-0
1-1-1
1-1-2

1-2-0
1-2-1
1-2-2

2-0-0
2-0-1
2-0-2

2-1-0
2-1-1
2-1-2

2-2-0
2-2-1
2-2-2

Table 23.2

Go to answer 1 (p. 173)

23.4 Figure index

• Figure 1 (p. 170) . Question 1 program code.
• Figure 2 (p. 171) . Question 1 possible output.
• Figure 3 (p. 174) . Question 1 actual output.

What is the meaning of the following two images?

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172 CHAPTER 23. ITSE1359-1250R-REVIEW

These images were inserted here simply to insert some space between the questions and the answers to
keep them from being visible on the screen at the same time.

This image was also inserted for the purpose of inserting space between the questions and the answers.

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 173

23.5 Answers
23.5.1 Answer 1
False. The actual output is shown in Figure 3 (p. 174) .

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174 CHAPTER 23. ITSE1359-1250R-REVIEW

Figure 3 . Question 1 actual output.

0-3-0
0-3-1
0-3-2

0-2-0
0-2-1
0-2-2

0-1-0
0-1-1
0-1-2

1-3-0
1-3-1
1-3-2

1-2-0
1-2-1
1-2-2

1-1-0
1-1-1
1-1-2

2-3-0
2-3-1
2-3-2

2-2-0
2-2-1
2-2-2

2-1-0
2-1-1
2-1-2

Table 23.3

Go back to Question 1 (p. 169)

23.6 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1250r-Review

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

 175

• File: Itse1359-1250r-Review.htm
• Published: 10/26/14
• Revised: 02/25/15

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

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176 CHAPTER 23. ITSE1359-1250R-REVIEW

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Chapter 24

Itse1359-1260-Loop Modiers 1

24.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 177)
· What you have learned (p. 177)
· What you will learn (p. 177)
· Viewing tip (p. 178)
* Figures (p. 178)
* Listings (p. 178)
• Discussion and sample code (p. 178)
· The else clause (p. 178)
· Visualize loops with else clauses (p. 180)
· The continue statement (p. 181)
· Visualize the behavior of the continue statement (p. 183)
· The break statement (p. 183)
· Visualize the behavior of the break statement (p. 186)
· The pass statement (p. 186)
• Run the program (p. 186)
• Miscellaneous (p. 187)

24.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.

24.2.1 What you have learned

You have learned how to construct while loops, for loops, and if statements in recent modules on
control ow in Python. In addition, you recently learned how to create nested loop structures .

24.2.2 What you will learn

In this module, you will learn how to add an else clause to while loops and for loops. In addition,
once you start using nested loops, you need to know how to use the loop modiers: continue and break
. Those loop modiers will be explained in this module.
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177
178 CHAPTER 24. ITSE1359-1260-LOOP MODIFIERS

Finally, this module will make a brief mention of the pass statement, which does nothing. If you need
to write code that does nothing, the pass statement is for you.

24.2.3 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this module in a separate browser window and use the following
links to easily nd and view the Figures and the Listings while you are reading about them.
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: most of the Figures and all of the Listings in this module
are presented in plain text format and should be accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display.
Note however that the required indentation may not be properly represented by an audio screen reader.)

24.2.3.1 Figures
• Figure 1 (p. 180) . Output from the code in Listing 1.
• Figure 2 (p. 183) . Output from the code in Listing 2.
• Figure 3 (p. 186) . Output from the code in Listing 3.

24.2.3.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 179) . Loops with else clauses.
• Listing 2 (p. 182) . Nested loops with a continue statement.
• Listing 3 (p. 185) . Nested loops with a break statement.

24.3 Discussion and sample code

24.3.1 The else clause
You learned about the else clause on an if statement in an earlier module titled Itse1359-1230-The if
Statement .
Loop statements can also have an else clause. The else clause on a for loop is executed when
the loop terminates through exhaustion of the elements in the list. The else clause on a while loop
is executed when the loop terminates because the condition becomes False . The else clause is not
executed when the loop is terminated by a break (p. 183) statement.
I will illustrate the else clause using a program that is similar to the odometer program that you
learned about in the earlier module titled Itse1359-1250-Nested Loops 2 . The program is shown in Listing
1 (p. 179) .

2 http://cnx.org/contents/34d000fd-1e35-482b-b8d5-96b32a552b48

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 179

Listing 1 . Loops with else clauses.

# Illustrates nested loops with else clauses

#---------------------------------------------------------------------------

leftDigit = 0
rightDigit = 0

#Begin outer while loop

while leftDigit < 2:
leftDigit += 1

#Begin for loop

for middleDigit in range(1,3):
rightDigit = 0

#Begin innermost while loop

while rightDigit < 3:
rightDigit += 1
print(str(leftDigit) + "-" + str(middleDigit) + "-" + str(rightDigit))
else:
print("In else clause on inner while loop")
#end inner while loop with else clause

else:
print("In else clause on for loop")
#end for loop with else clause

else:
print("In else clause on outer while loop")
#end outer while loop with else clause

print("Goodbye")

Table 24.1

The output from the code in Listing 1 (p. 179) is shown in Figure 1 (p. 180) .

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180 CHAPTER 24. ITSE1359-1260-LOOP MODIFIERS

Figure 1 . Output from the code in Listing 1.

1-1-1
1-1-2
1-1-3
In else clause on inner while loop
1-2-1
1-2-2
1-2-3
In else clause on inner while loop
In else clause on for loop
2-1-1
2-1-2
2-1-3
In else clause on inner while loop
2-2-1
2-2-2
2-2-3
In else clause on inner while loop
In else clause on for loop
In else clause on outer while loop
Goodbye

Table 24.2

You should already be familiar with most of the code in Listing 1 (p. 179) . Some of the statements have
been rearranged relative to the odometer code in the earlier module and some of the limits in the conditions
have been reduced. However, that was done simply to shorten and to improve the clarity of the printed
output and is of no technical consequence.
The only thing that is new in Listing 1 (p. 179) is the addition of an else clause to each of the loops.
Note that the indentation level of the word else in each case is the same as the indentation level for the
corresponding words while and for . For example, the last else clause in Listing 1 (p. 179) belongs to
the outermost while loop that begins with the word while near the top of Listing 1 (p. 179) .
In this program, each of the else clauses simply prints a message indicating that it is being executed.
Obviously, more substantive code could be placed in the else clause in a more signicant program.
The innermost while loop in this program is executed twice for each iteration of its enclosing for loop.
Similarly, the for loop is executed twice for each iteration of its enclosing while loop. The outermost
while loop is executed once, the for loop is executed twice, and the innermost while loop is executed
four times.
The else clause for a loop is executed each time the loop terminates (with the exception of break (p.
183) as mentioned earlier) . As you can see in Figure 1 (p. 180) , the else clause on the innermost while
loop was executed four times, the else clause on the for loop was executed two times, and the else
clause on the outermost while loop was executed once.

24.3.2 Visualize loops with else clauses

I recommend that you create a visualization 3 for the code in Listing 1 (p. 179) and step through the program
one instruction at a time. As you do that, pay attention to the movements of the red and green arrows on
3 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=display

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 181

the left, the diagram on the right, and the printed material at the bottom. That should help you to better
understand the behavior of loops with else clauses.

24.3.3 The continue statement

If you execute a continue statement inside a while loop or a for loop, that will cause the current
iteration of the loop to terminate and the next iteration to begin.

(Be careful that the code that updates the condition in a while loop is not bypassed by a continue
statement. If you do, you will end up with an innite loop.)

The use of a continue statement is illustrated in Listing 2 (p. 182) , which shows an if statement (with
a continue statement in the body of the if statement) inserted into the innermost while loop of
the program from Listing 1 (p. 179) .

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182 CHAPTER 24. ITSE1359-1260-LOOP MODIFIERS

Listing 2 . Nested loops with a continue statement.

# Illustrates nested loops with else and continue

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

leftDigit = 0
rightDigit = 0

#Begin outer while loop

while leftDigit < 2:
leftDigit += 1

#Begin for loop

for middleDigit in range(1,3):
rightDigit = 0

#Begin innermost while loop

while rightDigit < 3:
rightDigit += 1
if rightDigit == 2:
print("continue")
continue
print(str(leftDigit) + "-" + str(middleDigit) + "-" + str(rightDigit))
else:
print("In else clause on inner while loop")
#end inner while loop with else clause

else:
print("In else clause on for loop")
#end for loop with else clause

else:
print("In else clause on outer while loop")
#end outer while loop with else clause

print("Goodbye")

Table 24.3

Figure 2 (p. 183) shows the output produced by the code in Listing 2 (p. 182) . You should compare
this output with the output shown in Figure 1 (p. 180) .

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 183

Figure 2 . Output from the code in Listing 2.

1-1-1
continue
1-1-3
In else clause on inner while loop
1-2-1
continue
1-2-3
In else clause on inner while loop
In else clause on for loop
2-1-1
continue
2-1-3
In else clause on inner while loop
2-2-1
continue
2-2-3
In else clause on inner while loop
In else clause on for loop
In else clause on outer while loop
Goodbye

Table 24.4

Once during each iteration of the while loop in Listing 2 (p. 182) , a test is made to determine if
the condition variable, rightDigit , is equal to 2. If so, the word continue is printed and a continue
statement is executed.
The execution of the continue statement causes the current iteration of the loop to terminate and the
next iteration to begin. This, in turn causes the print statement following the if statement to be skipped
and the word continue to be printed in its place. You can easily see where this happens by comparing the
output in Figure 2 (p. 183) with the output in Figure 1 (p. 180) .

24.3.4 Visualize the behavior of the continue statement

I also recommend that you create a visualization 4 for the code in Listing 2 (p. 182) and step through the
program one instruction at a time. As you do that, pay attention to the movements of the red and green
arrows on the left, the diagram on the right, and the printed material at the bottom. That should help you
to better understand the behavior of the continue statement.

24.3.5 The break statement

The break statement is much more drastic than the continue statement. Whereas a continue
statement causes the current iteration of the loop to terminate, a break statement causes the entire loop
to terminate.
This is illustrated in Listing 3 (p. 185) , which shows a break statement inserted in place of the
continue statement from Listing 2 (p. 182) . The print statement was also modied, causing it to print
break in place of continue .
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184 CHAPTER 24. ITSE1359-1260-LOOP MODIFIERS

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 185

Listing 3 . Nested loops with a break statement.

# Illustrates nested loops with else and break

#---------------------------------------------------------------------------

leftDigit = 0
rightDigit = 0

#Begin outer while loop

while leftDigit < 2:
leftDigit += 1

#Begin for loop

for middleDigit in range(1,3):
rightDigit = 0

#Begin innermost while loop

while rightDigit < 3:
rightDigit += 1
if rightDigit == 2:
print("break")
break
print(str(leftDigit) + "-" + str(middleDigit) + "-" + str(rightDigit))
else:
print("In else clause on inner while loop")
#end inner while loop with else clause

else:
print("In else clause on for loop")
#end for loop with else clause

else:
print("In else clause on outer while loop")
#end outer while loop with else clause

print("Goodbye")

Table 24.5

The output from the code in Listing 3 (p. 185) is shown in Figure 3 (p. 186) . You should compare this
with the output shown in Figure 2 (p. 183) .

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186 CHAPTER 24. ITSE1359-1260-LOOP MODIFIERS

Figure 3 . Output from the code in Listing 3.

1-1-1
break
1-2-1
break
In else clause on for loop
2-1-1
break
2-2-1
break
In else clause on for loop
In else clause on outer while loop
Goodbye

Table 24.6

The output for the continue statement in Figure 2 (p. 183) shows that only one iteration of the
innermost while loop was impacted by the if statement and the continue statement in its body.
The output shown in Figure 3 (p. 186) shows that once the break statement was executed, no further
iterations of the innermost while loop were executed. In other words, execution of the break statement
terminated the loop in its entirety.
Figure 3 (p. 186) also shows that termination caused by a break statement also prevented the execution
of the code in the else clause for the innermost while loop as indicated earlier (p. 178) ..
The innermost while loop is still executed twice for each iteration of its enclosing for loop. However,
the while loop terminates part of the way through the second iteration and the printed output that would
be produced by the second and third iterations (see Listing 3 (p. 185) ) is missing from the output shown
in Figure 3 (p. 186) .

24.3.6 Visualize the behavior of the break statement

I also recommend that you create a visualization 5 for the code in Listing 3 (p. 185) and step through the
program one instruction at a time. As you do that, pay attention to the movements of the red and green
arrows on the left, the diagram on the right, and the printed material at the bottom. That should help you
to better understand the behavior of the break statement.

24.3.7 The pass statement

I promised that this module will make brief mention of the pass statement, which does nothing. This is
that brief mention. If you need to write code that does nothing, the pass statement will do that for you.

24.4 Run the program

I encourage you to copy the code from Listing 1 (p. 179) , Listing 2 (p. 182) , and Listing 3 (p. 185) .
Execute the code and conrm that you get the same results as those shown in Figure 1 (p. 180) , Figure 2
(p. 183) , and Figure 3 (p. 186) . Experiment with the code, making changes, and observing the results of
your changes. Make certain that you can explain why your changes behave as they do.
5 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=display

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 187

I also recommend that you create and experiment with visualizations 6 for the code in Listing 1 (p. 179)
, Listing 2 (p. 182) , and Listing 3 (p. 185) .

24.5 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1260-Loop Modiers
• File: Itse1359-1260.htm
• Published: 10/26/14
• Revised: 09/05/15

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

6 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=edit

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188 CHAPTER 24. ITSE1359-1260-LOOP MODIFIERS

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Chapter 25

Itse1359-1280-Function Arguments 1

25.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 189)
· What you have learned (p. 189)
· What you will learn (p. 190)
· Viewing tip (p. 190)
* Figures (p. 190)
* Listings (p. 190)
• General background information (p. 190)
• Discussion and sample code (p. 191)
· Passing by value or reference (p. 191)
* The function denition (p. 193)
* A non-technical explanation (p. 193)
* Visualization of the code in Listing 1 (p. 194)
* A modied approach to the same objective (p. 194)
· Required arguments (p. 196)
· Default arguments (p. 196)
· Keyword arguments (p. 198)
· Variable-length arguments (p. 201)
* Visualization of variable-length arguments (p. 204)
• Run the programs (p. 204)
• Miscellaneous (p. 205)

25.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.

25.2.1 What you have learned

You learned the basics of dening and calling Python functions in the earlier module titled Itse1359-1270-
Functions 2 .
1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m51433/1.5/>.
2 http://cnx.org/contents/4b3d1706-871d-4641-8c34-2a1d19b1b03c

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190 CHAPTER 25. ITSE1359-1280-FUNCTION ARGUMENTS

25.2.2 What you will learn

In this module, you will learn how to tap into some of the more-powerful capabilities of functions involving
optional ways to use arguments. This will include an explanation of

• required arguments,
• default arguments,
• keyword arguments, and
• variable-length arguments.

25.2.3 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this module in a separate browser window and use the following
links to easily nd and view the Figures and the Listings while you are reading about them.
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: most of the Figures and all of the Listings in this module
are presented in plain text format and should be accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display.
Note however that the required indentation may not be properly represented by an audio screen reader.)

25.2.3.1 Figures
• Figure 1 (p. 193) . Output from the code in Listing 1.
• Figure 2 (p. 194) . Visualization of the code in Listing 1.
• Figure 3 (p. 196) . Output from the code in Listing 2.
• Figure 4 (p. 198) . Output produced by the code in Listing 3.
• Figure 5 (p. 201) . Output produced by the code in Listing 4.
• Figure 6 (p. 203) . Output produced by the code in Listing 5.
• Figure 7 (p. 204) . Visualization of variable-length arguments.

25.2.3.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 192) . A list-modier function.
• Listing 2 (p. 195) . Another list-modier function.
• Listing 3 (p. 197) . Illustration of default arguments.
• Listing 4 (p. 200) . Illustration of keyword arguments.
• Listing 5 (p. 202) . Illustration of variable-length arguments.

25.3 General background information

The overall topic of function arguments in Python is broad and relatively complex. A complete treatment
of the topic is beyond the scope of this collection of modules. Instead, I will provide some examples of what
is possible. For a more compete treatment, I will refer you to The Python Tutorial  More on Dening
Functions 3 and tutorialspoint  Python Functions 4 .
One of the fundamental concepts in computer programming is whether function parameters are passed
by value or by reference . If a parameter is passed by value, the function receives a copy of the thing
referred to by the parameter. Modifying that thing in the function will not modify the original.
If a parameter is passed by reference, the incoming parameter can be used by code in the function to
modify the original. Some programming languages support both types of parameter passing.
3 https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/controlow.html#more-on-dening-functions
4 http://www.tutorialspoint.com/python/python_functions.htm

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 191

According to tutorialspoint  Python Functions 5 , all parameters in Python are passed by reference .
On the other hand, according to The Python Tutorial  Dening Functions 6 ,

"thus, arguments are passed using call by value (where the value is always an object reference,
not the value of the object)."

In this case, I come down on the side of call by value . I think it is more correct to say that parameters
are passed by value and as a result, the function receives copies of references to objects. Even though I can
use a copy of an object's reference to modify the object, I cannot use a copy of that reference to cause the
original reference to point to a dierent object. I can modify the object to which the reference points, but I
cannot modify the reference itself.
I will illustrate what I mean by this in conjunction with the program in Listing 1 (p. 192) .

25.4 Discussion and sample code

This module will examine the following kinds of arguments:

• Required arguments
• Default arguments
• Keyword arguments
• Variable-length arguments

25.4.1 Passing by value or reference

The program shown in Listing 1 (p. 192) illustrates the signicance of passing parameters by value or by
reference when those parameters are references to objects. Listing 1 (p. 192) also illustrates the use of two
required arguments .

5 http://www.tutorialspoint.com/python/python_functions.htm
6 https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/controlow.html#dening-functions

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192 CHAPTER 25. ITSE1359-1280-FUNCTION ARGUMENTS

Listing 1 . A list-modier function.

# Illustrates pass by value or reference

#---------------------------------------------------

def listModifier(listA,listB):
"""Illustrates pass by value or reference"""
print("In listModifier")

print("Use incoming parameter to append to listA")

listA.append(3.14159)
print("New listA = " + str(listA))

print("Assign a new list to listB")

listB = ["A","new","list"]
print("New listB = " + str(listB))

return
#End function definition

#Call the function

print("Create two lists")
aList = ["ab","cd","ef"]
bList = ["The","old","list"]

print("aList = " + str(aList))

print("bList = " + str(bList))

print("Call listModifier")
listModifier(aList,bList)
print("Back from listModifier")
print("aList = " + str(aList))
print("bList = " + str(bList))

Table 25.1

Figure 1 (p. 193) shows the output produced by the code in Listing 1 (p. 192) .

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 193

Figure 1 . Output from the code in Listing 1.

Create two lists

aList = ['ab', 'cd', 'ef']
bList = ['The', 'old', 'list']
Call listModifier
In listModifier
Use incoming parameter to append to listA
New listA = ['ab', 'cd', 'ef', 3.14159]
Assign a new list to listB
New listB = ['A', 'new', 'list']
Back from listModifier
aList = ['ab', 'cd', 'ef', 3.14159]
bList = ['The', 'old', 'list']

Table 25.2

25.4.1.1 The function denition

The code in Listing 1 (p. 192) denes a function named listModier . This function receives two incoming
parameters. Each parameter points to a dierent list. I contend that the incoming parameters are actually
copies of the variables that were passed as parameters.
The code in the function uses one of the incoming parameters to access the list and to append a value of
3.14159 onto the end of the list. The second line of text from the bottom of Figure 1 (p. 193) conrms that
this operation was successful.
Then the code in the function creates a new list and attempts to use the second incoming parameter to
replace the original list pointed to by that parameter with the new list. The last line of text in Figure 1 (p.
193) conrms that this was not successful . The copy of the incoming parameter points to the new list
but this does not cause the original reference to point to the new list.

25.4.1.2 A non-technical explanation

This same situation occurs in the Java courses that I teach. I often attempt to explain it this way. Assume
that I write my home address on a piece of paper and make a copy of that piece of paper. Then I lose the
copy. If a burglar nds the copy, he has a pointer to my house. He could use that pointer in an attempt
to break into my house. However, even if he were to scratch out the address on the copy and write a new
address on the copy, that would not change the address written on the original. The original would still
point to the same old address.
This is essentially what happens in Listing 1 (p. 192) when the code creates a new list and assigns its
value to the copy of the original reference. The copy points to the new list inside the function but the original
reference outside the function continues to point to the original list.
In eect, the copies that are received as parameters by a function become local variables within the
function. Those variables, and in this case the new list that is pointed to by one of those variables, all cease
to exist when the function terminates unless returned by the function.

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25.4.1.3 Visualization of the code in Listing 1

Figure 2 (p. 194) shows a visualization 7 of the code in Listing 1 (p. 192) after all of the code has been
executed.
Figure 2. Visualization of the code in Listing 1.

I recommend that you create a visualization 8 for the code in Listing 1 (p. 192) and step through the
program one instruction at a time. As you do that, pay attention to the movements of the red and green
arrows on the left, the diagram on the right, and the printed material at the bottom. That should help you
to better understand the concept of "passing by value."

25.4.1.4 A modied approach to the same objective

Listing 2 (p. 195) shows a modication to the code from Listing 1 (p. 192) that is designed to accomplish
what Listing 1 (p. 192) attempted to do but was unable to do.

7 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=display
8 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=display

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 195

Listing 2 . Another list-modier function.

# Illustrates pass by value or reference

#---------------------------------------------------

def listModifier(listA,listB):
"""Illustrates pass by value or reference"""
print("In listModifier")

print("Use incoming parameter to append to listA")

listA.append(3.14159)
print("New listA = " + str(listA))

print("Assign a new list to listB")

listB = ["A","new","list"]
print("New listB = " + str(listB))

return listB
#End function definition

#Call the function

print("Create two lists")
aList = ["ab","cd","ef"]
bList = ["The","old","list"]

print("aList = " + str(aList))

print("bList = " + str(bList))

print("Call listModifier")
bList = listModifier(aList,bList)
print("Back from listModifier")
print("aList = " + str(aList))
print("bList = " + str(bList))

Table 25.3

Figure 3 (p. 196) shows the output from the code in Listing 2 (p. 195) .

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Figure 3 . Output from the code in Listing 2.

Create two lists

aList = ['ab', 'cd', 'ef']
bList = ['The', 'old', 'list']
Call listModifier
In listModifier
Use incoming parameter to append to listA
New listA = ['ab', 'cd', 'ef', 3.14159]
Assign a new list to listB
New listB = ['A', 'new', 'list']
Back from listModifier
aList = ['ab', 'cd', 'ef', 3.14159]
bList = ['A', 'new', 'list']

Table 25.4

Listing 2 (p. 195) has two major modications relative to Listing 1 (p. 192) . First, the function returns
a copy of the reference to the new list instead of returning nothing. Second, the return value is assigned to
the variable named bList . This does cause the variable named bList to point to a dierent list object.
This is conrmed by the last line of text in Figure 3 (p. 196) .
Conclusion  function parameters in Python are passed by value, but the copies that are passed can often
be used to access and modify the objects pointed to by the original reference variables of which they are
copies.
In this program, the function's second argument is of no consequence. The function and the program
would behave the same if the second argument were eliminated entirely. I left it in for illustration purposes
only.
Hopefully you can study these two programs along with the program output and the above discussion to
understand the basic behavior of Python function arguments.

25.4.2 Required arguments

Note that there is a subtle technical dierence between arguments and parameters. However, I often tend
to use the two terms interchangeably so you will simply need to grit your teeth and bear with me if you see
me using one or the other term incorrectly.
When a function denes one or more arguments using the syntax shown in Listing 1 (p. 192) and Listing
2 (p. 195) , the code that calls the function must pass one parameter for each argument and must pass them
in the correct order. That is why we call them required arguments . There isn't a lot more that needs to
be said about required arguments.

25.4.3 Default arguments

A function can dene one or more default arguments in addition to required arguments as shown in Listing
3 (p. 197) . Default values are dened for the default arguments when the function is dened using the
syntax shown in Listing 3 (p. 197) .
The calling program can ignore some or all of the default arguments when calling the function. By this
I mean that the calling program can simply not pass parameters for some or all of the default arguments.
However, when default arguments are ignored, they must be ignored from right to left in the argument list.
In other words, the calling program cannot ignore a default argument in the middle of a group of default
arguments.

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 197

When the calling program ignores default arguments, the dened default values for those arguments are
used by the code in the body of the function.
The program shown in Listing 3 (p. 197) illustrates a function with one required argument ( listA )
and three default arguments ( listB , listC , and listD ).

Listing 3 . Illustration of default arguments.

# Illustrates default arguments

#-----------------------------------------------------------

def listModifier(listA,listB=["B"],listC=["C"],listD=["D"]):
"""Illustrates default arguments"""
print("In listModifier")

listA.append(1.00001)
print("listA = " + str(listA))
listB.append(2.00002)
print("listB = " + str(listB))
listC.append(3.00003)
print("listC = " + str(listC))
listD.append(4.00004)
print("listD = " + str(listD))

return
#End function definition

aList = ["ab","cd","ef"]
bList = ["The","old","list"]
cList = ["This old house"]
dList = ["is falling down"]

print("aList = " + str(aList))

print("bList = " + str(bList))
print("cList = " + str(cList))
print("dList = " + str(dList))

print("Call listModifier")
listModifier(aList,bList)
print("Back from listModifier")

print("aList = " + str(aList))

print("bList = " + str(bList))
print("cList = " + str(cList))
print("dList = " + str(dList))

Table 25.5

Figure 4 (p. 198) shows the output produced by the code in Listing 3 (p. 197) .

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198 CHAPTER 25. ITSE1359-1280-FUNCTION ARGUMENTS

Figure 4 . Output produced by the code in Listing 3.

aList = ['ab', 'cd', 'ef']

bList = ['The', 'old', 'list']
cList = ['This old house']
dList = ['is falling down']
Call listModifier
In listModifier
listA = ['ab', 'cd', 'ef', 1.00001]
listB = ['The', 'old', 'list', 2.00002]
listC = ['C', 3.00003]
listD = ['D', 4.00004]
Back from listModifier
aList = ['ab', 'cd', 'ef', 1.00001]
bList = ['The', 'old', 'list', 2.00002]
cList = ['This old house']
dList = ['is falling down']

Table 25.6

The rst thing that you should pay attention to is the syntax for dening default arguments in the
function named listModier . (You will see later that this same syntax is used for dening
keyword arguments .)
The second thing you should pay attention to is the syntax used to call the function named listModier
about six lines up from the bottom of Listing 3 (p. 197) . The function call passes only two parameters to
the function: aList and bList .
The function treats the rst parameter as satisfying the required argument named listA . The function
treats the second parameter as satisfying the default argument named ListB , replacing the default value
with the parameter that is actually received. Not receiving any more incoming parameters, the function
processes the default values for listC and listD .
Hopefully this explanation along with the code in Listing 3 (p. 197) and the output in Figure 4 (p. 198)
will tell you what you need to know about using default function arguments.

25.4.4 Keyword arguments

When a function having required arguments is called, the calling program must pass a parameter for each
required argument and must pass those parameters in the correct left-to-right order relative to the argument
list.
When a function having default arguments is called, the calling program can omit passing parameters
to the arguments on the right end of the argument list. However, the parameters that are passed to default
arguments must be passed in the correct left-to-right order relative to the argument list.
You are probably seeing the trend here. When a function having keyword arguments is called, the calling
program can pass parameters for all, some, or none of the keyword arguments. Furthermore, the parameters
that are passed to keyword arguments can be passed in any order. Positional matching is no longer required.
A function can dene required arguments, default arguments, keyword arguments, and variable-length
arguments (to be discussed later) in a variety of combinations. In this module, I will combine required
arguments with each of the other types but won't provide examples of combining all four types in the same
function.
A function can dene one or more keyword arguments in addition to required arguments as shown in
Listing 4 (p. 200) . Default values are dened for the keyword arguments when the function is dened using

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 199

the syntax shown in Listing 4 (p. 200) . (I told you earlier that the syntax for dening default arguments
is the same as the syntax for dening keyword arguments.)
The calling program can ignore none, some, or all of the keyword arguments when calling the function.
By this I mean that the calling program can simply not pass parameters for keyword arguments. Parameters
that are passed for keyword arguments can be passed in any order. In other words, unlike default arguments,
the calling program can ignore a keyword argument in the middle of a group of keyword arguments.
As with default arguments, when the calling program ignores keyword arguments, the dened default
values for those arguments are used by the code in the body of the function.
The program shown in Listing 4 (p. 200) illustrates a function with one required argument ( listA )
and three keyword arguments ( listB , listC , and listD ).

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200 CHAPTER 25. ITSE1359-1280-FUNCTION ARGUMENTS

Listing 4 . Illustration of keyword arguments.

# Illustrates keyword arguments

#---------------------------------------------------

def listModifier(listA,listB=["B"],listC=["C"],listD=["D"]):
"""Illustrates keyword arguments"""
print("In listModifier")

listA.append(1.00001)
print("listA = " + str(listA))
listB.append(2.00002)
print("listB = " + str(listB))
listC.append(3.00003)
print("listC = " + str(listC))
listD.append(4.00004)
print("listD = " + str(listD))

return
#End function definition

aList = ["ab","cd","ef"]
bList = ["The","old","list"]
cList = ["This old house"]
dList = ["is falling down"]

print("aList = " + str(aList))

print("bList = " + str(bList))
print("cList = " + str(cList))
print("dList = " + str(dList))

print("Call listModifier")
listModifier(aList,listD=dList,listB=bList)
print("Back from listModifier")

print("aList = " + str(aList))

print("bList = " + str(bList))
print("cList = " + str(cList))
print("dList = " + str(dList))

Table 25.7

The code in Listing 4 (p. 200) produces the output shown in Figure 5 (p. 201) .

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 201

Figure 5 . Output produced by the code in Listing 4.

aList = ['ab', 'cd', 'ef']

bList = ['The', 'old', 'list']
cList = ['This old house']
dList = ['is falling down']
Call listModifier
In listModifier
listA = ['ab', 'cd', 'ef', 1.00001]
listB = ['The', 'old', 'list', 2.00002]
listC = ['C', 3.00003]
listD = ['is falling down', 4.00004]
Back from listModifier
aList = ['ab', 'cd', 'ef', 1.00001]
bList = ['The', 'old', 'list', 2.00002]
cList = ['This old house']
dList = ['is falling down', 4.00004]

Table 25.8

As before, the rst thing that you should pay attention to is the syntax for dening keyword arguments
in the function named listModier in Listing 4 (p. 200) . If you compare it with the argument list for
the function with the same name in Listing 3 (p. 197) , you will see that there are exactly the same
. Therefore, the manner in which the arguments are dened does not distinguish default arguments from
keyword arguments. The distinguishing factor is the syntax with which the function is called.
The second thing you should pay attention to is the syntax used to call the function named listModier
about six lines up from the bottom of Listing 4 (p. 200) . The function call passes three parameters: aList
, dList , and bList .
The reference variable named aList is passed as the rst parameter to satisfy the required argument
named listA . Note that it is passed using the same syntax as in Listing 1 (p. 192) , Listing 2 (p. 195)
, and Listing 3 (p. 197) . Because it is a required argument, it must be passed in the correct order in a
positional sense.
The syntax for passing dList and bList however is signicantly dierent from the previous examples.
What you see is something closely akin to an assignment statement. In other words, the parameter named
dList is assigned to the argument named listD . Also, the parameter named bList is assigned to the
argument named listB . Nothing is passed and assigned to the argument named listC . Furthermore,
the two parameters that are passed through assignment to the named arguments are passed in reverse order
relative to the denition of those arguments in the function denition.
Hopefully this explanation along with the code in Listing 4 (p. 200) and the output in Figure 5 (p. 201)
will tell you what you need to know about using keyword function arguments.
I also recommend that you create a visualization 9 for the code in Listing 4 (p. 200) and step through
the program one instruction at a time. As you do that, pay attention to the movements of the red and green
arrows on the left, the diagram on the right, and the printed material at the bottom. That should help you
to better understand the concept of keyword arguments.

25.4.5 Variable-length arguments

The program in Listing 5 (p. 202) denes a function named listModier with one required argument (
listA ) and a syntax that supports an arbitrary number of arguments ( *wxyz ). (Note the asterisk,
9 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=display

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202 CHAPTER 25. ITSE1359-1280-FUNCTION ARGUMENTS

*, immediately to the left of wxyz .)

The program in Listing 5 (p. 202) illustrates variable-length arguments .

Listing 5 . Illustration of variable-length arguments.

# Illustrates variable-length arguments

#--------------------------------------------------------------------------

def listModifier(listA,*wxyz):
"""Illustrates variable-length arguments"""
print("In listModifier")

#append a numeric value to the list referenced by required argument listA

listA.append(1.00001)

#append increasing numeric values to lists referenced by other parameters

count = 2
for ref in wxyz:
ref.append(1.00001 * count)
count += 1 #end for loop here

return #return nothing

#End function definition

aList = ["ab","cd","ef"]
bList = ["The","old","list"]
cList = ["This old house"]
dList = ["is falling down"]

print("aList = " + str(aList))

print("bList = " + str(bList))
print("cList = " + str(cList))
print("dList = " + str(dList))

print("Call listModifier")
listModifier(aList,bList,cList,dList)
print("Back from listModifier")

print("aList = " + str(aList))

print("bList = " + str(bList))
print("cList = " + str(cList))
print("dList = " + str(dList))

Table 25.9

The code in Listing 5 (p. 202) produces the output shown in Figure 6 (p. 203) .

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 203

Figure 6 . Output produced by the code in Listing 5.

aList = ['ab', 'cd', 'ef']

bList = ['The', 'old', 'list']
cList = ['This old house']
dList = ['is falling down']
Call listModifier
In listModifier
Back from listModifier
aList = ['ab', 'cd', 'ef', 1.00001]
bList = ['The', 'old', 'list', 2.00002]
cList = ['This old house', 3.00003]
dList = ['is falling down', 4.00004]

Table 25.10

The rst thing that you should pay attention to is the syntax for dening variable-length arguments in
the function named listModier in Listing 5 (p. 202) . The syntax consists of an asterisk (*) followed by
an arbitrary argument name. As mentioned earlier, the function denition in Listing 5 (p. 202) consists of a
required argument ( listA ) followed by the syntax for a variable-length group of arguments ( *wxyz ).
In this program, the calling program must pass a parameter for the required argument and can pass an
arbitrary number of parameters following the required argument.
The second thing you should pay attention to is the syntax used to call the function named listModier
about six lines up from the bottom of Listing 5 (p. 202) . The function call passes four parameters: aList
, bList, cList , and dList , each of which is a reference to a list object.
The reference variable named aList is passed as the rst parameter to satisfy the required argument
named listA . Note that it is passed using the same syntax as in Listing 1 (p. 192) , Listing 2 (p. 195)
, Listing 3 (p. 197) and Listing 4 (p. 200) . Because it is a required argument, it must be passed in the
correct order in a positional sense.
The remaining three parameters are passed as variable-length arguments. The interpreter wraps them
in a tuple and presents the tuple to the code in the body of the function. (You learned about tuples in the
earlier module titled Itse1359-1100-Indexing and Slicing Tuples 10 and several modules following that one.)
The code in the body of the function uses the parameter passed as the required argument to append a
numeric value to the list referred to by that parameter.
Although a tuple is immutable, the list objects referred to by the elements in the tuple are mutable. A
for loop in the functions iterates from the beginning to the end of the tuple, extracting the references to
the lists and appending an increasing numeric value to the end of each list. This is shown in the last four
lines of text in Figure 6 (p. 203) .
Note that if the order in which the function processes the arguments is important, the order in which the
calling program passes the parameters must match that order because that is the order in which they will
be wrapped in the tuple.
Hopefully this explanation along with the code in Listing 5 (p. 202) and the output in Figure 6 (p.
203) will tell you what you need to know about using variable-length function arguments. I do want to
caution again, however, that this module does not provide a complete treatment of function arguments. For
a more compete treatment, I will refer you to The Python Tutorial  More on Dening Functions 11 and
tutorialspoint  Python Functions 12 .
10 http://cnx.org/contents/59b92f58-fa74-4624-a37a-37ab2794536a
11 https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/controlow.html#more-on-dening-functions
12 http://www.tutorialspoint.com/python/python_functions.htm

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25.4.5.1 Visualization of variable-length arguments

Figure 7 (p. 204) shows a visualization 13 of the code in Listing 5 (p. 202) part of the way through the
execution of the program. Note that in order to reduce the amount of vertical space required to publish the
visualization 14 , one of the visualization parameters was changed to "inline primitives and nested objects
[default]."
Figure 7. Visualization of variable-length arguments.

I recommend that you create a visualization 15 for the code in Listing 5 (p. 202) and step through the
program one instruction at a time. As you do that, pay attention to the movements of the red and green
arrows on the left, the diagram on the right, and the printed material at the bottom. That should help you
to better understand the concept of variable-length arguments.

25.5 Run the programs

I encourage you to copy the code from Listing 1 (p. 192) , Listing 2 (p. 195) , Listing 3 (p. 197) , Listing
4 (p. 200) , and Listing 5 (p. 202) . Execute the code and conrm that you get the same results as those
shown in in this module. Experiment with the code, making changes, and observing the results of your
changes. Make certain that you can explain why your changes behave as they do.
13 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=display
14 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=display
15 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=display

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I also recommend that you create visualizations 16 for the code in Listing 1 (p. 192) through Listing
5 (p. 202) . Step through the programs one instruction at a time. As you do that, pay attention to the
movements of the red and green arrows on the left, the diagram on the right, and the printed material at
the bottom. That should help you to better understand the concepts embodied in those sample programs.

25.6 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1280-Function Arguments
• File: Itse1359-1280.htm
• Published: 10/26/14
• Revised: 01/31/16

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

16 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=display

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Chapter 26

Itse1359-1410-Overview of Python
classes 1

26.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 208)
· What you have learned (p. 208)
· What you will learn (p. 208)
· Viewing tip (p. 208)
* Figures (p. 208)
* Listings (p. 208)
• Preview (p. 209)
• General background information (p. 209)
· A class denition is a blueprint for objects (p. 209)
· Three important OOP concepts (p. 210)
* What is an Object-Oriented Program? (p. 210)
* What is encapsulation? (p. 210)
• Discussion and sample code (p. 211)
· A real-world analogy  a car radio (p. 211)
* The ability to store data (p. 211)
* The user interface (p. 211)
* Modifying the stored data (p. 211)
* Responding to a message (p. 211)
* Jargon (p. 212)
* Where do objects come from? (p. 213)
· Program code (p. 213)
* Manufacture a three-button radio (p. 213)
* Scan for available stations (p. 215)
* Program the buttons on radio01 (p. 216)
* Play the three programmed stations (p. 216)
* Manufacture another 3-button radio (p. 217)
* The class named Radio (p. 218)
* A class variable named stations (p. 219)
1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m51443/1.6/>.

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* The __init__ method (p. 219)

* The word self (p. 220)
* Three more methods (p. 220)
• Visualizing a class denition (p. 221)
• Run the program (p. 221)
• Complete program listing (p. 222)
• Miscellaneous (p. 223)

26.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.

26.2.1 What you have learned

Previous modules have helped you to learn the basics of programming in Python such as syntax, numbers,
variables, strings, scripts, lists, tuples, dictionaries, operators, etc.
Previous modules have also helped you to learn about control ow including if statements, while
loops, for loops, functions, function arguments, etc.

26.2.2 What you will learn

The time has come for you to learn about classes and objects . This is the rst of several modules that
explain classes and objects in Python.
This module provides an overview. Future modules will dig deeper into the details of using classes and
objects.

26.2.3 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this module in a separate browser window and use the following
links to easily nd and view the Figures and the Listings while you are reading about them.
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: Most of the Figures and all of the Listings in this module
are presented in plain text format and should be accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display.
Note however that the required indentation may not be properly represented by an audio screen reader.)

26.2.3.1 Figures
• Figure 1 (p. 216) . Output from the code in Listing 2.
• Figure 2 (p. 216) . Output from the code in Listing 3.
• Figure 3 (p. 217) . Output from the code in Listing 4.
• Figure 4 (p. 218) . Output from the code in Listing 5.
• Figure 5 (p. 221) . Visualizing a class denition.
• Figure 6 (p. 223) . Output from the program in Listing 9.

26.2.3.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 215) . Manufacture a three-button radio.
• Listing 2 (p. 215) . Scan for available stations.
• Listing 3 (p. 216) . Program the buttons on radio01.
• Listing 4 (p. 217) . Play the three programmed stations.
• Listing 5 (p. 218) . Manufacture another 3-button radio.

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• Listing 6 (p. 219) . Beginning of the class named Radio.

• Listing 7 (p. 219) . The __init__ method.
• Listing 8 (p. 220) . Three more methods.
• Listing 9 (p. 222) . Complete program listing.

26.3 Preview
This module will concentrate primarily on a discussion of the Python class and objects created using Python
classes.
In order to relate object-oriented programming to the real world, a car radio will be used to illustrate and
discuss several aspects of software objects. For example, you will learn that car radios, as well as software
objects, have the ability to store data, along with the ability to modify or manipulate that data. You will
learn that car radios, as well as software objects, have the ability to accept messages and to perform an
action, modify their state, return a value, or some combination of the above.
A simple Python program will be presented and explained to illustrate the denition and use of a Python
class. This class simulates the manufacture, programming, and use of a car radio.
You will see the denition of a class named Radio . You will see how to write code that simulates
pressing the scan button on the radio to learn about available radio stations in the area. You will see how
to write code that simulates the association of a radio button with a particular radio station. You will see
how to write code that simulates the pressing of a radio button to play the radio station associated with
that button.
You will see how to write code to create new Radio objects. You will also see how to save these object's
reference in reference variables and how to use those variables to exercise the Radio objects.
You will learn some of the jargon used in OOP, including persistence, state, messages, methods, and
behaviors. You will learn where objects come from, and you will learn that a class is a set of plans that can
be used to construct objects.
You will learn that a Python object is an instance of a class. You will see Python code, used to create two
objects from the same class, and then to send messages to each of those objects (call methods on objects) .

26.4 General background information

26.4.1 A class denition is a blueprint for objects
A class denition is a blueprint (set of plans) from which many individual objects can be constructed,
created, produced, instantiated, or whatever verb you prefer to use for building something from a set of
plans.
An object is a programming construct that encapsulates data and the ability to manipulate that data
in a single software entity. The blueprint describes the data contained within and the behavior of objects
instantiated according to the class denition.
An object's data is contained in variables dened within the class (often called member variables, instance
variables, data members, attributes, elds, properties, etc. ) . The terminology used in the literature often
depends on the background of the person writing the document.

Note that unlike Java and C++, once a Python object is instantiated, it can be modied in ways
that no longer follow the blueprint of the class through the addition of new data members.

An object's behavior is controlled by methods dened within the class. In Python, methods are functions
that are dened within a class denition.
An object is said to have state and behavior . At any instant in time, the state of an object is
determined by the values stored in its variables and its behavior is determined by its methods.

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26.4.2 Three important OOP concepts

OOP is an abbreviation for Object-Oriented Programming. Most books on OOP will tell you that in order
to understand OOP, you need to understand the following three concepts :
• Encapsulation
• Inheritance
• Polymorphism
I will discuss the rst two concepts in more detail in this and future modules. As near as I can tell, unlike
C++ and Java, Python does not support polymorphism, at least not in any signicant way.
C++ and Java support two forms of polymorphism:
• Compile-time polymorphism
• Runtime polymorphism
Both of these depend on the "strongly-typed" nature of C++ and Java. Because Python is a "weakly-typed"
(if typed at all) programming language, I don't know how to implement either form of polymorphism using
Python. (However, if I am wrong on this, please let me know and I will be happy to learn how to implement
polymorphism in Python.)
Generally, speaking, the concepts in the above list (p. 210) increase in diculty going down the list from
top to bottom. Therefore, I will begin with encapsulation and work my way down the list in successive
modules.

26.4.2.1 What is an Object-Oriented Program ?

Many authors would answer this question something like the following:
An Object-Oriented Program consists of a group of cooperating objects, exchanging messages,
for the purpose of achieving a common objective.

26.4.2.2 What is an object ?

An object is a software construct that encapsulates data, along with the ability to use or modify that data.

26.4.2.3 What is encapsulation ?

An interesting description of encapsulation was provided in an article by Rocky Lhotka regarding VB.NET.
That description reads as follows:
"Encapsulation is the concept that an object should totally separate its interface from its imple-
mentation. All the data and implementation code for an object should be entirely hidden behind
its interface. The idea is that we can create an interface (Public methods in a class) and, as long
as that interface remains consistent, the application can interact with our objects. This remains
true even if we entirely rewrite the code within a given method thus the interface is independent
of the implementation."
I like this description, so I won't try to improve on it. I do need to point out that according to The Python
Tutorial 2 ,
"In fact, nothing in Python makes it possible to enforce data hiding  it is all based upon
convention."
Within that restriction, it is still possible to approximate encapsulation as described by Lhotka using Python
provided that appropriate conventions are adhered to.
2 https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/classes.html#random-remarks

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26.5 Discussion and sample code

26.5.1 A real-world analogy  a car radio
Abstract concepts, such as the concept of an object or encapsulation, can often be best understood by
comparing them to real-world analogies. One imperfect, but fairly good analogy to a software object is the
radio in your car.

26.5.1.1 The ability to store data

Your car radio probably has the ability to store data, and to allow you to use and modify that data at will.
(However, you can only use and modify that data through use of the human interface that is provided by
the manufacturer of the radio.) The data that can be stored in your car radio probably includes a list of
ve or more frequencies that correspond to your favorite radio stations.

Most modern car radios are much more complex than the one that we will use as an analogy in
this module.

26.5.1.2 The user interface

The radio provides a mechanism (user interface) that allows you to use the data stored therein. When
you press one of the station-selector buttons on the front of the radio, the radio automatically tunes itself
to the frequency corresponding to that button. (In this case, you, the user, are sending a message to the
radio object asking it to perform a particular action.) If you have previously stored a favorite radio station
frequency in the storage location corresponding to that button, pressing the button (sending the message)
will cause the radio station transmitting at that frequency to be heard through the radio's speakers.
If you have not previously stored a favorite frequency in the storage location corresponding to that button,
you will probably only hear static. (That doesn't mean that the radio object failed to respond correctly to
the message. It simply means that its response was based on bad data.)

26.5.1.3 Modifying the stored data

The human interface also makes it possible for you to store or modify those ve or more frequency values.
This is done in dierent ways for dierent radios. On my car radio, the procedure is:

• Manually tune the radio to the desired frequency

• Press one of the buttons and hold it down for several seconds.

When the radio beeps, I know that the new frequency value has been stored in a storage location that
corresponds to that particular button.
What I have done in this process is to send a message to the radio object asking it to change its state .
The beep that I hear could be interpreted as the radio object returning a value back to me indicating that
the mission has been accomplished. (Alternately, we might say that the radio object sent a message back
to me.)

26.5.1.4 Responding to a message

We say that an object has changed its state when one or more data values stored in the object have been
modied. We also say that when an object responds to a message, it will usually

• perform an action,
• change its state,
• return a value, or

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• some combination of the above.

After following this procedure to program a button, when I press that button (send a message) , the radio
object will automatically tune itself to that frequency.
I live in Austin, TX. If I drive to Dallas and press a button that I have associated with a particular
radio station in Austin, I will probably hear static. In that case, I may want to change the frequency value
associated with that button. I can follow the same procedure described earlier to set the frequency value
associated with that button to correspond to one of the radio stations in Dallas. (Again, I would be sending
a message to the radio object asking it to change its state.)

26.5.1.5 Jargon
As you can see from the above discussion, the world of OOP is awash with jargon, and the ability to
translate the jargon is essential to an understanding of the published material on OOP. Therefore, as we
progress through this series of modules, I will introduce you to some of that jargon and try to help you
understand the meaning of the jargon.

26.5.1.5.1 Persistence
The ability of your car radio to remember your list of favorite stations is often referred to as persistence. An
object that has the ability to store and remember values is often said to have persistence.

26.5.1.5.2 State
It is often said that the state of an object at a particular point in time is determined by the values stored
in the object. In our analogy, even if we own identical radios, unless the two of us have the same list of
favorite radio stations, associated with the same combination of buttons, the state of your radio object at
any particular point in time will be dierent from the state of my radio object.
It is perfectly OK for the two of us to own identical radios and to cause the two radio objects to contain
the same list of frequencies. Even if two objects have the same state at the same time, they are still separate
and distinct objects. While this is obvious in the real world of car radios, it may not be quite as obvious in
the virtual world of computer programming.

26.5.1.5.3 Sending a message

A person who speaks in OOP-speak might say that pressing one of the station-selector buttons on the front
of the radio sends a message to the radio object, asking it to perform an action (tune to a particular station)
. That person might also say that storing a new frequency that corresponds to a particular button entails
sending a message to the radio object asking it to change its state.

26.5.1.5.4 Calling a method

Python-speak is a little more specic than general OOP-speak. In Python-speak, we might say that pressing
one of the selector buttons on the front of the radio calls a method on the radio object. The behavior of the
method is to cause the object to perform an action.
As a practical matter, the physical manifestation of sending a message to an object in Python is to cause
that object to execute one of its methods.

26.5.1.5.5 Setter methods and getter methods

Similarly, we might say that storing a new frequency that corresponds to a particular button calls a setter
method on the radio object. (In an earlier paragraph, I said that I could follow a specic procedure to set
the frequency value associated with a button to correspond to one of the radio stations in Dallas. Note the
use of the words set and setter in this jargon.)

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26.5.1.5.6 Behavior of an object

In addition to state, objects are often also said to have behavior. The overall behavior of an object is
determined by the combined behaviors of its individual methods. For example, one of the behaviors exhibited
by our radio object is the ability to play the radio station at a particular frequency. When a frequency is
selected by pressing a selector button, the radio knows how to translate the radio waves at that frequency
into audio waves compatible with our range of hearing, and to send those audio waves out through the
speakers. Thus, the radio object behaves in a specic way in response to a message asking it to tune to a
particular frequency.

26.5.1.6 Where do objects come from ?

In order to mass-produce car radios, someone must rst create a set of manufacturing plans (drawings, or
blueprints) for the radio. Once the plans are available, the manufacturing people can produce millions of
nearly identical radios.

26.5.1.6.1 A Python class denition is a set of plans

The same is true for software objects. In order to create a software object in Python, it is necessary for
someone to rst create a plan. In Python, we refer to that plan as a class . The class is dened by a
Python programmer. Once the class denition is available, that programmer (or other programmers) , can
use it to produce large numbers of nearly identical objects.

26.5.1.6.2 An instance of a class

If we were standing at the output end of the factory that produces car radios, we might pick up a new radio
and say that it is an instance of the plans used to produce the radio. (Unless they were object-oriented
programmers, the people around us might think we were a little odd when they hear us say that.) However,
it is common jargon to refer to a software object as an instance of a class.

26.5.1.6.3 To instantiate an object

Furthermore, somewhere along the way, someone turned the word instance into a verb, and it is also common
jargon to say that when creating a new object, we are instantiating an object.

26.5.2 Program code

As mentioned above, I will explain a program that uses the analogy of a car radio to illustrate several aspects
of Python classes and objects.
I will explain this program in fragments. A complete listing of the program is provided in Listing 9 (p.
222) near the end of the module. The output from running the program is shown in Figure 6 (p. 223) .
Because this is an overview module, this explanation will gloss over various details. I will revisit and explain
many of those details in future modules.

26.5.2.1 Manufacture a three-button radio

As you will see if you examine Listing 9 (p. 222) , this program denes a class named Radio . That
class can be used to create objects that simulate car radios having three station-selector buttons and a scan
button. I will explain that class later. First I will explain how to use the class.
Listing 1 (p. 215) shows the code necessary to create (instantiate) a single instance of the Radio class
and to store that object's reference in a variable named radio01 . (In OOP jargon we say that an object
is an instance of a class.) This simulates the manufacturing of the radio and the installation of the radio in
a car.

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Listing 1 . Manufacture a three-button radio.

#Manufacture a 3-button radio

radio01 = Radio()

Table 26.1

As a practical matter, the code required to instantiate a Python object looks just like the code required
to call a function having the same name as the class from which the object is being instantiated. In my
opinion, this causes Python to be a little less readable than Java, which uses a special syntax to create an
object.

26.5.2.2 Scan for available stations

Next we want to program the station-selector buttons to cause our favorite radio stations to be played when
we press a button. First, however, we will simulate pressing the scan button on the radio to learn about
the stations that are available in the area.
Listing 2 (p. 215) uses the reference variable named radio01 to call a method named scan belonging
to the object referred to by radio01 . As you will see later when we examine the class denition, the scan
method requires the name of the city as an incoming parameter and returns a reference to a dictionary that
relates frequencies to radio station call signs in that city. The returned reference is stored in the variable
named radio01Stations .
The dictionary is printed in Listing 2 (p. 215) producing the output shown in Figure 1 (p. 216) .

Listing 2 . Scan for available stations.

#Program the three buttons labeled 1, 2, and 3

#First scan for available stations
radio01Stations = radio01.scan("Austin")
print("Available stations in Austin")
print(radio01Stations)

Table 26.2

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216 CHAPTER 26. ITSE1359-1410-OVERVIEW OF PYTHON CLASSES

Figure 1 . Output from the code in Listing 2.

Available stations in Austin

{93.7: 'KLBJ', 91.7: 'KVRX', 98.1: 'KVET', 95.5: 'KKMJ'}

Table 26.3

26.5.2.3 Program the buttons on radio01

This program simulates a radio having three station-selector buttons. The code in Listing 3 (p. 216) uses
the object's reference stored in radio01 to call a method named setStationNumber three times in
succession on the object to program each of the three buttons to the frequencies shown. (Note that the
buttons are numbered 1, 2, and 3 instead of 0, 1, and 2.)

Listing 3 . Program the buttons on radio01.

print("Program the buttons")

radio01.setStationNumber(1,radio01Stations[91.7])
radio01.setStationNumber(2,radio01Stations[95.5])
radio01.setStationNumber(3,radio01Stations[98.1])

Table 26.4

The output produced by the code in Listing 3 (p. 216) is shown in Figure 2 (p. 216) .

Figure 2 . Output from the code in Listing 3.

Program the buttons

Table 26.5

26.5.2.4 Play the three programmed stations

Now that our favorite radio stations in the local area (Austin) have been programmed into the buttons,
we can play any of the three stations simply by turning the radio on and pressing a station-selector button.
Listing 4 (p. 217) calls the playStation method three times in succession on the radio01 object
to simulate pressing each of the three buttons. This program doesn't actually produce sound. Instead, it
simulates playing a radio station by printing a message identifying the call sign of the station being played.

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Listing 4 . Play the three programmed stations.

print("Play the three programmed stations")

radio01.playStation(3)
radio01.playStation(2)
radio01.playStation(1)

Table 26.6

Figure 3 (p. 217) shows the output produced by the code in Listing 4 (p. 217) .

Figure 3 . Output from the code in Listing 4.

Play the three programmed stations

Playing KVET
Playing KKMJ
Playing KVRX

Table 26.7

26.5.2.5 Manufacture another 3-button radio

As I explained earlier, once a class denition is available, it can be used to instantiate any number of objects.
This is illustrated in Listing 5 (p. 218) , which simulates the manufacturing, programming, and playing of
a dierent radio object.
As you can see in Listing 5 (p. 218) , the buttons on this radio are programmed for stations in Dallas
suggesting the owner of this radio lives in Dallas.

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Listing 5 . Manufacture another 3-button radio.

#Manufacture another 3-button radio

radio02 = Radio()

#Program the three buttons labeled 1, 2, and 3

#First scan for available stations
radio02Stations = radio02.scan("Dallas")
print("Available stations in Dallas")
print(radio02Stations)

print("Program the buttons")

radio02.setStationNumber(1,radio02Stations[91.7])
radio02.setStationNumber(2,radio02Stations[97.9])
radio02.setStationNumber(3,radio02Stations[98.3])

print("Play the three programmed stations")

radio02.playStation(3)
radio02.playStation(2)
radio02.playStation(1)

Table 26.8

Figure 4 (p. 218) shows the output produced by the code in Listing 5 (p. 218) .

Figure 4 . Output from the code in Listing 5.

Available stations in Dallas

{98.3: 'KNON', 98.7: 'KLUV', 91.7: 'KKXT', 97.9: 'KBFB'}
Program the buttons
Play the three programmed stations
Playing KNON
Playing KBFB
Playing KKXT

Table 26.9

26.5.2.6 The class named Radio

The denition of the class named Radio begins in Listing 6 (p. 219) . The rst line of code in a class
denition consists of the keyword class followed by the name of the class. This is followed by the name of
another class in parentheses, which I will explain in a future module on class inheritance . As is common
in Python, the closing parenthesis is followed by a colon (:) character. The colon is followed by the indented
class body.

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Listing 6 . Beginning of the class named Radio.

class Radio(object):
#This class provides the plans from which the radio objects are built.
stations = {"Austin":{91.7:"KVRX",95.5:"KKMJ",98.1:"KVET",93.7:"KLBJ"},
"Dallas":{98.3:"KNON",91.7:"KKXT",97.9:"KBFB",98.7:"KLUV"}
}

Table 26.10

26.5.2.7 A class variable named stations

The class body in Listing 6 (p. 219) begins with a variable named stations that references a dictionary
object. The dictionary object contains two nested dictionary objects. One of the nested objects provides
information about radio stations in Austin. The other nested object provides information about radio
stations in Dallas. This is the source of the radio call sign information for Austin and Dallas shown in Figure
3 (p. 217) and Figure 4 (p. 218) .
IMPORTANT: According to The Python Tutorial  Class and Instance Variables 3 , the variable
named stations is a class variable that is shared by all instances (objects) of the class. I
will have more to say about class variables and instance variables in a future module.

26.5.2.8 The __init__ method

As I mentioned earlier, when a function is dened inside of a class denition, it is called a method. Listing 7
(p. 219) denes a special method named __init__ . (Note that two underscore characters are required
on each side of the word init .)

Listing 7 . The __init__ method.

def __init__(self):
self.stationNumber = [0,0,0]

Table 26.11

According to The Python Tutorial  Class Objects 4 ,

"When a class denes an __init__() method, class instantiation automatically invokes
__init__() for the newly-created class instance."
Thus, the __init__ method can be used to initialize various aspects of a new object when it is instan-
tiated. (This is roughly analogous to the constructor in other OO languages.)
The code inside the __init__ method in Listing 7 (p. 219) creates a new variable named station-
Number and initializes it to refer to a three-element list.
3 https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/classes.html#class-and-instance-variables
4 https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/classes.html#class-objects

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220 CHAPTER 26. ITSE1359-1410-OVERVIEW OF PYTHON CLASSES

According to The Python Tutorial  Class and Instance Variables 5 , variables that are created
in this manner (inside class methods) are called instance variables and are "for data unique
to each instance (object)."

Therefore, the variable named stations from Listing 6 (p. 219) is shared among radio01 and radio02
in Listing 9 (p. 222) . However, radio01 and radio02 each has its own copy of the variable named
stationNumber from Listing 7 (p. 219) and those variables are not shared among objects.

26.5.2.9 The word self

Note the use of the word self in two locations in Listing 7 (p. 219) . I will explain the use of the word
self in class denitions in a future module.

26.5.2.10 Three more methods

Listing 8 (p. 220) denes three more methods. Except for the use of the word self , there is nothing
unusual about the code in these methods.

Listing 8 . Three more methods.

def scan(self,city):
return self.stations[city]

def setStationNumber(self,index,station):
self.stationNumber[index-1] = station

def playStation(self,index):
print("Playing " + self.stationNumber[index-1])

Table 26.12

26.5.2.10.1 The scan method

The purpose of the method named scan is to simulate pressing the scan button on the radio. This method
is called on the Radio object referred to by radio01 in Listing 2 (p. 215) . It returns a reference to one
of the nested dictionary objects in the stations dictionary object.
It is called again on a dierent Radio object referred to by radio02 in Listing 5 (p. 218) . It is
important to note that even though both objects were instantiated from the same Radio class, they are
dierent objects. The only things they share are the stations variable, their ancestry, and their overall
structure.

The analogy to a physical car radio breaks down with respect to the class variable named
stations . Physical car radios don't share any data. You could say that data stored in physical
car radios is stored in instance variables only.

5 https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/classes.html#class-and-instance-variables

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 221

26.5.2.10.2 The setStationNumber method

The purpose of the setStationNumber method is to simulate programming the station-selector buttons
on a Radio object. It is called three times, once for each button, on the object referred to by radio01
in Listing 3 (p. 216) . It is also called three times on the dierent Radio object referred to by radio02
in Listing 5 (p. 218) .

26.5.2.10.3 The playStation method

The purpose of the playStation method is to simulate pressing a station-selector button on the radio to
play the radio station that has been programmed into that button. It is called three times on the Radio
object referred to by radio01 in Listing 4 (p. 217) . It is also called three times on the dierent Radio
object referred to by radio02 in Listing 5 (p. 218) .

26.6 Visualizing a class denition

Figure 5 (p. 221) shows a visualization 6 of the class denition in Listing 9 (p. 222) .
Figure 5. Visualizing a class denition.

I recommend that you create a visualization 7 for the code in Listing 9 (p. 222) and step through the
program one instruction at a time. As you do that, pay attention to the movements of the red and green
arrows on the left, the diagram on the right, and the printed material at the bottom. That should help you
to better understand the concept of classes and objects in Python.

26.7 Run the program

I also encourage you to copy the code from Listing 9 (p. 222) . Execute the code and conrm that you
get the same results as those shown in Figure 6 (p. 223) . Experiment with the code, making changes, and
6 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=display
7 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=display

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222 CHAPTER 26. ITSE1359-1410-OVERVIEW OF PYTHON CLASSES

observing the results of your changes. Make certain that you can explain why your changes behave as they
do.

26.8 Complete program listing

A complete listing of the program is provided in Listing 9 (p. 222) below.
Listing 9 . Complete program listing.

# This program simulates the manufacture, programming, and use of a pair of

# three-button car radios.
#
#--------------------------------------------------------------------------
class Radio(object):
#This class provides the plans from which the radio objects are built.
stations = {"Austin":{91.7:"KVRX",95.5:"KKMJ",98.1:"KVET",93.7:"KLBJ"},
"Dallas":{98.3:"KNON",91.7:"KKXT",97.9:"KBFB",98.7:"KLUV"}
}

def __init__(self):
self.stationNumber = [0,0,0]

def scan(self,city):
return self.stations[city]

def setStationNumber(self,index,station):
self.stationNumber[index-1] = station

def playStation(self,index):
print("Playing " + self.stationNumber[index-1])

#Manufacture a 3-button radio

radio01 = Radio()

#Program the three buttons labeled 1, 2, and 3

#First scan for available stations
radio01Stations = radio01.scan("Austin")
print("Available stations in Austin")
print(radio01Stations)

print("Program the buttons")

radio01.setStationNumber(1,radio01Stations[91.7])
radio01.setStationNumber(2,radio01Stations[95.5])
radio01.setStationNumber(3,radio01Stations[98.1])

print("Play the three programmed stations")

radio01.playStation(3)
radio01.playStation(2)
radio01.playStation(1)

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 223

#Manufacture another 3-button radio

radio02 = Radio()

#Program the three buttons labeled 1, 2, and 3

#First scan for available stations
radio02Stations = radio02.scan("Dallas")
print("Available stations in Dallas")
print(radio02Stations)

print("Program the buttons")

radio02.setStationNumber(1,radio02Stations[91.7])
radio02.setStationNumber(2,radio02Stations[97.9])
radio02.setStationNumber(3,radio02Stations[98.3])

print("Play the three programmed stations")

radio02.playStation(3)
radio02.playStation(2)
radio02.playStation(1)
Figure 6 (p. 223) shows the output produced by the code in Listing 9 (p. 222) .

Figure 6 . Output from the program in Listing 9.

Available stations in Austin

{93.7: 'KLBJ', 91.7: 'KVRX', 98.1: 'KVET', 95.5: 'KKMJ'}
Program the buttons
Play the three programmed stations
Playing KVET
Playing KKMJ
Playing KVRX
Available stations in Dallas
{98.3: 'KNON', 98.7: 'KLUV', 91.7: 'KKXT', 97.9: 'KBFB'}
Program the buttons
Play the three programmed stations
Playing KNON
Playing KBFB
Playing KKXT

Table 26.13

26.9 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1410-Overview of Python classes
• File: Itse1359-1410.htm

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

224 CHAPTER 26. ITSE1359-1410-OVERVIEW OF PYTHON CLASSES

• Published: 10/27/14
• Revised: 02/08/16

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

Chapter 27

Itse1359-1410r-Review 1

27.1 Table of contents

• Preface (p. 225)
• Questions (p. 225)
· 1 (p. 225)
• Figure index (p. 227)
• Answers (p. 228)
• Miscellaneous (p. 228)

27.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
This module contains review questions and answers keyed to the module titled Itse1359-1410-Overview
of Python classes .
Once you study that module, you should be able to answer the review questions in this module.
The questions and the answers in this module are connected by hyperlinks to make it easy for you to
navigate from the question to the answer and back again.
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: with the exception of two bitmap images that are used
solely as spacers to separate the question section from the answer section, all of the material in this module
is presented in plain text format and should be accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display.
Note however that the required indentation may not be properly represented by an audio screen reader.)

27.3 Questions
27.3.1 Question 1
True or False? The code in Figure 1 (p. 226) produces the output shown in Figure 2 (p. 227) except that
the order of the items in the dictionaries may be dierent from one run to the next.

1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m51442/1.3/>.

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225
226 CHAPTER 27. ITSE1359-1410R-REVIEW

Figure 1 . Question 1 program code.

class MyNewClass(object):
myDict = {"A":{100:"M",200:"N",300:"P",400:"Q"},
"B":{500:"S",600:"R",700:"U",800:"T"}
}

def __init__(self):
self.itemNumber = [0,0,0]

def scan(self,group):
return self.myDict[group]

def setItemNumber(self,index,val):
self.itemNumber[index-1] = val

def displayItem(self,index):
print("Showing " + self.itemNumber[index-1])

group01 = MyNewClass()

group01Items = group01.scan("A")
print("Available items in 'A'")
print(group01Items)

group01.setItemNumber(1,group01Items[200])
group01.setItemNumber(2,group01Items[100])
group01.setItemNumber(3,group01Items[300])

group01.displayItem(3)
group01.displayItem(2)
group01.displayItem(1)

group02 = MyNewClass()

group02Items = group02.scan("B")
print("Available items in 'B'")
print(group02Items)

group02.setItemNumber(1,group02Items[600])
group02.setItemNumber(2,group02Items[700])
group02.setItemNumber(3,group02Items[500])

group02.displayItem(3)
group02.displayItem(2)
group02.displayItem(1)

Table 27.1

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 227

Figure 2 . Question 1 possible output.

Available items in 'A'

{200: 'N', 300: 'P', 400: 'Q', 100: 'M'}
Showing P
Showing M
Showing N
Available items in 'B'
{600: 'R', 700: 'U', 500: 'S', 800: 'T'}
Showing S
Showing U
Showing R

Table 27.2

Go to answer 1 (p. 228)

27.4 Figure index

• Figure 1 (p. 226) . Question 1 program code.
• Figure 2 (p. 227) . Question 1 possible output.
What is the meaning of the following two images?
These images were inserted here simply to insert some space between the questions and the answers to
keep them from being visible on the screen at the same time.

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228 CHAPTER 27. ITSE1359-1410R-REVIEW

This image was also inserted for the purpose of inserting space between the questions and the answers.

27.5 Answers
27.5.1 Answer 1
True.
Go back to Question 1 (p. 225)

27.6 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1410r-Review
• File: Itse1359-1410r-Review.htm
• Published: 10/27/14
• Revised: 03/02/15

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

 229

I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

230 CHAPTER 27. ITSE1359-1410R-REVIEW

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

Chapter 28

Itse1359-1450-Inheritance 1

28.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 231)
· What you have learned (p. 231)
· What you will learn (p. 232)
· Viewing tip (p. 232)
* Figures (p. 232)
* Listings (p. 232)
• General background information (p. 232)
· Inheritance (p. 232)
· Multiple inheritance (p. 233)
· Very brief coverage (p. 233)
• Discussion and sample code (p. 233)
· Dene the superclass (p. 233)
· Dene the subclass (p. 234)
· Exercise the classes (p. 235)
* Display the value of the class variable (p. 235)
* Instantiate a Subclass object (p. 235)
* Modify and then print the value in superclassVar (p. 236)
• Run the program (p. 237)
• Visualize the program (p. 237)
• Complete program listing (p. 237)
• Miscellaneous (p. 238)

28.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.

28.2.1 What you have learned

Earlier modules provided
1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m51465/1.3/>.

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231
232 CHAPTER 28. ITSE1359-1450-INHERITANCE

• an overview of classes and objects in Python,

• an explanation of the self word in Python class denitions,
• a detailed explanation of instance variables in Python class denitions, and
• some of the details regarding class variables in Python class denitions.

28.2.2 What you will learn

You will learn a little about Python class inheritance in this module.

28.2.3 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this module in a separate browser window and use the following
links to easily nd and view the Figures and the Listings while you are reading about them.
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: most of the Figures and all of the Listings in this module
are presented in plain text format and should be accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display.
Note however that the required indentation may not be properly represented by an audio screen reader.)

28.2.3.1 Figures
• Figure 1 (p. 235) . Output from the code in Listing 3.
• Figure 2 (p. 236) . Output from the code in Listing 4.
• Figure 3 (p. 236) . Output from the code in Listing 5.
• Figure 4 (p. 238) . Output from code in Listing 6.

28.2.3.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 234) . Dene the superclass.
• Listing 2 (p. 234) . Dene a subclass that extends or inherits from Superclass.
• Listing 3 (p. 235) . Display the value of the class variable.
• Listing 4 (p. 235) . Instantiate a Subclass object.
• Listing 5 (p. 236) . Modify and then print the value in superclassVar.
• Listing 6 (p. 237) . Complete program listing.

28.3 General background information

I told you in an earlier module that OOP is an abbreviation for Object-Oriented Programming. I told you
that most books on OOP will tell you that in order to understand OOP, you need to understand the
following three concepts :
• Encapsulation
• Inheritance
• Polymorphism

I have discussed encapsulation in some detail in previous modules. As near as I can tell, unlike C++ and
Java, Python does not support polymorphism, at least not in any signicant way.

28.3.1 Inheritance
C++ and Java support two forms of polymorphism:

• Compile-time polymorphism

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 233

• Runtime polymorphism

Both of these depend on the "strongly-typed" nature of C++ and Java. Runtime polymorphism using virtual
functions and base-class pointers also depends on inheritance.
Because Python is a "weakly-typed" (if typed at all) programming language, I don't know how to
implement either form of polymorphism using Python. (However, if I am wrong on this, I will be happy to
learn how to implement polymorphism in Python.)
Inheritance is extremely important in C++ and Java primarily because of the use of runtime polymor-
phism in program design. However, due to the lack of polymorphism, inheritance in Python is not nearly as
important as in those other two languages. Although it may have some other uses, inheritance in Python
appears mainly to be a convenient way to reduce the amount of typing required to write a program.
According to tutorialspointPython Objected Oriented 2 , Python inheritance is

"The transfer of the characteristics of a class to other classes that are derived from it."

While that can sometimes be a useful capability, it is simply one of many useful capabilities that exist in
Python

28.3.2 Multiple inheritance

C++ supports a concept know as multiple inheritance , which often results in signicant programming
errors for novice programmers. Multiple inheritance is so problematic that the designers of Java excluded it
from the language and replaced it with a safer alternative known as the Java interface .
Python also supports multiple inheritance. Because of the general lack of safety nets in Python, in my
opinion, multiple inheritance is more problematic for novice programmers in Python than in C++. My
advice  don't use Python multiple inheritance for any serious programming eort until you become a very
capable Python programmer.

28.3.3 Very brief coverage

As a result of the issues mentioned above, this module will provide only a very brief treatment of inheritance
in Python. If you need to learn more about inheritance, I will refer you to the following documents that are
available on the web as of October 2014.

• tutorialspointPython Objected Oriented 3

• The Python Tutorial  Inheritance 4

28.4 Discussion and sample code

I will present and explain a simple program to give you a taste of inheritance. A complete listing of the
program is provided in Listing 6 (p. 237) . The output produced by running the program is shown in Figure
4 (p. 238) . As usual, I will break the program down and explain it in fragments.

28.4.1 Dene the superclass

Listing 1 (p. 234) denes a class named Superclass that will be the superclass or the base class for
another class named Subclass . In other words, the class named Subclass will inherit from the class
named Superclass or will extend the class named Superclass , whichever jargon you prefer. (A
visualization 5 of the program uses the word extends to indicate inheritance.)
2 http://www.tutorialspoint.com/python/python_classes_objects.htm
3 http://www.tutorialspoint.com/python/python_classes_objects.htm
4 https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/classes.html#inheritance
5 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=display

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234 CHAPTER 28. ITSE1359-1450-INHERITANCE

Depending on your preferred jargon, Superclass will be the base class or the superclass . Subclass
will be the derived class or the subclass .

Listing 1 . Dene the superclass.

#Define the superclass

class Superclass(object):
superclassVar = True

def __init__(self,name):
Superclass.superclassVar = name
self.friend = "Tom"

Table 28.1

The code in Listing 1 (p. 234) creates a class variable named superclassVar and initializes its value
to True .
The code in Listing 1 (p. 234) also denes an initializer or constructor method named __init__ .
When this method is executed, it changes the value stored in superclassVar from True to the value of
an incoming parameter named name .
The __init__ method also creates an instance variable named friend in the object referred to by
self and initializes that variable to contain "Tom" .

28.4.2 Dene the subclass

The class named Subclass , which extends Superclass , is dened in Listing 2 (p. 234) . This class
also denes a constructor method named __init__ , which in turn calls the __init__ method of
Superclass , passing its own incoming parameters to the superclass constructor method.

Listing 2 . Dene a subclass that extends or inherits from Superclass.

#Define a subclass that extends or inherits from Superclass

class Subclass(Superclass):
def __init__(self,name):
Superclass.__init__(self,name)
print(self.friend)

Table 28.2

The method named __init__ in Subclass also prints the value of the variable named friend
when it is executed.

When you instantiate a new object of a class that contains a method named __init__, that
method is automatically called and a reference to the object is automatically passed as the rst
parameter to the method. However, if you write code that explicitly calls __init__, you must
explicitly pass that parameter along with any other required parameters as shown in Listing 2.

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 235

28.4.3 Exercise the classes

The remaining program code is designed to exercise the classes and to illustrate the behavior of inheritance
in Python. The code that exercises the classes begins in Listing 3 (p. 235) .

28.4.3.1 Display the value of the class variable

The code in Listing 3 (p. 235) gets and prints the initial value stored in the class variable named super-
classVar , producing the output shown in Figure 1 (p. 235) .

Listing 3 . Display the value of the class variable.

#Code that exercises the classes

print(Superclass.superclassVar)

Table 28.3

As you can see, at this point in the program, the class variable contains the value True that was placed
there when the class variable was created by the code in Listing 1 (p. 234) .

Figure 1 . Output from the code in Listing 3.

True

Table 28.4

28.4.3.2 Instantiate a Subclass object

The code in Listing 4 (p. 235) instantiates an object of the class named Subclass passing "Joe" as a
parameter to the __init__ method belonging to that class. (As you will recall, that __init__
method is automatically called when the object is instantiated.)
Figure 2 (p. 236) shows the output produced by executing the code in Listing 4 (p. 235) .

Listing 4 . Instantiate a Subclass object.

ref = Subclass("Joe")

print(ref.superclassVar)

Table 28.5

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236 CHAPTER 28. ITSE1359-1450-INHERITANCE

As you saw in Listing 2 (p. 234) , the __init__ method in the class named Subclass calls the
method named __init__ in the class named Superclass passing both of its incoming parameters as
parameters to the __init__ method in the class named Superclass . As you saw in Listing 1 (p. 234)
, that method replaces the value True in superclassVar with one of its incoming parameters, which in
this case is "Joe" .
The code in the method named __init__ in the class named Subclass in Listing 2 (p. 234)
also prints the value of the variable named friend (which is created and initialized by the __init__
method in the class named Superclass in Listing 1 (p. 234) ) . This produces the rst line of output
text (Tom) shown in Figure 2 (p. 236) .
The code in Listing 4 (p. 235) also uses the reference to the Subclass object to get and print the value
of the class variable named superclassVar from the class named Superclass , producing the second
line of output text in Figure 2 (p. 236) (Joe) .

Figure 2 . Output from the code in Listing 4.

Tom
Joe

Table 28.6

28.4.3.3 Modify and then print the value in superclassVar

Finally, the code in Listing 5 (p. 236) uses the reference to the Subclass object to modify and then print
the value stored in the class variable of the Superclass class named superclassVar .

Listing 5 . Modify and then print the value in superclassVar.

ref.superclassVar = "Sue"
print(ref.superclassVar)

Table 28.7

Figure 3 (p. 236) shows the output produced by executing the code in Listing 5 (p. 236) .

Figure 3 . Output from the code in Listing 5.

Sue

Table 28.8

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 237

28.5 Run the program

I encourage you to copy the code from Listing 6 (p. 237) . Execute the code and conrm that you get the
same results as those shown in Figure 4 (p. 238) . Experiment with the code, making changes, and observing
the results of your changes. Make certain that you can explain why your changes behave as they do.

28.6 Visualize the program

I also encourage you to create a visualization 6 for the code in Listing 6 (p. 237) . Step through the program
one instruction at a time. As you do that, pay attention to the movements of the red and green arrows on
the left, the diagram on the right, and the printed material at the bottom. That should help you to better
understand inheritance in Python.

28.7 Complete program listing

A complete listing of the program discussed in this module is provided in Listing 6 (p. 237) below. The
output produced by the code in Listing 6 (p. 237) is shown in Figure 4 (p. 238) .

Listing 6 . Complete program listing.

# Illustrates inheritance
#----------------------------------------------------------
#Define the superclass
class Superclass(object):
superclassVar = True

def __init__(self,name):
Superclass.superclassVar = name
self.friend = "Tom"

#Define a subclass that extends or inherits from Superclass

class Subclass(Superclass):
def __init__(self,name):
Superclass.__init__(self,name)
print(self.friend)

#Code that exercises the classes

print(Superclass.superclassVar)
ref = Subclass("Joe")
print(ref.superclassVar)
ref.superclassVar = "Sue"
print(ref.superclassVar)

Table 28.9

6 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=display

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238 CHAPTER 28. ITSE1359-1450-INHERITANCE

Figure 4 . Output from code in Listing 6.

True
Tom
Joe
Sue

Table 28.10

28.8 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1450-Inheritance
• File: Itse1359-1450.htm
• Published: 10/27/14
• Revised: 03/04/15

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community
College in Austin, TX.

-end-

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Chapter 29

Itse1359-1610-GUI Programming 1

29.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 240)
· What you will learn (p. 240)
· Viewing tip (p. 240)
* Figures (p. 240)
* Listings (p. 240)
• General background information (p. 241)
· Tk and tkinter (p. 241)
* What is a GUI? (p. 241)
* What is TCL? (p. 241)
* What is TK? (p. 241)
* What is tkinter? (p. 241)
· Not the only GUI alternative (p. 242)
· A big and complex topic (p. 242)
• Discussion and sample code (p. 242)
· A sample program (p. 242)
· Will discuss in fragments (p. 243)
* The root (p. 243)
* Import statements (p. 244)
* The calculate function (p. 244)
* Add a Frame widget (p. 245)
* The grid geometry manager (p. 245)
* Columns and rows (p. 246)
* A sticky situation (p. 246)
* StringVar (p. 246)
* The Entry widget (p. 247)
* The width argument (p. 247)
* The textvariable argument (p. 247)
* Make the Entry eld visible (p. 248)
* A sticky demonstration (p. 248)
* A Label and a Button (p. 248)
* Three more Label widgets (p. 249)
1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m51474/1.5/>.
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239
240 CHAPTER 29. ITSE1359-1610-GUI PROGRAMMING

* Finishing touches (p. 249)

* Now back to the calculate function (p. 250)
* The input value in feet (p. 251)
* Either save the oat or pass (p. 251)
* Calculate and display the result in meters (p. 251)
* Make everything run (p. 251)
• Run the program (p. 251)
• Complete program listing (p. 251)
• Miscellaneous (p. 253)

29.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
This module is not intended to be a stand-alone tutorial. Instead, it is intended to be an annotated guide
to other freely available online resources on the topic.

29.2.1 What you will learn

You will learn how to create a simple GUI using Python and tkinter .

29.2.2 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this module in a separate browser window and use the following
links to easily nd and view the Figures and Listings while you are reading about them.
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: the Figures in this module are bitmap images and are
probably not accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display. The Listings are text and should
be accessible. Therefore, this module is only partially accessible to blind students.
Because the module is not accessible to blind students, material from this module will not be used for
assignments and will not be included on tests. However, sighted students are strongly encouraged to study
the material for their own education. Blind and visually impaired students are also encouraged to learn as
much from the module as they can.)

29.2.2.1 Figures
• Figure 1 (p. 242) . Image of a tkinter test from the command line.
• Figure 2 (p. 243) . Output from Feet to Meters converter program.
• Figure 3 (p. 243) . Output from Listing 1.
• Figure 4 (p. 248) . A sticky demonstration.

29.2.2.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 243) . The root.
• Listing 2 (p. 245) . Add a Frame widget.
• Listing 3 (p. 247) . StringVar objects.
• Listing 4 (p. 247) . The Entry widget.
• Listing 5 (p. 249) . A Label and a Button.
• Listing 6 (p. 249) . Three more Label widgets.
• Listing 7 (p. 250) . Finishing touches.
• Listing 8 (p. 250) . The calculate function.
• Listing 9 (p. 252) . Complete program listing.

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 241

29.3 General background information

29.3.1 Tk and tkinter
29.3.1.1 What is a GUI ?
According to Wikipedia 2 ,

"In computing, a graphical user interface (GUI... sometimes pronounced "gooey" ...) is a type of
interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and visual
indicators such as secondary notation, as opposed to text-based interfaces, typed command labels
or text navigation. GUIs were introduced in reaction to the perceived steep learning curve of
command-line interfaces ... which require commands to be typed on the keyboard."

You probably interface with most of the programs that you use on a daily basis through a GUI. If you use
Python to create programs that will be used by non programmers, you may need to provide GUIs for those
programs.

29.3.1.2 What is TCL?

According to the Tcl Developer Xchange 3 ,

"Tcl (Tool Command Language) is a very powerful but easy to learn dynamic programming lan-
guage, suitable for a very wide range of uses, including web and desktop applications, networking,
administration, testing and many more. Open source and business-friendly, Tcl is a mature yet
evolving language that is truly cross platform, easily deployed and highly extensible."

29.3.1.3 What is TK?

Also according to the Tcl Developer Xchange 4 ,

"Tk is a graphical user interface toolkit that takes developing desktop applications to a higher
level than conventional approaches. Tk is the standard GUI not only for Tcl, but for many
other dynamic languages, and can produce rich, native applications that run unchanged across
Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and more."

29.3.1.4 What is tkinter?

According to The Python Standard Library  25. Graphical User Interfaces with Tk 5 ,

"Tk/Tcl has long been an integral part of Python. It provides a robust and platform independent
windowing toolkit, that is available to Python programmers using the tkinter package, and its
extension, the tkinter.tix and the tkinter.ttk modules. ... To use tkinter, you don't need to
write Tcl code, but you will need to consult the Tk documentation, and occasionally the Tcl
documentation. tkinter...usually comes bundled with Python."

According to The Python Standard Library  25.1 tkinter  Python interface to Tcl/Tk 6 ,
2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphical_user_interface
3 http://www.tcl.tk/
4 http://www.tcl.tk/
5 https://docs.python.org/3/library/tk.html
6 https://docs.python.org/3/library/tkinter.html#module-tkinter

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"The tkinter package ("Tk interface") is the standard Python interface to the Tk GUI toolkit.
Both Tk and tkinter are available on most Unix platforms, as well as on Windows systems. (Tk
itself is not part of Python; it is maintained at ActiveState.) You can check that tkinter is
properly installed on your system by running python -m tkinter from the command line; this
should open a window demonstrating a simple Tk interface."

Figure 1 (p. 242) shows the result of entering the command given above on the command line on my
computer and then clicking the button labeled Click me several times. Clicking the QUIT button will
cause the GUI to disappear from the screen as expected.
Figure 1 . Image of a tkinter test from the command line.

29.3.2 Not the only GUI alternative

You will nd other GUI alternatives for Python listed and described at The Python Standard Library  25.6.
Other Graphical User Interface Packages 7 . However, this module will concentrate on tkinter .

29.3.3 A big and complex topic

The design and implementation of graphical user interfaces is a huge topic that could ll an E-book in its
own right. In this module, I will barely scratch the surface. In particular, I will present and explain one
GUI program. Beyond that, I will refer you to several good online resources where you can learn more about
GUI programming in Python if you are interested.

29.4 Discussion and sample code

29.4.1 A sample program
Listing 9 (p. 252) presents an unmodied version of a program that was published by Mark Roseman 8 at
TkDocs 9 under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada (CC BY-NC-SA
2.5 CA) 10 license. This program GUI allows the user to enter a length value in feet. When the user presses
a button labeled Calculate , the corresponding length value in meters is displayed. This process can be
repeated until the user presses the X-button in the upper-right corner of the GUI, which terminates the
program and removes the GUI from the screen.
Figure 2 (p. 243) shows the output produced by running this program.
7 https://docs.python.org/3/library/othergui.html#other-gui-packages
8 http://www.markroseman.com/
9 http://www.tkdocs.com/tutorial/rstexample.html
10 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ca/

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 243

Figure 2 . Output from Feet to Meters converter program.

29.4.2 Will discuss in fragments

As is my custom, I will break the program down and discuss it in fragments. I will attempt to explain why
the various parts of the program behave as they do. The rst fragment is shown in Listing 1 (p. 243) .

29.4.2.1 The root

Listing 1 (p. 243) shows a skeleton of the program with most of the code removed to expose the root and
the main loop .

Listing 1 . The root.

from tkinter import *

root = Tk()
root.title("Feet to Meters")

root.mainloop()

Table 29.1

Figure 3 (p. 243) shows the output produced by running the skeleton code in Listing 1 (p. 243) .
Figure 3 . Output from Listing 1.

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According to Hello, Tkinter 11 ,

"To initialize Tkinter, we have to create a Tk root widget. This is an ordinary window, with a
title bar and other decoration provided by your window manager. You should only create one
root widget for each program, and it must be created before any other widgets."
(Note that according to TkDocs 12 , the name of the module was changed from Tkinter to tkinter
with the release of Python 3.0.)
The empty window that you see in Figure 3 (p. 243) behaves like a standard Windows window on
my machine. The three buttons in the upper-right corner behave as expected while the menu icon in the
upper-left corner behaves as expected. (The icon in the upper-left corner appears to be the TCL feather
logo.)

29.4.2.2 Import statements

TkDocs 13 has this to say about the two import statements at the top of Listing 9 (p. 252) ,
"These two lines tell Python that our program needs two modules. The rst, "tkinter", is the
standard binding to Tk, which when loaded also causes the existing Tk library on your system
to be loaded. The second, "ttk", is Python's binding to the newer "themed widgets" that were
added to Tk in 8.5."
That document goes on to provide a very interesting TIP regarding the use of the asterisk (*) with the rst
import statement and the non-use of the asterisk with the second import statement. I will leave it as an
exercise for the student to examine that material.

29.4.2.3 The calculate function

I'm going to skip over the calculate function (see Listing 9 (p. 252) ) at this point and return to discuss
it in context later.
11 http://ebot.org/tkinterbook/tkinter-hello-tkinter.htm
12 http://www.tkdocs.com/tutorial/rstexample.html
13 http://www.tkdocs.com/tutorial/rstexample.html

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 245

29.4.2.4 Add a Frame widget

The rst statement in Listing 2 (p. 245) creates a Frame widget and places it in the root .

Listing 2 . Add a Frame widget.

mainframe = ttk.Frame(root, padding="3 3 12 12")

mainframe.grid(column=0, row=0, sticky=(N, W, E, S))

mainframe.columnconfigure(0, weight=1)
mainframe.rowconfigure(0, weight=1)

Table 29.2

According to TkDocs ,
"Next, we create a frame widget, which will hold all the content of our user interface, and place
that in our main window. The "columncongure"/"rowcongure" bits just tell Tk that if the
main window is resized, the frame should expand to take up the extra space."

According to Tkinter 8.5 reference: a GUI for Python 14 ,

"Like the Tkinter Frame widget, the ttk.Frame widget is a rectangular container for other wid-
gets."

That document goes on to explain that the rst argument to Frame is the parent of the Frame . In
this case, the frame will be a child of root . After that, you can enter any of about nine dierent options,
one of which is padding .
According to Padding 15 at TkDocs,

"Normally, each column or row will be directly adjacent to the next, so that widgets will be right
next to each other. This is sometimes what you want (think of a listbox and its scrollbar), but
often you want some space between widgets. In Tk, this is called padding, and there are several
ways you can choose to add it."

One of the ways to achieve the desired space between widgets is by using the syntax shown in the padding
argument of Listing 2 (p. 245) . This syntax inserts spaces (in units of pixels) on the four sides of the
frame in the order west, north, east, and south or left, top, right, and bottom. (Note that the integers in
Listing 2 (p. 245) are not separated by commas.)

29.4.2.5 The grid geometry manager

Once you have a Frame widget, you can call various methods on it. One of those methods is grid as
shown by the second line of code in Listing 2 (p. 245) .
According to The Grid Geometry Manager 16 at TkDocs,
14 http://infohost.nmt.edu/tcc/help/pubs/tkinter/web/ttk-Frame.html
15 http://www.tkdocs.com/tutorial/grid.html#padding
16 http://www.tkdocs.com/tutorial/grid.html

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"Grid is one of several geometry managers available in Tk, but it's mix of power, exibility and
ease of use, along with its natural t with today's layouts (that rely on alignment of widgets)
make it the best choice for general use. There are other geometry managers: "pack" is also quite
powerful, but harder to use and understand; "place" gives you complete control of positioning
each element; we'll see even widgets like paned windows, notebooks, canvas and text can act as
geometry managers."

29.4.2.6 Columns and rows

With the Grid geometry manager, a container of widgets such as the root or the Frame is subdivided
into a grid of cells. The locations of widgets in the container are specied by column and row numbers.
According to Columns and Rows 17 at TkDocs,
"Column and row numbers must be integers, with the rst column and row starting at 0. You can
leave gaps in column and row numbers (e.g. column 0, 1, 2, 10, 11, 12, 20, 21), which is handy
if you plan to add more widgets in the middle of the user interface at a later time. The width
of each column (or height of each row) depends on the width or height of the widgets contained
within the column or row. This means when sketching out your user interface, and dividing it
into rows and columns, you don't need to worry about each column or row being equal width."

The second statement in Listing 2 (p. 245) shows that the Frame is placed in column 0 and row 0 (the
upper-left corner) of the root .

29.4.2.7 A sticky situation

The sizes of the cells in a grid are determined by the sizes of the widgets placed in them. Therefore, the
width of the cells in a column will be at least as wide as the widest widget in the column and the height of
the cells in a row will be at least as high as the tallest widget placed in the row.
By default, if a widget is smaller than the cell in which it is placed, it will be placed in the upper-left
corner of the cell. The sticky argument can be used to specify something other than the default. The value
of the sticky argument consists of the compass directions N, S, E, and W as shown in the second statement
of Listing 2 (p. 245) . (Note that they are separated by commas.)
Many dierent combinations of N, S, E, and W can be used to control the placement of the widget in
the cell. A good explanation is provided in Layout within the Cell 18 at TkDocs. The combination used in
the second statement of Listing 2 (p. 245) causes the Frame to be stretched in all four directions so as
to be stuck to all four sides of the root . In other words, the Frame completely lls the available space
within the root container.
The last two statements in Listing 2 (p. 245) were explained by According to TkDocs (p. 245) above.

29.4.2.8 StringVar
To make a long story short, the StringVar objects shown in Listing 3 (p. 247) are used to connect the
string values for feet and meters to the textvariable arguments of an Entry widget and a Label
widget, which you will see later.
(If you connect a widget to a StringVar object using a textvariable argument, a change in
the contents of either will cause a corresponding change in the other. This is discussed in some detail at
25.1.6.4. Coupling Widget Variables 19 .)

17 http://www.tkdocs.com/tutorial/grid.html#colsrows
18 http://www.tkdocs.com/tutorial/grid.html#incell
19 https://docs.python.org/3/library/tkinter.html#coupling-widget-variables

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Listing 3 . StringVar objects.

feet = StringVar()
meters = StringVar()

Table 29.3

29.4.2.9 The Entry widget

In the initial design stages 20 of the GUI, the author indicates that the widgets will be placed in three
columns and three rows.
The rst statement in Listing 4 (p. 247) creates a new widget of the class Entry 21 and saves the object's
reference in the variable named feet_entry . According to The Tkinter Entry Widget 22 ,
"The Entry widget is a standard Tkinter widget used to enter or display a single line of text."
The rst argument is the parent  in this case mainframe . This is followed by many possible optional
arguments, one of which is width .

Listing 4 . The Entry widget.

feet_entry = ttk.Entry(mainframe, width=7, textvariable=feet)

feet_entry.grid(column=2, row=1, sticky=(W, E))

Table 29.4

29.4.2.10 The width argument

The Tkinter Entry Widget 23 describes the width argument as follows:
"Width of the entry eld, in character units. Note that this controls the size on screen; it does
not limit the number of characters that can be typed into the entry eld. The default width is
20 character."
The rst statement in Listing 4 (p. 247) sets the width to seven characters.

29.4.2.11 The textvariable argument

The Tkinter Entry Widget 24 describes the textvariable argument as follows:
"Associates a Tkinter variable (usually a StringVar) to the contents of the entry eld."
This argument is set equal to feet from Listing 3 (p. 247) . From this point forward, values entered into
the data entry eld shown in Figure 2 (p. 243) will be saved in the StringVar named feet . This makes
the value available to the calculate function that will be discussed later.
20 http://www.tkdocs.com/tutorial/rstexample.html
21 http://ebot.org/tkinterbook/entry.htm
22 http://ebot.org/tkinterbook/entry.htm
23 http://ebot.org/tkinterbook/entry.htm
24 http://ebot.org/tkinterbook/entry.htm

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29.4.2.12 Make the Entry eld visible

The author of the program 25 explains that the rst statement in Listing 4 (p. 247) creates the Entry
widget but does not make it visible in the GUI. In order to make it visible, you must tell Tk where to place
it relative to other widgets. This is accomplished by the call to grid in the second statement in Listing 4
(p. 247) , which places the Entry widget in column 2 and row 1. (Note that the author seems to have
skipped column 0 and row 0 as described earlier (p. 246) .)
The sticky parameter in Listing 4 (p. 247) instructs Tk to stretch the Entry widget horizontally
and make it touch both sides of the cell. (Note that manually stretching the size of the root on the screen
does not stretch the size of the Frame or the widgets contained in the Frame.)

29.4.2.13 A sticky demonstration

As an aside, I am going to demonstrate what happens with the sticky parameters in Listing 4 (p. 247) when
the column width changes. Compare Figure 4 (p. 248) with Figure 2 (p. 243)
Figure 4 . A sticky demonstration.

As you will see shortly, the numerical result of calculating the conversion from feet to meters is displayed
in column 2 in the row immediately below the Entry widget. When that result requires more width than
is available in the column by default, the width of the column is automatically increased. Because the right
and left ends of the Entry widget stick to the sides of its cell in that column, the width of the Entry
widget increases accordingly.

29.4.2.14 A Label and a Button

By now you should be catching on to the general scheme of things and less detailed instructions should be
needed.
Listing 5 (p. 249) creates a Label widget and a Button widget and places them in the rows and
columns indicated by the sticky parameters.

Listing 5 . A Label and a Button.

continued on next page

25 http://www.tkdocs.com/tutorial/rstexample.html

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 249

ttk.Label(mainframe, textvariable=meters).grid(column=2, row=2, sticky=(W, E))

ttk.Button(mainframe,text="Calculate", command=calculate).grid(
column=3, row=3, sticky=W)

Table 29.5

A few things are dierent here:

• References to the widgets are not saved in ordinary Python variables because there will be no need to
refer to them later in program code.
• The dot operator is used to call grid immediately upon the creation of each widget as opposed to
calling grid in a separate statement as was done in Listing 4 (p. 247) .
• The Button widget uses a text argument to place the string "Calculate" on the face of the
button.
• No text is placed in the Label . The empty Label will be used to display the results of converting
feet to meters.
• The left end of the Button widget is stuck to the west side of the cell in which it resides. It is not
stretched to the width of the cell as is the case with the Entry and Label widgets
• Last and perhaps most important, the Button widget uses the command argument to specify
that the function named calculate will be executed whenever the user presses the button.

29.4.2.15 Three more Label widgets

Listing 6 (p. 249) creates three more Label widgets and places them in the rows and columns shown.

Listing 6 . Three more Label widgets.

ttk.Label(mainframe, text="feet").grid(column=3, row=1, sticky=W)

ttk.Label(mainframe, text="is equivalent to").grid(column=1, row=2, sticky=E)
ttk.Label(mainframe, text="meters").grid(column=3, row=2, sticky=W)

Table 29.6

There is nothing new in Listing 6 (p. 249) so no explanation of that code should be required.

29.4.2.16 Finishing touches

The author 26 of the program describes the rst line of code in Listing 7 (p. 250) as follows:

"The rst line walks through all of the widgets that are children of our content frame, and adds a
little bit of padding around each, so they aren't so scrunched together. We could have added these
options to each "grid" call when we rst put the widgets onscreen, but this is a nice shortcut."

26 http://www.tkdocs.com/tutorial/rstexample.html

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Listing 7 . Finishing touches.

for child in mainframe.winfo_children(): child.grid_configure(padx=5, pady=5)

feet_entry.focus()

root.bind('<Return>', calculate)

Table 29.7

The author 27 describes the second line of code in Listing 7 (p. 250) as follows:

"The second line tells Tk to put the focus on our entry widget. That way the cursor will start in
that eld, so the user doesn't have to click in it before starting to type."

And nally , the author 28 describes the third line of code in Listing 7 (p. 250) as follows:
"The third line tells Tk that if the user presses the Return key (Enter on Windows) anywhere
within the root window, that it should call our calculate routine, the same as if the user pressed
the Calculate button."

29.4.2.17 Now back to the calculate function

The calculate function, which is shown in Listing 8 (p. 250) , is executed whenever the user presses the
calculate button or hits the Enter key on the keyboard as described above (p. 250) .

Listing 8 . The calculate function.

def calculate(*args):
try:
value = float(feet.get())
meters.set((0.3048 * value * 10000.0 + 0.5)/10000.0)
except ValueError:
pass

Table 29.8

29.4.2.18 The input value in feet

Any value that is entered into the Entry widget is stored in the StringVar object referred to by feet
as shown in Listing 3 (p. 247) and Listing 4 (p. 247) and as described above (p. 247) .
The StringVar object has a method named get that returns the string stored in the object. The
code in the try block of Listing 8 (p. 250) calls the get method on the StringVar object and attempts
to convert the string to type oat .
27 http://www.tkdocs.com/tutorial/rstexample.html
28 http://www.tkdocs.com/tutorial/rstexample.html

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29.4.2.19 Either save the oat or pass

If the string cannot be converted to a oat , a ValueError is thrown and control is passed to the pass
statement. This causes the function to exit without doing anything.
If the string can be converted to a oat , that oat value is stored in the variable named value .

29.4.2.20 Calculate and display the result in meters

A StringVar object also has a method named set that can be used to store a value in the object. The
code in the try block performs the arithmetic to convert the value in feet to a value in meters and then
calls the set method on meters to store that value in the StringVar object referred to by meters
in Listing 3 (p. 247) .
Storing a value in that StringVar object causes the value to appear in the Label immediately to
the left of the word meters in Figure 2 (p. 243) due to the textvariable argument in Listing 5 (p. 249)
. Once again, if you connect a widget to a StringVar object using a textvariable argument, a change
in the contents of either will cause a corresponding change in the other.

29.4.2.21 Make everything run

Finally, the last statement in the program, which is shown in Listing 9 (p. 252) , causes Tk to enter its
event-handling loop and causes everything to run. The code in this loop will monitor for an event indicating
that the user has pressed the calculate button. When that happens, the calculate function will be
executed causing the conversion from feet to meters to take place and causing the results of the calculation
to be displayed as shown in Figure 2 (p. 243) . This is an innite loop that will continue to run and monitor
for events until the program is terminated.

29.5 Run the program

I encourage you to copy the code from Listing 9 (p. 252) . Execute the code and conrm that you get
results similar to those shown in Figure 2 (p. 243) or Figure 4 (p. 248) . Experiment with the code, making
changes, and observing the results of your changes. Make certain that you can explain why your changes
behave as they do.

29.6 Complete program listing

A complete listing of the program is shown in Listing 9 (p. 252) .

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252 CHAPTER 29. ITSE1359-1610-GUI PROGRAMMING

Listing 9 . Complete program listing.

# Illustrates a Python GUI using tkinter.

# Published by Mark Roseman at TkDocs under a Creative Commons
# Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada (CC BY-NC-SA 2.5 CA) license.
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
from tkinter import *
from tkinter import ttk

def calculate(*args):
try:
value = float(feet.get())
meters.set((0.3048 * value * 10000.0 + 0.5)/10000.0)
except ValueError:
pass

root = Tk()
root.title("Feet to Meters")

mainframe = ttk.Frame(root, padding="3 3 12 12")

mainframe.grid(column=0, row=0, sticky=(N, W, E, S))
mainframe.columnconfigure(0, weight=1)
mainframe.rowconfigure(0, weight=1)

feet = StringVar()
meters = StringVar()

feet_entry = ttk.Entry(mainframe, width=7, textvariable=feet)

feet_entry.grid(column=2, row=1, sticky=(W, E))

ttk.Label(mainframe, textvariable=meters).grid(column=2, row=2, sticky=(W, E))

ttk.Button(mainframe,text="Calculate", command=calculate).grid(
column=3, row=3, sticky=W)

ttk.Label(mainframe, text="feet").grid(column=3, row=1, sticky=W)

ttk.Label(mainframe, text="is equivalent to").grid(column=1, row=2, sticky=E)
ttk.Label(mainframe, text="meters").grid(column=3, row=2, sticky=W)

for child in mainframe.winfo_children(): child.grid_configure(padx=5, pady=5)

feet_entry.focus()
root.bind('<Return>', calculate)

root.mainloop()

Table 29.9

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

 253

29.7 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1610-GUI Programming
• File: Itse1359-1610.htm
• Published: 10/28/14
• Revised: 01/31/16

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

254 CHAPTER 29. ITSE1359-1610-GUI PROGRAMMING

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

Chapter 30

Itse1359-1720-Doctest 1

30.1 Table of contents

• Preface (p. 255)
· What you have learned (p. 256)
· What you will learn (p. 256)
· Viewing tip (p. 256)
* Figures (p. 256)
* Listings (p. 256)
• General background information (p. 256)
• Discussion and sample code (p. 257)
· An interactive session (p. 257)
· An automated interactive session (p. 257)
* The test le named Py1359_1720_01 (p. 257)
* The batch the named Py1359_1720_01 (p. 258)
* The output (p. 258)
· A more substantive example (p. 259)
* The module named Py1359_1720_02 (p. 259)
* The test le named Py1359_1720_02 (p. 259)
* The batch le named Py1359_1720_02 (p. 260)
* The output (p. 260)
· Embedding a test in a docstring (p. 261)
* What is a docstring? (p. 261)
* The module named Py1359_1720_03 (p. 261)
* The batch le named Py1359_1720_03 (p. 262)
* The output (p. 263)
• Run the program (p. 264)
• What's next? (p. 264)
• Miscellaneous (p. 264)

30.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m51550/1.3/>.
Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

255
256 CHAPTER 30. ITSE1359-1720-DOCTEST

30.2.1 What you have learned

In previous modules, you have learned the basics of Python programming, control ow, classes and objects,
input/output, and GUI programming.

30.2.2 What you will learn

In this and the following module, you will learn how to use the Python doctest module to test your Python
programs.

30.2.3 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this module in a separate browser window and use the following
links to easily nd and view the Figures and the Listings while you are reading about them.
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: all of the Figures and Listings in this module are presented
in plain text format and should be accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display. Note however
that the required indentation may not be properly represented by an audio screen reader.)

30.2.3.1 Figures
• Figure 1 (p. 257) . Simple interactive session.
• Figure 2 (p. 259) . Output produced by the test le named Py1359_1720_01.txt.
• Figure 3 (p. 261) . Output produced by the test le named Py1359_1720_02.txt.
• Figure 4 (p. 263) . Output produced by the test embedded in the docstring.

30.2.3.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 257) . Contents of the test le named Py1359_1720_01.txt.
• Listing 2 (p. 258) . Contents of the le named Py1359_1720_01.bat.
• Listing 3 (p. 259) . Contents of the le named Py1359_1720_02.py.
• Listing 4 (p. 260) . Contents of the test le named Py1359_1720_02.txt.
• Listing 5 (p. 260) . Contents of the batch le named Py1359_1720_02.bat.
• Listing 6 (p. 262) . Contents of the le named Py1359_1720_03.py.
• Listing 7 (p. 262) . Contents of the batch le named Py1359_1720_03.bat.

30.3 General background information

According to The Python Standard Library  26. Development Tools 2 ,

"The doctest and unittest modules contain frameworks for writing unit tests that automatically
exercise code and verify that the expected output is produced."

The material in this module is based heavily on The Python Standard Library  26.2 doctest  Test interactive
Python examples 3 . According to that document,

"The doctest module searches for pieces of text that look like interactive Python sessions, and
then executes those sessions to verify that they work exactly as shown."
2 https://docs.python.org/3/library/development.html
3 https://docs.python.org/3/library/doctest.html

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

 257

Stated dierently, the doctest module can be used to automate the execution of code that you might
otherwise execute in an interactive session. However, instead of having the computer present the result to
you, you specify the required result and the computer tests the required result against the actual result and
noties you when the two fail to match.
There are at least two dierent ways to use doctest :

1. You can write the test code in a separate text le and use that le to perform the testing.
2. You can embed the test code in one or more docstrings in a module and cause the test code to be
executed each time you execute the module as a script.

A simple example of each approach will be provided and explained in this module.

30.4 Discussion and sample code

30.4.1 An interactive session
Figure 1 (p. 257) shows a simple interactive session run on the Python interactive command line interface.

Figure 1 . Simple interactive session.

> 2 + 3
5
>

Table 30.1

If you have forgotten what the text in Figure 1 (p. 257) means, see the earlier module titled Itse1359-
1010-Getting Started .

30.4.2 An automated interactive session

This rst example is provided solely to show how doctest works. It is not intended to be useful otherwise.

30.4.2.1 The test le named Py1359_1720_01

Listing 1 (p. 257) shows the contents of a test le named Py1359_1720_01.txt .

Listing 1 . Contents of the test le named Py1359_1720_01.txt.

> 2 + 3
6

Table 30.2

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

258 CHAPTER 30. ITSE1359-1720-DOCTEST

Note that the contents of the test le mirror the input and the output of the interactive session shown in
Figure 1 (p. 257) except that the result of performing the computation was purposely specied incorrectly
as 6 instead of 5. (When you create a doctest test le, you must specify the required output as shown
in Listing 1 (p. 257) .)

Note that the doctest process is very picky regarding le names. Some le names that are
valid for the operating system may not work when using doctest . However, if you restrict
your le names to names that would be valid for variables, you should be okay.

Listing 2 (p. 258) shows the contents of a Windows batch le named Py1359_1720_01.bat that I used
to perform the test. Although not a requirement, the use of such a batch le makes it convenient to perform
the test more than once with a minimal typing eort.

30.4.2.2 The batch the named Py1359_1720_01

Listing 2 . Contents of the le named Py1359_1720_01.bat.

echo off

rem set the path

path=%path%;"C:\Program Files (x86)\Python34"

rem perform the test

python -m doctest Py1359_1720_01.txt

pause

Table 30.3

(Some of the text in Listing 2 (p. 258) is peculiar to my machine. You can ignore the text shown in
Listing 2 (p. 258) down to the command that begins with the word python .)
The third command that begins with the word python in Listing 2 (p. 258) executes the Python doctest
module as a script and passes the name of the test le as a command-line argument to the module.

According to Python v3.1.5 documentation  Python Setup and Usage 4 , "When called with -m
module-name, the given module is located on the Python module path and executed as a script."

The syntax shown for the python command in Listing 2 (p. 258) is a command line shortcut for calling
the testmod() function in the doctest module. (You will see more on this later.)

30.4.2.3 The output

The execution of the python command in Listing 2 (p. 258) produced the command line output shown in
Figure 2 (p. 259) .

4 https://docs.python.org/3.1/using/cmdline.html

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

 259

Figure 2 . Output produced by the test le named Py1359_1720_01.txt.

**********************************************************************
File "Py1359_1720_01.txt", line 2, in Py1359_1720_01.txt
Failed example:
2 + 3
Expected:
6
Got:
5
**********************************************************************
1 items had failures:
1 of 1 in Py1359_1720_01.txt
***Test Failed*** 1 failures.

Table 30.4

Figure 2 (p. 259) shows that the test failed because the result of the computation did not match the
specied value of 6. In this case, the output from the computation was correct but the value specied by
the test was incorrect.
When testing using the doctest module, you specify what the result must be for the test to pass. If
the test fails to produce a matching result, the output will show that the test failed. For the case of Listing 1
(p. 257) and Listing 2 (p. 258) , if the correct result had been specied, the test would simply have returned
to the command prompt with no other output.
A verbose output could have been specied in Listing 2 (p. 258) to cause the test to return
positive results even if there were no failures. You will see how to do that in the next example.

30.4.3 A more substantive example

30.4.3.1 The module named Py1359_1720_02
This example will perform a test on a simple function named sum in a module named
Py1359_1720_02.py as shown in Listing 3 (p. 259) .

Listing 3 . Contents of the le named Py1359_1720_02.py.

def sum(parA,parB):
return parA + parB

Table 30.5

30.4.3.2 The test le named Py1359_1720_02

The test le for this example is shown in Listing 4 (p. 260) .

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

260 CHAPTER 30. ITSE1359-1720-DOCTEST

Listing 4 . Contents of the test le named Py1359_1720_02.txt.

> from Py1359_1720_02 import sum

> sum(2,3)
6

Table 30.6

This le will actually cause two tests to be performed. The rst test is to import the function named
sum from the module named Py1359_1720_02 . However, no visible output is expected from this
test. Therefore, no output is specied in Listing 4 (p. 260) .
The second test is to call the function named sum (shown in Listing 3 (p. 259) ) passing 2 and 3 as
parameters. The test le shows that an incorrect output value of 6 is expected from this test. (As before,
an incorrect value was specied to force the test to fail for illustration purposes only.)

30.4.3.3 The batch le named Py1359_1720_02

The batch le used to execute the test is shown in Listing 5 (p. 260) .

Listing 5 . Contents of the batch le named Py1359_1720_02.bat.

echo off

rem set the path

path=%path%;"C:\Program Files (x86)\Python34"

rem perform the test

python -m doctest -v Py1359_1720_02.txt

pause

Table 30.7

This batch le diers from the one shown in Listing 2 (p. 258) in one respect. The -v switch following
doctest in the command causes the output to be more verbose than the output from the previous example.

30.4.3.4 The output

The execution of the third (python) command in Listing 5 (p. 260) produced the command line output
shown in Figure 3 (p. 261) .

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

 261

Figure 3 . Output produced by the test le named Py1359_1720_02.txt.

Trying:
from Py1359_1720_02 import sum
Expecting nothing
ok
Trying:
sum(2,3)
Expecting:
6
**********************************************************************
File "Py1359_1720_02.txt", line 2, in Py1359_1720_02.txt
Failed example:
sum(2,3)
Expected:
6
Got:
5
**********************************************************************
1 items had failures:
1 of 2 in Py1359_1720_02.txt
2 tests in 1 items.
1 passed and 1 failed.
***Test Failed*** 1 failures.

Table 30.8

As mentioned earlier, this output is more verbose than the output shown in Figure 2 (p. 259) . In this
more verbose output, tests that pass are shown in addition to tests that fail. For example, the test of the
import statement is shown as ok .
On the other hand, as expected, the call to the sum function is shown as failed . As before, both
the location and the nature of the failure is explained.

30.4.4 Embedding a test in a docstring

As mentioned earlier (p. 257) , in addition to putting tests in separate text les, you can also embed tests
in docstrings.

30.4.4.1 What is a docstring?

As shown in the earlier module titled Itse1359-1270-Functions , and described more fully in What is a
Docstring? 5 , a docstring is a string literal that occurs as the rst statement in a module, function,
class, or method denition. A docstring is surrounded by triple quotes.

30.4.4.2 The module named Py1359_1720_03

This example will perform a test on a simple function named sum in a module named
Py1359_1720_03.py as shown in Listing 6 (p. 262) .

5 http://legacy.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0257/#what-is-a-docstring

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

262 CHAPTER 30. ITSE1359-1720-DOCTEST

Listing 6 . Contents of the le named Py1359_1720_03.py.

"""
> sum(2,3)
6
"""
def sum(parA,parB):
return parA + parB

if __name__ == "__main__":
import doctest
doctest.testmod()

Table 30.9

Listing 6 (p. 262) is an update of the earlier module shown in Listing 3 (p. 259) . Test code was
embedded in the docstring at the beginning of Listing 6 (p. 262) .
In addition, a special if statement was added at the end of Listing 6 (p. 262) that calls the testmod
function of the doctest module. (See the earlier (p. 258) comment regarding the testmod function and
the command line shortcut.)
According to The Python Standard Library  26.2.1. Simple Usage: Checking Examples in Docstrings 6
, if you include this code at the end of a module, running the module as a script will cause tests that
are embedded in docstrings to be executed.
Detailed information on the various options of the testmod function are provided at The Python
Standard Library  26.2.4. Basic API 7 .

30.4.4.3 The batch le named Py1359_1720_03

The batch le used to execute the test is shown in Listing 7 (p. 262) .

Listing 7 . Contents of the batch le named Py1359_1720_03.bat.

echo off

rem set the path

path=%path%;"C:\Program Files (x86)\Python34"

rem perform the test

python Py1359_1720_03.py -v

pause

Table 30.10

6 https://docs.python.org/3/library/doctest.html#simple-usage-checking-examples-in-docstrings
7 https://docs.python.org/3/library/doctest.html#basic-api

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

 263

In this case there was no separate test le. Instead, the python command in Listing 7 (p. 262) executed
the module named Py1359_1720_03.py as a script triggering the test to be run as described above (p.
262) .

30.4.4.4 The output

The -v switch in Listing 7 (p. 262) causes the verbose version of the output to be produced as shown
in Figure 4 (p. 263) . Once again, I set the test up in such a way as to cause it to fail for purposes of
illustration.

Figure 4 . Output produced by the test embedded in the docstring.

Trying:
sum(2,3)
Expecting:
6
**********************************************************************
File "Py1359_1720_03.py", line 4, in __main__
Failed example:
sum(2,3)
Expected:
6
Got:
5
1 items had no tests:
__main__.sum
**********************************************************************
1 items had failures:
1 of 1 in __main__
1 tests in 2 items.
0 passed and 1 failed.
***Test Failed*** 1 failures.

Table 30.11

30.5 Run the program

I encourage you to copy the code provided in this module. Execute the code and conrm that you get the
same results. Experiment with the code, making changes, and observing the results of your changes. Make
certain that you can explain why your changes behave as they do.

30.6 What's next?

Now that you know some of the mechanics of using doctest , you should study the next module in the
collection titled Itse1359-1720r-Review . In addition, you should study some of the many articles and
tutorials that are freely available on the web that provide insight into the use of doctest for unit testing.
Links to a few of those documents are provided below. You can nd many more with a simple web search.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

264 CHAPTER 30. ITSE1359-1720-DOCTEST

• 26.2. doctest  Test interactive Python examples 8

• Excerpt from book  Testing in Python using doctest 9
• Excerpt from book  Python: Unit Testing with Doctest 10
• Testing Your Code  The Hitchhiker's Guide to Python 11
• Agile Testing  Python unit testing part 1: the unittest module 12
• Agile Testing  Python unit testing part 2: the doctest module 13
• Agile Testing  Python unit testing part 3: the py.test tool and library 14
• Python3 Tutorial: Tests, DocTests, UnitTests  Python Course 15
• An Extended Introduction to the nose Unit Testing Framework  Running doctests in nose 16
• Doctests: run doctests with nose  nose 1.3.4 documentation 17
• Unit Testing Python Using doctest - YouTube 18

30.7 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1720-Doctest Introduction
• File: Itse1359-1720.htm
• Published: 11/10/14
• Revised: 03/04/15

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

8 https://docs.python.org/3/library/doctest.html
9 https://www.packtpub.com/books/content/testing-python-using-doctest
10 https://www.packtpub.com/books/content/python-unit-testing-doctest
11 http://docs.python-guide.org/en/latest/writing/tests/
12 http://agiletesting.blogspot.com/2005/01/python-unit-testing-part-1-unittest.html
13 http://agiletesting.blogspot.com/2005/01/python-unit-testing-part-2-doctest.html
14 http://agiletesting.blogspot.com/2005/01/python-unit-testing-part-3-pytest-tool.html
15 http://www.python-course.eu/python3_tests.php
16 http://ivory.idyll.org/articles/nose-intro.html#running-doctests-in-nose
17 http://nose.readthedocs.org/en/latest/plugins/doctests.html
18 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8EcFqpX-Lk

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

Chapter 31

Itse1359-1720r-Review 1

31.1 Table of contents

• Preface (p. 267)
• Questions (p. 267)
· 1 (p. 267) , 2 (p. 269) , 3 (p. 270) , 4 (p. 271) , 5 (p. 273) , 6 (p. 274) , 7 (p. 276) , 8 (p. 277) ,
9 (p. 279)
• Figure index (p. 280)
• Answers (p. 283)
• Miscellaneous (p. 286)

31.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
This module contains review questions and answers keyed to the module titled Itse1359-1720-Doctest
. In addition, some of the questions and answers are keyed to the document titled The Python Standard
Library  26.2 doctest  Test interactive Python examples 2 .
Once you study that material, you should be able to answer the review questions in this module.
The questions and the answers in this module are connected by hyperlinks to make it easy for you to
navigate from the question to the answer and back again.
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: with the exception of two bitmap images that are used
solely as spacers to separate the question section from the answer section, all of the material in this module
is presented in plain text format and should be accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display.
Note however that the required indentation may not be properly represented by an audio screen reader.)

31.3 Questions
31.3.1 Question 1
True or False? The test le shown in Figure 1 (p. 268) , when executed using the command shown in Figure
2 (p. 268) , produces the output shown in Figure 3 (p. 268) .

1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m51534/1.3/>.

2 https://docs.python.org/3/library/doctest.html

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265
266 CHAPTER 31. ITSE1359-1720R-REVIEW

Figure 1 . Question 1 test code named Py1359_1720r_01.txt.

Beginning of first test

> 2 + 3
5

End of first test

Beginning of second test
> 2 + 3
6

End of second test

Table 31.1

Figure 2 . Question 1 execution command.

python -m doctest Py1359_1720r_01.txt

Table 31.2

Figure 3 . Question 1 possible output.

**********************************************************************
File "Py1359_1720r_01.txt", line 2, in Py1359_1720r_01.txt
Failed example:
2 + 3
Expected:
6
Got:
5
**********************************************************************
File "Py1359_1720r_01.txt", line 7, in Py1359_1720r_01.txt
Failed example:
2 + 3
Expected:
6
Got:
5
**********************************************************************
1 items had failures:
2 of 2 in Py1359_1720r_01.txt
***Test Failed*** 2 failures.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

 267

Table 31.3

Go to answer 1 (p. 285)

31.3.2 Question 2
True or False? The test le shown in Figure 5 (p. 269) , when executed using the command shown in Figure
6 (p. 269) , produces the output shown in Figure 7 (p. 269) .

Figure 5 . Question 2 test code named Py1359_1720r_02.txt.

Beginning of test
> 2 + 3
5
End of test

Table 31.4

Figure 6 . Question 2 execution command.

python -m doctest Py1359_1720r_02.txt -v

Table 31.5

Figure 7 . Question 2 possible output.

Trying:
2 + 3
Expecting:
5
ok
1 items passed all tests:
1 tests in Py1359_1720r_02.txt
1 tests in 1 items.
1 passed and 0 failed.
Test passed.

Table 31.6

Go to answer 2 (p. 284)

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268 CHAPTER 31. ITSE1359-1720R-REVIEW

31.3.3 Question 3
True or False? Given the Python module shown in Figure 9 (p. 270) , when the test le shown in Figure
10 (p. 270) is executed using the command shown in Figure 11 (p. 270) , it produces the output shown in
Figure 12 (p. 271) .

Figure 9 . Question 3 Python module named Py1359_1720r_03.py.

def sum(parA,parB):
return parA + parB

def product(parC,parD):
return parC * parD

Table 31.7

Figure 10 . Question 3 test code named Py1359_1720r_03.txt.

> from Py1359_1720r_03 import sum

> sum(2,3)
5
> from Py1359_1720r_03 import product
> product(2,3)
6

Table 31.8

Figure 11 . Question 3 execution command.

python -m doctest -v Py1359_1720r_03.txt

Table 31.9

Figure 12 . Question 3 possible output.

continued on next page

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

 269

Trying:
from Py1359_1720r_03 import sum
Expecting nothing
ok
Trying:
sum(2,3)
Expecting:
5
ok
Trying:
from Py1359_1720r_03 import product
Expecting nothing
ok
Trying:
product(2,3)
Expecting:
6
ok
1 items passed all tests:
4 tests in Py1359_1720r_03.txt
4 tests in 1 items.
4 passed and 0 failed.
Test passed.

Table 31.10

Go to answer 3 (p. 284)

31.3.4 Question 4
True or False? Given the Python module shown in Figure 13 (p. 272) , execution of the module as a script
using the command shown in Figure 14 (p. 272) produces the output shown in Figure 15 (p. 273) .

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270 CHAPTER 31. ITSE1359-1720R-REVIEW

Figure 13 . Question 4 Python module named Py1359_1720r_04.py.

"""
Begin first test
> sum(2,3)
5

Begin second test

> product(2,3)
6
"""
def sum(parA,parB):
return parA + parB

def product(parC,parD):
return parC * parD

if __name__ == "__main__":
import doctest
doctest.testmod()

Table 31.11

Figure 14 . Question 4 execution command.

python Py1359_1720r_04.py -v

Table 31.12

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 271

Figure 15 . Question 4 possible output.

Trying:
sum(2,3)
Expecting:
5
ok
Trying:
product(2,3)
Expecting:
6
ok
2 items had no tests:
__main__.product
__main__.sum
1 items passed all tests:
2 tests in __main__
2 tests in 3 items.
2 passed and 0 failed.
Test passed.

Table 31.13

Go to answer 4 (p. 284)

31.3.5 Question 5
True or False? Given the Python module shown in Figure 16 (p. 273) , execution of the module as a script
using the command shown in Figure 17 (p. 274) produces the output shown in Figure 18 (p. 274) .

Figure 16 . Question 5 Python module named Py1359_1720r_05.py.

"""
> divide(2,3)
0
> divide(2,0)
Traceback (most recent call last):
...
ZeroDivisionError: integer division or modulo by zero
"""
def divide(parA,parB):
return parA//parB

if __name__ == "__main__":
import doctest
doctest.testmod()

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272 CHAPTER 31. ITSE1359-1720R-REVIEW

Table 31.14

Figure 17 . Question 5 execution command.

python Py1359_1720r_05.py -v

Table 31.15

Figure 18 . Question 5 possible output.

Trying:
divide(2,3)
Expecting:
0
ok
Trying:
divide(2,0)
Expecting:
Traceback (most recent call last):
...
ZeroDivisionError: integer division or modulo by zero
ok
1 items had no tests:
__main__.divide
1 items passed all tests:
2 tests in __main__
2 tests in 2 items.
2 passed and 0 failed.
Test passed.

Table 31.16

Go to answer 5 (p. 284)

31.3.6 Question 6
True or False? Given the Python module shown in Figure 19 (p. 275) , execution of the module as a script
using the command shown in Figure 20 (p. 275) produces the output shown in Figure 21 (p. 275) .

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 273

Figure 19 . Question 6 Python module named Py1359_1720r_06.py.

"""
> function(11)
Traceback (most recent call last):
...
ValueError: par must be <= 10
"""
def function(par):
if par > 10:
raise ValueError("par must be <= 10")
else:
return par

if __name__ == "__main__":
import doctest
doctest.testmod()

Table 31.17

Figure 20 . Question 6 execution command.

python Py1359_1720r_06.py -v

Table 31.18

Figure 21 . Question 6 possible output.

Trying:
function(11)
Expecting:
Traceback (most recent call last):
...
ValueError: par must be <= 10
ok
1 items had no tests:
__main__.function
1 items passed all tests:
1 tests in __main__
1 tests in 2 items.
1 passed and 0 failed.
Test passed.

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274 CHAPTER 31. ITSE1359-1720R-REVIEW

Table 31.19

Go to answer 6 (p. 284)

31.3.7 Question 7
True or False? Given the Python modules shown in Figure 22 (p. 276) and Figure 23 (p. 276) and the test
le shown in Figure 25 (p. 276) , execution of the command shown in Figure 24 (p. 276) , produces the
output shown in Figure 26 (p. 277) .

Figure 22 . Question 7 Python module named Py1359_1720r_07_runner.py.

import doctest
doctest.testfile(Py1359_1720r_07.txt)

Table 31.20

Figure 23 . Question 7 Python module named Py1359_1720r_07.py.

def sum(parA,parB):
return parA + parB

def product(parC,parD):
return parC * parD

Table 31.21

Figure 24 . Question 7 execution command.

python Py1359_1720r_07_runner.py

Table 31.22

Figure 25 . Question 7 test code named Py1359_1720r_07.txt.

continued on next page

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 275

> from Py1359_1720r_07 import sum

> sum(2,3)
5
> from Py1359_1720r_07 import product
> product(2,3)
5

Table 31.23

Figure 26 . Question 7 possible output.

**********************************************************************
File "Py1359_1720r_07.txt", line 5, in Py1359_1720r_07.txt
Failed example:
product(2,3)
Expected:
5
Got:
6
**********************************************************************
1 items had failures:
1 of 4 in Py1359_1720r_07.txt
***Test Failed*** 1 failures.

Table 31.24

Go to answer 7 (p. 283)

31.3.8 Question 8
True or False? Given the Python module shown in Figure 27 (p. 278) and the test le shown in Figure 28
(p. 278) , execution of the module as a script using the command shown in Figure 29 (p. 278) , produces
the output shown in Figure 30 (p. 279) .

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276 CHAPTER 31. ITSE1359-1720R-REVIEW

Figure 27 . Question 8 Python module named Py1359_1720r_08.py.

def sum(parA,parB):
return parA + parB

def product(parC,parD):
return parC * parD

if __name__ == "__main__":
import doctest
doctest.testfile("Py1359_1720r_08.txt")

Table 31.25

Figure 28 . Question 8 test code named Py1359_1720r_08.txt.

> from Py1359_1720r_08 import sum

> sum(2,3)
5
> from Py1359_1720r_08 import product
> product(2,3)
6

Table 31.26

Figure 29 . Question 8 execution command.

python Py1359_1720r_08.py -v

Table 31.27

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 277

Figure 30 . Question 8 possible output.

Trying:
from Py1359_1720r_08 import sum
Expecting nothing
ok
Trying:
sum(2,3)
Expecting:
5
ok
Trying:
from Py1359_1720r_08 import product
Expecting nothing
ok
Trying:
product(2,3)
Expecting:
6
ok
1 items passed all tests:
4 tests in Py1359_1720r_08.txt
4 tests in 1 items.
4 passed and 0 failed.
Test passed.

Table 31.28

Go to answer 8 (p. 283)

31.3.9 Question 9
True or False? Given the Python version 3 module shown in Figure 31 (p. 280) , execution of the module as
a script using the command shown in Figure 32 (p. 280) , produces the output shown in Figure 33 (p. 280)
.

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278 CHAPTER 31. ITSE1359-1720R-REVIEW

Figure 31 . Question 9 Python module named Py1359_1720r_09.py.

"""
> divide(1,3)
0.333333
"""
def divide(parA,parB):
return parA/parB

if __name__ == "__main__":
import doctest
doctest.testmod()

Table 31.29

Figure 32 . Question 9 execution command.

python Py1359_1720r_09.py -v

Table 31.30

Figure 33 . Question 9 possible output.

Trying:
divide(1,3)
Expecting:
0.3333333333333333
ok
1 items had no tests:
__main__.divide
1 items passed all tests:
1 tests in __main__
1 tests in 2 items.
1 passed and 0 failed.
Test passed.

Table 31.31

Go to answer 9 (p. 283)

31.4 Figure index

• Figure 1 (p. 268) . Question 1 test code named Py1359_1720r_01.txt.

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 279

• Figure 2 (p. 268) . Question 1 execution command.

• Figure 3 (p. 268) . Question 1 possible output.
• Figure 4 (p. 286) . Question 1 actual output.
• Figure 5 (p. 269) . Question 2 test code named Py1359_1720r_02.txt.
• Figure 6 (p. 269) . Question 2 execution command.
• Figure 7 (p. 269) . Question 2 possible output.
• Figure 8 (p. 285) . Question 2 actual output.
• Figure 9 (p. 270) . Question 3 Python module named Py1359_1720r_03.py.
• Figure 10 (p. 270) . Question 3 test code named Py1359_1720r_03.txt.
• Figure 11 (p. 270) . Question 3 execution command.
• Figure 12 (p. 271) . Question 3 possible output.
• Figure 13 (p. 272) . Question 4 Python module named Py1359_1720r_04.py.
• Figure 14 (p. 272) . Question 4 execution command.
• Figure 15 (p. 273) . Question 4 possible output.
• Figure 16 (p. 273) . Question 5 Python module named Py1359_1720r_05.py.
• Figure 17 (p. 274) . Question 5 execution command.
• Figure 18 (p. 274) . Question 5 possible output.
• Figure 19 (p. 275) . Question 6 Python module named Py1359_1720r_06.py.
• Figure 20 (p. 275) . Question 6 execution command.
• Figure 21 (p. 275) . Question 6 possible output.
• Figure 22 (p. 276) . Question 7 Python module named Py1359_1720r_07_runner.py.
• Figure 23 (p. 276) . Question 7 Python module named Py1359_1720r_07.py.
• Figure 24 (p. 276) . Question 7 execution command.
• Figure 25 (p. 276) . Question 7 test code named Py1359_1720r_07.txt.
• Figure 26 (p. 277) . Question 7 possible output.
• Figure 27 (p. 278) . Question 8 Python module named Py1359_1720r_08.py.
• Figure 28 (p. 278) . Question 8 test code named Py1359_1720r_08.txt.
• Figure 29 (p. 278) . Question 8 execution command.
• Figure 30 (p. 279) . Question 8 possible output.
• Figure 31 (p. 280) . Question 9 Python module named Py1359_1720r_09.py.
• Figure 32 (p. 280) . Question 9 execution command.
• Figure 33 (p. 280) . Question 9 possible output.
• Figure 34 (p. 283) . Question 9 actual output.

What is the meaning of the following two images?

These images were inserted here simply to insert some space between the questions and the answers to
keep them from being visible on the screen at the same time.

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280 CHAPTER 31. ITSE1359-1720R-REVIEW

This image was also inserted for the purpose of inserting space between the questions and the answers.

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 281

31.5 Answers
31.5.1 Answer 9
False. The actual output is shown in Figure 34 (p. 283) . This question was included to point out that
testing oating point results can be problematic. Many oating point values are simply estimates. Although
this example was purposely caused to fail, a given oating point computation may not produce exactly the
same results on dierent platforms. Therefore a test that species a given oating point result may pass on
one platform and fail on a dierent platform. The Python Standard Library  26.2 doctest  Test interactive
Python examples 3 provides some suggestions for dealing with this issue.

Figure 34 . Question 9 actual output.

Trying:
divide(1,3)
Expecting:
0.333333
**********************************************************************
File "Py1359_1720r_09.py", line 4, in __main__
Failed example:
divide(1,3)
Expected:
0.333333
Got:
0.3333333333333333
1 items had no tests:
__main__.divide
**********************************************************************
1 items had failures:
1 of 1 in __main__
1 tests in 2 items.
0 passed and 1 failed.
***Test Failed*** 1 failures.

Table 31.32

Go back to Question 9 (p. 279)

31.5.2 Answer 8
True. The call to testle at the end of Figure 27 (p. 278) illustrates another way to cause a test le to be
executed.
Go back to Question 8 (p. 277)

31.5.3 Answer 7
False. The output produced by the procedure described in this question includes the following error message:
NameError: name 'Py1359_1720r_07' is not dened
3 https://docs.python.org/3/library/doctest.html

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282 CHAPTER 31. ITSE1359-1720R-REVIEW

This indicates a syntax error in the specication of the name of the test le. While the concept is correct
and it is possible to use Python code in a module similar to that shown in Figure 22 (p. 276) to execute a
test le such as that shown in Figure 25 (p. 276) , the name of the test le must be enclosed in quotation
marks to be recognized as a test le. Enclosing the name of the test le in Figure 22 (p. 276) in quotes
would cause the procedure to produce the output shown in Figure 26 (p. 277) .
Go back to Question 7 (p. 276)

31.5.4 Answer 6
True.
Go back to Question 6 (p. 274)

31.5.5 Answer 5
True.
Go back to Question 5 (p. 273)

31.5.6 Answer 4
True.
Go back to Question 4 (p. 271)

31.5.7 Answer 3
True.
Go back to Question 3 (p. 270)

31.5.8 Answer 2
False. The actual output is shown in Figure 8 (p. 285) . This is a formatting issue. If you include explanatory
text in the text le, you must leave a blank line between the last line of specied output and the following
line of explanatory text. Otherwise, the explanatory text will be included as part of required output as
shown by the expected output value in Figure 8 (p. 285) .

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 283

Figure 8 . Question 2 actual output.

Trying:
2 + 3
Expecting:
5
End of test
**********************************************************************
File "Py1359_1720r_02.txt", line 2, in Py1359_1720r_02.txt
Failed example:
2 + 3
Expected:
5
End of test
Got:
5
**********************************************************************
1 items had failures:
1 of 1 in Py1359_1720r_02.txt
1 tests in 1 items.
0 passed and 1 failed.
***Test Failed*** 1 failures.

Table 31.33

Go back to Question 2 (p. 269)

31.5.9 Answer 1
False. The actual output is shown in Figure 4 (p. 286) . The test le contained two tests, one of which
passed and the other of which failed. Verbose output was not specied. Therefore, the report didn't include
information on the test that passed. The test le contained explanatory text, which is okay under certain
formatting conditions, which I will get into in a subsequent question..

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284 CHAPTER 31. ITSE1359-1720R-REVIEW

Figure 4 . Question 1 actual output.

**********************************************************************
File "Py1359_1720r_01.txt", line 7, in Py1359_1720r_01.txt
Failed example:
2 + 3
Expected:
6
Got:
5
**********************************************************************
1 items had failures:
1 of 2 in Py1359_1720r_01.txt
***Test Failed*** 1 failures.

Table 31.34

Go back to Question 1 (p. 267)

31.6 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1720r-Review
• File: Itse1359-1720r.htm
• Published: 11/10/14
• Revised: 03/04/15

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

Chapter 32

Itse1359-1900-Preface to Networking and

Databases 1

32.1 Table of contents

• Preface (p. 287)
• Networking with HTTP (p. 288)
• Dbm and shelve databases (p. 288)
• SQLite database (p. 289)
• Miscellaneous (p. 289)

32.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
The learning resource for the Networking and Databases portion of the course consists of material
from selected websites plus modules containing review questions and answers keyed to the material on those
websites.
The Networking and Databases portion of the course consists of three main areas of study:

• Networking with HTTP

• Dbm and shelve databases
• SQLite database

A list of selected websites plus review questions keyed to those websites is provided for each area of study.
The combined list of selected websites is:

• tutorialspoint - HTTP - Quick Guide 2

• w3.org - 3 Protocol Parameters 3
• The Python Standard Library - 21.12. http.client - HTTP protocol client 4
• The Python Standard Library - 12.5. dbm - Interfaces to Unix "databases" 5
• The Python Standard Library - 12.3. shelve - Python object persistence 6
1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m51585/1.3/>.
2 http://www.tutorialspoint.com/http/http_quick_guide.htm
3 http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec3.html
4 https://docs.python.org/3/library/http.client.html
5 https://docs.python.org/3/library/dbm.html
6 https://docs.python.org/3/library/shelve.html

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285
 CHAPTER 32. ITSE1359-1900-PREFACE TO NETWORKING AND
286
DATABASES

• The Python Standard Library - 12.1. pickle - Python object serialization 7

• The Python Standard Library - 4.10. Mapping Types - dict 8
• W3Schools SQL Tutorial 9
• The Python Standard Library - 12.6. SQLite3 - DB-API 2.0 interface for SQLite databases 10
• Python Central - Introduction to SQLite in Python 11
• udemy - SQLite for Beginners 12
• tutorialspoint - SQLite Tutorial 13
• ZetCode - SQLite tutorial 14

Take-home programming assignments may be based on any material on these websites as well as material
from any of the other modules in this collection of modules for teaching ITSE 1359. However, online tests
for the Networking and Databases portion of the course will be restricted to topics addressed in the
following three modules:

• Itse1359-1910-Networking with HTTP

• Itse1359-1930-Dbm and Shelve Databases
• Itse1359-1950-SQLite Database

32.3 Networking with HTTP

Networking is a very broad topic. There are many textbooks and websites that discuss Python programs
used for a variety of networking purposes, such as online chat, shared whiteboards, FTP, sockets, server
sockets, etc. However, in order to narrow the topic somewhat, this course and the topics covered by the
module titled Networking with HTTP concentrate mainly on what is probably the most common form of
networking: HTTP.
According to tutorialspoint - HTTP - Quick Guide 15 ,

The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is an application-level protocol for distributed, col-
laborative, hypermedia information systems. This is the foundation for data communication for
the World Wide Web (i.e.. internet) since 1990. HTTP is a generic and stateless protocol which
can be used for other purposes as well using extension of its request methods, error codes and
headers.

In other words, if you are reading this document online, you are probably accessing and reading it from a
website using HTTP.

32.4 Dbm and shelve databases

In layman's terms, a database is a structure that can maintain data on a persistent basis. In other words,
the data does not go away when the program that is accessing that data terminates. The same or other
programs can be started up later to access and manipulate the data in the database.
Python supports several dierent types of databases, one of which is DBM 16 . However, conguring
a system to support a particular type of database can be very tedious. For compatibility with dierent
7 https://docs.python.org/3/library/pickle.html
8 https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#mapping-types-dict
9 http://www.w3schools.com/sql/
10 https://docs.python.org/3/library/sqlite3.html
11 http://www.pythoncentral.io/introduction-to-sqlite-in-python/
12 https://www.udemy.com/blog/sqlite-tutorial/
13 http://www.tutorialspoint.com/sqlite/
14 http://zetcode.com/db/sqlite/
15 http://www.tutorialspoint.com/http/http_quick_guide.htm
16 https://docs.python.org/3/library/dbm.html

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 287

student's computing systems, this course will concentrate on a standard Portable DBM implementation 17
known as dbm.dumb. 18
According to Portable DBM implementation 19 , the dbm.dumb module is intended as a last resort
fallback for the dbm module when a more robust module is not available. The dbm.dumb module is not
written for speed and is not nearly as heavily used as the other database modules.
The dbm.dumb module provides a persistent dictionary-like interface which is written entirely in
Python. Unlike other modules such as dbm.gnu no external library is required. As with other persistent
mappings, the keys and values are always stored as bytes.
A shelf 20 is a persistent, dictionary-like object. The dierence with "dbm" databases is that the values
(not the keys!) in a shelf can be essentially arbitrary Python objects  anything that the pickle 21 module
can handle. This includes most class instances, recursive data types, and objects containing lots of shared
sub-objects. The keys are ordinary strings.
Aside from this brief description, this course will not address shelve 22 .

32.5 SQLite database

SQL stands for Structured Query Language . SQL is used to communicate with a database. According
to ANSI (American National Standards Institute) , it is the standard language for relational database
management systems.
According to The Python Standard Library - 12.6. sqlite3 - DB-API 2.0 interface for SQLite databases
23 ,

SQLite is a C library that provides a lightweight disk-based database that doesn't require a
separate server process and allows accessing the database using a nonstandard variant of the
SQL query language.

SQL is also a very broad topic. Considerable time, eort, and experience is required to master SQL. As
evidence of this fact, see the somewhat voluminous W3Schools SQL Tutorial 24 .
Knowledge of SQL is a prerequisite for understanding SQLite. It is unreasonable to expect a student to
learn SQL during a small portion of a one-semester course in Python. Therefore, the module titled Itse1359-
1950-SQLite Database will barely scratch the surface and will provide only a cursory introduction to the
use of SQLite.

32.6 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1900-Preface to Networking and Databases
• File: Itse1359-1900.htm
• Published: 11/11/14
• Revised: 06/23/17

17 https://docs.python.org/3/library/dbm.html#module-dbm.dumb
18 https://docs.python.org/3/library/dbm.html#module-dbm.dumb
19 https://docs.python.org/3/library/dbm.html#module-dbm.dumb
20 https://docs.python.org/3/library/shelve.html
21 https://docs.python.org/3/library/pickle.html#module-pickle
22 https://docs.python.org/3/library/shelve.html
23 https://docs.python.org/3/library/sqlite3.html
24 http://www.w3schools.com/sql/

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 CHAPTER 32. ITSE1359-1900-PREFACE TO NETWORKING AND
288
DATABASES

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1>

Chapter 33

Itse1359-1930-Dbm and Shelve

Databases 1

33.1 Table of contents

• Preface (p. 291)
• Questions (p. 292)
· 1 (p. 292) , 2 (p. 292) , 3 (p. 292) , 4 (p. 292) , 5 (p. 292) , 6 (p. 292) , 7 (p. 293) , 8 (p. 293) ,
9 (p. 293) , 10 (p. 293) , 11 (p. 293) , 12 (p. 294) , 13 (p. 294) , 14 (p. 295) , 15 (p. 296)
• Figure index (p. 298)
• Answers (p. 300)
• Miscellaneous (p. 303)

33.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
This module contains review questions and answers keyed to material on the following web sites:

• The Python Standard Library - 12.5. dbm - Interfaces to Unix "databases" 2

• The Python Standard Library - 12.3. shelve - Python object persistence 3
• The Python Standard Library - 12.1. pickle - Python object serialization 4
• The Python Standard Library - 4.10. Mapping Types - dict 5

Once you study that module, you should be able to answer the review questions in this module.
The questions and the answers in this module are connected by hyperlinks to make it easy for you to
navigate from the question to the answer and back again.
(Note to blind and visually impaired students: with the exception of two bitmap images that are used
solely as spacers to separate the question section from the answer section, all of the material in this module
is presented in plain text format and should be accessible using an audio screen reader or a braille display.
Note however that the required indentation may not be properly represented by an audio screen reader.)
1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m51562/1.5/>.
2 https://docs.python.org/3/library/dbm.html
3 https://docs.python.org/3/library/shelve.html
4 https://docs.python.org/3/library/pickle.html
5 https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#mapping-types-dict

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33.3 Questions
33.3.1 Question 1
True or False? The webpage at The Python Standard Library - 12.1. pickle - Python object serialization 6
contains the following warning:

Warning: The pickle module is not intended to be secure against erroneous or maliciously con-
structed data. Never unpickle data received from an untrusted or unauthenticated source.

Go to answer 1 (p. 302)

33.3.2 Question 2
True or False? The webpage at The Python Standard Library - 12.3. shelve - Python object persistence 7
contains the following warning:

Warning: Because the shelve module is backed by pickle, it is insecure to load a shelf from an
untrusted source. Like with pickle, loading a shelf can execute arbitrary code.

Go to answer 2 (p. 302)

33.3.3 Question 3
True or False? The webpage at The Python Standard Library - 12.5. dbm - Interfaces to Unix "databases"
8 contains the following warning:

Warning: The dbm module is not intended to be secure against erroneous or maliciously con-
structed data. Never use dbm data received from an untrusted or unauthenticated source.

Go to answer 3 (p. 302)

33.3.4 Question 4
True or False? dbm is a generic interface to variants of the DBM databases - dbm.gnu or dbm.ndbm
. If neither of these modules is installed, the program will raise a "Module not found" error.
Go to answer 4 (p. 302)

33.3.5 Question 5
True or False? The function named dbm.whichdb( lename ) can be called to determine which
database module should be used to open a given database le.
Go to answer 5 (p. 302)

33.3.6 Question 6
True or False? The function named dbm.getDatabase can be called to open an existing dbm database
le or to create a new dbm database le.
Go to answer 6 (p. 302)
6 https://docs.python.org/3/library/pickle.html
7 https://docs.python.org/3/library/shelve.html
8 https://docs.python.org/3/library/dbm.html

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 291

33.3.7 Question 7
True or False? The object returned by dbm.open supports the same basic functionality as tuples. Keys
and their corresponding values can be stored, retrieved, and deleted. The in operator and the k eys
method are available, as well as get and setdefault .
Go to answer 7 (p. 302)

33.3.8 Question 8
True or False? When using the dbm.dumb module, attempting to store a key or value that is not a string
will raise an exception.
Go to answer 8 (p. 302)

33.3.9 Question 9
True or False? The following statement appears on the webpage at The Python Standard Library - 12.5.
dbm - Interfaces to Unix "databases" 9 .

Note: The dbm.dumb module is intended as a last resort fallback for the dbm module when a
more robust module is not available. The dbm.dumb module is not written for speed and is not
nearly as heavily used as the other database modules.

Go to answer 9 (p. 302)

33.3.10 Question 10
True or False? The function named dbm.dumb.open can be called to create or open a dumbdbm
database and return a dumbdbm object.
Go to answer 10 (p. 301)

33.3.11 Question 11
True or False? The code in the top panel of Figure 1 (p. 293) produces the output shown in the bottom
panel of Figure 1 (p. 293) .

Figure 1 . Question 11.

import dbm.dumb

dumbDb = dbm.dumb.open('database', 'c')

dumbDb[b'aNumber'] = 1234
print(dumbDb.get('aNumber'))

dumbDb.close()
===============================================================================
1234

9 https://docs.python.org/3/library/dbm.html

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Table 33.1

Go to answer 11 (p. 301)

33.3.12 Question 12
True or False? The code in the top panel of Figure 3 (p. 294) produces the output shown in the bottom
panel of Figure 3 (p. 294) .

Figure 3 . Question 12.

import dbm.dumb

dumbDb = dbm.dumb.open('database', 'c')

dumbDb[b'aNumber'] = b'1234'
print(dumbDb.get('aNumber'))

dumbDb.close()
===============================================================================
b'1234'

Table 33.2

Go to answer 12 (p. 301)

33.3.13 Question 13
True or False? The code in the top panel of Figure 4 (p. 295) produces the output shown in the bottom
panel of Figure 4 (p. 295) .

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 293

Figure 4 . Question 13.

import dbm.dumb

dumbDb = dbm.dumb.open('database', 'c')

empName = b'Joe'

dumbDb[b'name'] = empName
dumbDb[b"cubicle"] = b"639"
dumbDb[b"phone"] = b"617.665.2154"

if(empName in dumbDb):
print('name: ', dumbDb.get(b'name'))
print('cubicle: ', dumbDb.get(b'cubicle'))
print('phone: ', dumbDb.get(b'phone'))
else:
print("Not in dumbDb")

dumbDb.close()
===============================================================================
name: b'Joe'
cubicle: b'639'
phone: b'617.665.2154'

Table 33.3

Go to answer 13 (p. 301)

33.3.14 Question 14
True or False? The code in the top panel of Figure 6 (p. 296) produces the output shown in the bottom
panel of Figure 6 (p. 296) .

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294 CHAPTER 33. ITSE1359-1930-DBM AND SHELVE DATABASES

Figure 6 . Question 14.

import dbm.dumb

dumbDb = dbm.dumb.open('database', 'c')

empName = b'Joe'

dumbDb[b'name'] = empName
dumbDb[b"cubicle"] = b"639"
dumbDb[b"phone"] = b"617.665.2154"

if(b'name' in dumbDb):
print('name: ', dumbDb.get(b'name'))
print('cubicle: ', dumbDb.get(b'cubicle'))
print('phone: ', dumbDb.get(b'phone'))
else:
print("Not in dumbDb")

dumbDb.close()
===============================================================================
name: b'Joe'
cubicle: b'639'
phone: b'617.665.2154'

Table 33.4

Go to answer 14 (p. 301)

33.3.15 Question 15
True or False? The code in the top panel of Figure 7 (p. 296) produces the output shown in the bottom
panel of Figure 7 (p. 296) .
Figure 7 . Question 15.

import dbm.dumb

dumbDb = dbm.dumb.open('database', 'c')

#Create keys and values

myKeys = b'name',b'cubicle',b'phone',b'age',b'gender',b'marital'
myValues = b'Joe',b'639',b'333.444.5555',b'39',b'male',b'married'

#Populate the database

for cnt in range(len(myKeys)):
dumbDb[myKeys[cnt]] = myValues[cnt]

print('Get and display values')

values = dumbDb.values()

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 295

for value in values:

print(value)

print()#blank line
print('Get and display keys')
keys = dumbDb.keys()
for key in keys:
print(key)

print()
print('Attempt to pop and display two values')
print(dumbDb.pop(b'phone','no phone'))
print(dumbDb.pop(b'weight','no weight'))

print()
print('Get and display keys and values')
print('Database length',len(dumbDb))
items = dumbDb.items()
for item in items:
print(item)

print()
print('Delete a key/value pair and display again')
del dumbDb[b'cubicle']
print('Database length',len(dumbDb))
items = dumbDb.items()
for item in items:
print(item)

dumbDb.close()
===============================================================================
Get and display values
b'name'
b'age'
b'phone'
b'marital'
b'cubicle'
b'gender'

Get and display keys

b'Joe'
b'39'
b'333.444.5555'
b'married'
b'639'
b'male'

Attempt to pop and display two values

b'333.444.5555'
no weight

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296 CHAPTER 33. ITSE1359-1930-DBM AND SHELVE DATABASES

Get and display keys and values

Database length 5
(b'name', b'Joe')
(b'age', b'39')
(b'marital', b'married')
(b'cubicle', b'639')
(b'gender', b'male')

Delete a key/value pair and display again

Database length 4
(b'name', b'Joe')
(b'age', b'39')
(b'marital', b'married')
(b'gender', b'male')
Go to answer 15 (p. 300)

33.4 Figure index

• Figure 1 (p. 293) . Question 11.
• Figure 2 (p. 301) . Answer 11.
• Figure 3 (p. 294) . Question 12.
• Figure 4 (p. 295) . Question 13.
• Figure 5 (p. 301) . Answer 13.
• Figure 6 (p. 296) . Question 14.
• Figure 7 (p. 296) . Question 15.
• Figure 8 (p. 300) . Answer 15.

What is the meaning of the following two images?

These images were inserted here simply to insert some space between the questions and the answers to
keep them from being visible on the screen at the same time.

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 297

This image was also inserted for the purpose of inserting space between the questions and the answers.

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298 CHAPTER 33. ITSE1359-1930-DBM AND SHELVE DATABASES

33.5 Answers
33.5.1 Answer 15
False. The output is shown in Figure 8 (p. 300) . The keys and the values were switched in the bottom
panel of Figure 7 (p. 296) .

Figure 8 . Answer 15.

Get and display values

b'Joe'
b'39'
b'333.444.5555'
b'married'
b'639'
b'male'

Get and display keys

b'name'
b'age'
b'phone'
b'marital'
b'cubicle'
b'gender'

Attempt to pop and display two values

b'333.444.5555'
no weight

Get and display keys and values

Database length 5
(b'name', b'Joe')
(b'age', b'39')
(b'marital', b'married')
(b'cubicle', b'639')
(b'gender', b'male')

Delete a key/value pair and display again

Database length 4
(b'name', b'Joe')
(b'age', b'39')
(b'marital', b'married')
(b'gender', b'male')

Table 33.5

Go back to Question 15 (p. 296)

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 299

33.5.2 Answer 14
True.
Go back to Question 14 (p. 295)

33.5.3 Answer 13
False. The output is shown in Figure 5 (p. 301) . The in operator searches for a match in the keys and
does not search for a match in the values .

Figure 5 . Answer 13.

Not in dumbDb

Table 33.6

Go back to Question 13 (p. 294)

33.5.4 Answer 12
True.
Go back to Question 12 (p. 294)

33.5.5 Answer 11
False. The code in Figure 1 (p. 293) produces an error by attempting to store a number as a value. The
output (with some text deleted for brevity) is shown in Figure 2 (p. 301) .

Figure 2 . Answer 11.

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "1359-1930-11.py", line 11, in <module>
dumbDb[b'aNumber'] = 1234
...
raise TypeError("values must be bytes or strings")
TypeError: values must be bytes or strings

Table 33.7

Go back to Question 11 (p. 293)

33.5.6 Answer 10
True. See The Python Standard Library - 12.5. dbm - Interfaces to Unix "databases" 10 .
Go back to Question 10 (p. 293)
10 https://docs.python.org/3/library/dbm.html

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300 CHAPTER 33. ITSE1359-1930-DBM AND SHELVE DATABASES

33.5.7 Answer 9
True as of 11/09/2014.
Go back to Question 9 (p. 293)

33.5.8 Answer 8
True. See comments in sample code at The Python Standard Library - 12.5. dbm - Interfaces to Unix
"databases" 11 .
Go back to Question 8 (p. 293)

33.5.9 Answer 7
False. The object returned by dbm.open supports the same basic functionality as dictionaries .
Keys and their corresponding values can be stored, retrieved, and deleted. The in operator and the keys
method are available, as well as get and setdefault .
Go back to Question 7 (p. 293)

33.5.10 Answer 6
False. The function named dbm.open can be called to open an existing dbm database le or to create
a new dbm database le.
Go back to Question 6 (p. 292)

33.5.11 Answer 5
True.
Go back to Question 5 (p. 292)

33.5.12 Answer 4
False. dbm is a generic interface to variants of the DBM databases - dbm.gnu or dbm.ndbm . If
neither of these modules is installed, the slow-but-simple implementation in module dbm.dumb will be
used.
Go back to Question 4 (p. 292)

33.5.13 Answer 3
False. As of 11/09/2014, no such warning appears on the referenced webpage. Therefore, it might be
concluded that even though shelve has features that are not available in dbm , dbm is the more
secure of the two. As a result, this course will concentrate on dbm and ignore shelve .
Go back to Question 3 (p. 292)

33.5.14 Answer 2
True as of 11/09/2014.
Go back to Question 2 (p. 292)

33.5.15 Answer 1
True as of 11/09/2014.
Go back to Question 1 (p. 292)
11 https://docs.python.org/3/library/dbm.html

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 301

33.6 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-1930-Dbm and Shelve Databases
• File: Itse1359-1930.htm
• Published: 11/10/14
• Revised: 07/28/16

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

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302 CHAPTER 33. ITSE1359-1930-DBM AND SHELVE DATABASES

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Chapter 34

Itse1359-2110-Preface to Putting Python

to Work 1

34.1 Table of contents

• Discussion (p. 305)
• Miscellaneous (p. 306)

34.2 Discussion
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
This material is provided for the benet of those students who are interested in expanding their learning
experience beyond the minimum requirements of the course titled ITSE 1359 Introduction to Scripting
Languages: Python . Knowledge of the material in this sub-collection titled Putting Python to Work
is not a requirement of the course.
During my 20+ years of teaching computer programming, I have learned that many students are more
likely to succeed in the course if I provide interesting and useful projects for them to work on in addition
to simply computing sales-tax tables, etc. Therefore, I try to provide projects such as image processing,
network programming, event-driven programming, game programming, etc. in addition to the more boring
text-only types of projects in most of the courses that I teach.
Several interesting libraries and Ebooks for doing this sort of programming with Python are freely avail-
able on the web including the following:

• Pygame 2 - special eects, simulations, and games.

• Blender 3 - 3D modeling
• Guzdial's book 4 - media computation (images, audio, etc.)
• Python at Codecademy 5 - an interactive Python tutorial
• Livewires 6 - computer animation and programming
• Matplotlib 7 - 2D plotting
1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m52497/1.4/>.
2 http://pygame.org/news.html
3 http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Doc:2.6/Manual/Extensions/Python/Intro_to_Python
4 http://coweb.cc.gatech.edu/mediaComp-plan/uploads/26/book-Sp2003.pdf
5 http://www.codecademy.com/en/tracks/python
6 http://www.livewires.org.uk/about/activities/
7 http://matplotlib.org/

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303
304 CHAPTER 34. ITSE1359-2110-PREFACE TO PUTTING PYTHON TO WORK

• Python Imaging Library (PIL) 8 - image processing

• Pillow 9 - image processing
• John Zelle's Graphics Module 10 - graphics and animation
• Pythonxy 11 - scientic and engineering software for numerical computations
• Numpy and SciPy 12 - mathematical and numerical routines in pre-compiled, fast functions often
required by other libraries.
• The Invent with Python Bookshelf 13 - A large number of free downloadable Python Ebooks

Many of the items in the above list could be used to develop interesting and useful programming projects for
use in this course. There is a problem, however. Many of the items in the list were developed using Python
version 2.x and have not yet been updated for compatibility with Python 3.x or later as of January 2015.
Therefore, some of the items in the above list are not compatible with the version of Python being used for
this course.
As time goes on, I plan to monitor the state of these items and to update the contents of this sub-collection
to explore the use of the items in this portion of the course material. Therefore, you should consider this
portion of the course material to be a work in process.
I will begin with Pygame 14 , which is compatible with Python version 3.4.

34.3 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-2110-Preface to Putting Python to Work
• File: Itse1359-2110.htm
• Published: 01/02/15

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

8 http://www.pythonware.com/products/pil/
9 https://pillow.readthedocs.org/
10 http://cs.nyu.edu/∼amos/courses/computer_programming/index.php?title=John_Zelle%27s_Graphics_Module
11 https://code.google.com/p/pythonxy/
12 http://www.engr.ucsb.edu/∼shell/che210d/numpy.pdf
13 http://inventwithpython.com/bookshelf/
14 http://pygame.org/news.html

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Chapter 35

Itse1359-2510-Getting Started with the

Online Python Tutor Code Visualizer 1

35.1 Table of contents

• Preface (p. 307)
• Discussion (p. 307)
· Stepping through the program (p. 308)
· A step-through session (p. 308)
· Sharing a step-through session (p. 308)
• Miscellaneous (p. 309)

35.2 Preface
This module is one in a collection of modules on Python designed for teaching ITSE 1359 Introduction to
Scripting Languages: Python at Austin Community College in Austin, TX. This module concentrates on
the use of the Online Python Tutor 2 , which includes a free educational code visualizer tool created by
Philip Guo 3 .
This code visualizer tool helps students overcome a fundamental barrier to learning programming: un-
derstanding what happens as the computer executes each line of a program's source code. Using this code
visualizer tool, a teacher or student can write Python, Java, and JavaScript programs in the Web browser
and visualize what the computer is doing step-by-step as it executes those programs.

35.3 Discussion
The primary benet of this code visualizer tool 4 is that it allows a student to step through a program one
instruction at a time, using Python 2.7 or Python 3.3, and to see what the computer is doing as the program
executes. A secondary benet is the ability to share a step-through session with another person online and
to discuss the behavior of the program while stepping through the program.
1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m53197/1.1/>.
2 http://pythontutor.com/
3 http://www.pgbovine.net/
4 http://pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=edit

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305
 CHAPTER 35. ITSE1359-2510-GETTING STARTED WITH THE ONLINE
306
PYTHON TUTOR CODE VISUALIZER

35.3.1 Stepping through the program

You have to experience this code visualizer tool in order to really appreciate it. Rather than trying to
explain it myself, I am going to refer you to a web resource that incorporates the code visualizer tool. The
interactive online book titled How To Think Like a Computer Scientist 5 uses this code visualizer tool to
create a feature known in the book as CodeLens . According to the book,
"...you can also execute Python code with the assistance of a unique visualization tool. This tool, known
as codelens , allows you to control the step by step execution of a program. It also lets you see the
values of all variables as they are created and modied."
The chapter titled The while Statement 6 in that book contains an excellent example of stepping through
a program using the code visualizer tool. I will refer you to that example to gain an appreciation of the code
visualizer tool.

35.3.2 A step-through session

In addition to using the code visualizer tool after it has been incorporated into interactive documents such
as the book discussed above, students can also use the code visualizer tool directly 7 . In this case, you
simply

• Select your version of Python from a drop-down list.

• Type or paste your code into a text window.
• Press a button labeled Visualize Execution.

That causes four more buttons with the following labels to appear:

• First
• Back
• Forward
• Last

You can click those buttons to navigate forward or backward through the program while observing the
information that is displayed on the screen to the right of the code box.
Links to several Python example programs are provided near the bottom of the page here 8 .

35.3.3 Sharing a step-through session

There is a button in the upper-left corner of this page 9 labeled Start a shared session . The label on
the button describes its purpose.
Right above the button, there is a hyperlink that reads What are shared sessions? 10 Selecting that link
will start a video describing how you can share and discuss a session with a tutor or other individual on
another computer somewhere on the Internet. The sharing interface includes a text chat box for discussing
the session. If you can establish an audio or video connection (using something like Google Hangout) you
can also discuss the behavior of the program by voice while stepping through and jointly observing the
behavior of the program.
All of this capability is available free of charge, but the author does request that you provide feedback
to help in his research eort.
5 http://interactivepython.org/courselib/static/thinkcspy/GeneralIntro/SpecialWaystoExecutePythoninthisBook.html
6 http://interactivepython.org/courselib/static/thinkcspy/MoreAboutIteration/ThewhileStatement.html
7 http://www.pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=edit
8 http://www.pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=edit
9 http://www.pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=edit
10 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2TIjNArOK4

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 307

35.4 Run the program

I encourage you to go online and run some of the example programs that are provided near the bottom of the
page here 11 . I also encourage you to open the online book titled How To Think Like a Computer Scientist
12 and experiment with the codelens feature of that book.

35.5 Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

Housekeeping material
• Module name: Itse1359-2510-Getting Started with the Online Python Tutor Code Visualizer
• File: Itse1359-2510.htm
• Published: 02/15/15

Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download
a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

11 http://www.pythontutor.com/visualize.html#mode=edit
12 http://interactivepython.org/courselib/static/thinkcspy/toc.html

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308 INDEX

Index of Keywords and Terms

Keywords are listed by the section with that keyword (page numbers are in parentheses). Keywords
do not necessarily appear in the text of the page. They are merely associated with that section. Ex.
apples, Ÿ 1.1 (1) Terms are referenced by the page they appear on. Ex. apples, 1

A Addition, Ÿ 18(137), Ÿ 19(143) Ÿ 14(103), Ÿ 15(111), Ÿ 16(121), Ÿ 17(129),

append to list, Ÿ 17(129) Ÿ 25(189), Ÿ 26(207), Ÿ 27(225)
Identiers, Ÿ 5(23)
B batch le, Ÿ 6(31) Identity, Ÿ 18(137), Ÿ 19(143)
Bitwise And, Ÿ 18(137), Ÿ 19(143) if statement, Ÿ 20(149)
Bitwise Exclusive Or, Ÿ 18(137), Ÿ 19(143) if...else, Ÿ 20(149)
Bitwise Inversion, Ÿ 18(137), Ÿ 19(143) import, Ÿ 20(149)
Bitwise Or, Ÿ 18(137), Ÿ 19(143) indentation., Ÿ 7(41)
break, Ÿ 24(177) Indexed Assignment, Ÿ 18(137), Ÿ 19(143)
Indexed Deletion, Ÿ 18(137), Ÿ 19(143)
C class, Ÿ 26(207), Ÿ 27(225)
indexing, Ÿ 9(59), Ÿ 10(67), Ÿ 18(137),
code visualizer, Ÿ 35(307)
Ÿ 19(143)
Concatenation, Ÿ 18(137), Ÿ 19(143)
inheritance, Ÿ 28(231)
construction of a Python program, Ÿ 7(41)
Containment Test, Ÿ 18(137), Ÿ 19(143) K keyword arguments, Ÿ 25(189)
continue, Ÿ 24(177)
counter variable, Ÿ 17(129) L Left Shift, Ÿ 18(137), Ÿ 19(143)
less than or equal to, Ÿ 17(129)
D database, Ÿ 33(291) list, Ÿ 9(59), Ÿ 10(67), Ÿ 17(129), Ÿ 21(157)
databases, Ÿ 32(287)
dbm, Ÿ 33(291) M mapping, Ÿ 9(59), Ÿ 10(67)
decision logic, Ÿ 17(129) method, Ÿ 26(207), Ÿ 27(225)
default arguments, Ÿ 25(189) modularity, Ÿ 17(129)
dictionary, Ÿ 9(59), Ÿ 10(67) module, Ÿ 3(15)
Dierence, Ÿ 18(137), Ÿ 19(143) modules, Ÿ 20(149)
Division, Ÿ 18(137), Ÿ 19(143) Modulo, Ÿ 18(137), Ÿ 19(143)
Division (oor), Ÿ 18(137), Ÿ 19(143) Multiplication, Ÿ 18(137), Ÿ 19(143)
doctest, Ÿ 30(255), Ÿ 31(267) mutable sequence, Ÿ 9(59), Ÿ 10(67)

E else, Ÿ 24(177) N Negation (Arithmetic), Ÿ 18(137), Ÿ 19(143)

empty tuple, Ÿ 13(95), Ÿ 14(103), Ÿ 15(111), Negation (Logical), Ÿ 18(137), Ÿ 19(143)
Ÿ 16(121) nested if statements, Ÿ 20(149)
Equality, Ÿ 18(137), Ÿ 19(143) nested loops, Ÿ 22(163), Ÿ 23(169)
Exponentiation, Ÿ 18(137), Ÿ 19(143) nesting, Ÿ 11(81), Ÿ 12(89)
networking, Ÿ 32(287)
F for loop, Ÿ 21(157), Ÿ 22(163), Ÿ 23(169), numbers, Ÿ 4(17)
Ÿ 24(177)
function, Ÿ 25(189) O object, Ÿ 26(207), Ÿ 27(225)
Online Python Tutor, Ÿ 35(307)
G getting started, Ÿ 2(7) Ordering, Ÿ 18(137), Ÿ 19(143)
GUI, Ÿ 29(239)
P package, Ÿ 3(15)
I identier, Ÿ 11(81), Ÿ 12(89), Ÿ 13(95), pass, Ÿ 24(177)

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INDEX 309

path, Ÿ 6(31) Slice Deletion, Ÿ 18(137), Ÿ 19(143)

preface, Ÿ 1(1) slicing, Ÿ 9(59), Ÿ 10(67), Ÿ 18(137), Ÿ 19(143)
pygame, Ÿ 34(305) string, Ÿ 21(157)
python, Ÿ 1(1), Ÿ 2(7), Ÿ 3(15), Ÿ 4(17), String Formatting, Ÿ 18(137), Ÿ 19(143)
Ÿ 5(23), Ÿ 6(31), Ÿ 7(41), Ÿ 8(51), Ÿ 9(59), strings, Ÿ 9(59), Ÿ 10(67)
Ÿ 10(67), Ÿ 11(81), Ÿ 12(89), Ÿ 13(95), subscription, Ÿ 9(59), Ÿ 10(67)
Ÿ 14(103), Ÿ 15(111), Ÿ 16(121), Ÿ 17(129), Subtraction, Ÿ 18(137), Ÿ 19(143)
Ÿ 18(137), Ÿ 19(143), Ÿ 20(149), Ÿ 21(157),
Ÿ 22(163), Ÿ 23(169), Ÿ 24(177), Ÿ 25(189), T tkinter, Ÿ 29(239)
Ÿ 26(207), Ÿ 27(225), Ÿ 28(231), Ÿ 29(239), Truth Test, Ÿ 18(137), Ÿ 19(143)
Ÿ 30(255), Ÿ 31(267), Ÿ 32(287), Ÿ 33(291), tuple, Ÿ 11(81), Ÿ 12(89)
Ÿ 34(305), Ÿ 35(307) tuple with only one element, Ÿ 13(95),
Ÿ 14(103), Ÿ 15(111), Ÿ 16(121)
R range function, Ÿ 21(157)
repetition, Ÿ 17(129) U unpacking tuples, Ÿ 15(111), Ÿ 16(121)
required arguments, Ÿ 25(189)
V variable, Ÿ 11(81), Ÿ 12(89), Ÿ 13(95),
review, Ÿ 4(17), Ÿ 5(23), Ÿ 9(59), Ÿ 12(89),
Ÿ 14(103), Ÿ 15(111), Ÿ 16(121), Ÿ 17(129),
Ÿ 14(103), Ÿ 15(111), Ÿ 16(121), Ÿ 17(129),
Ÿ 20(149), Ÿ 25(189), Ÿ 26(207), Ÿ 27(225),
Ÿ 19(143), Ÿ 20(149), Ÿ 21(157), Ÿ 23(169),
Ÿ 28(231), Ÿ 29(239)
Ÿ 27(225)
variable-length arguments, Ÿ 25(189)
Right Shift, Ÿ 18(137), Ÿ 19(143)
Variables, Ÿ 5(23)
S script, Ÿ 3(15), Ÿ 6(31) visualizer, Ÿ 8(51)
sequence, Ÿ 9(59), Ÿ 10(67), Ÿ 21(157)
W while loop, Ÿ 17(129), Ÿ 22(163), Ÿ 23(169),
shelve, Ÿ 33(291)
Ÿ 24(177)
Slice Assignment, Ÿ 18(137), Ÿ 19(143)

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310 ATTRIBUTIONS

Attributions
Collection: Python Scripting Language
Edited by: Ken Ninh
URL: http://cnx.org/content/col11986/1.1/
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-1000-Preface"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51307/1.14/
Pages: 1-6
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-1010-Getting Started"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51309/1.5/
Pages: 7-14
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-1015-Program Organization"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51311/1.2/
Pages: 15-16
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-1020r-Review"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51317/1.2/
Pages: 17-22
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-1030r-Review"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51319/1.3/
Pages: 23-29
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-1050-Introduction to Scripts"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51331/1.8/
Pages: 31-39
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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ATTRIBUTIONS 311

Module: "Itse1359-1060-Syntax"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51348/1.4/
Pages: 41-49
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-1065-Visualizing Python"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m53203/1.3/
Pages: 51-58
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-1080r-Review"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51352/1.5/
Pages: 59-66
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-1090-Lists Part 2"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51355/1.6/
Pages: 67-80
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-1110-Nested Tuples"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51387/1.5/
Pages: 81-87
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-1110r-Review"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51393/1.3/
Pages: 89-93
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-1120-Empty and Single-Item Tuples"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51383/1.4/
Pages: 95-102
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-1120r-Review"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51376/1.3/
Pages: 103-110
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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312 ATTRIBUTIONS

Module: "Itse1359-1130-Unpacking Tuples"

By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51378/1.4/
Pages: 111-119
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-1130r-Review"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51390/1.4/
Pages: 121-127
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-1210r-Review"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51400/1.3/
Pages: 129-135
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-1220-Operators"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51405/1.3/
Pages: 137-142
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-1220r-Review"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51407/1.4/
Pages: 143-148
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-1230r-Review"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51411/1.2/
Pages: 149-155
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-1240r-Review"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51415/1.3/
Pages: 157-162
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-1250-Nested Loops"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51428/1.3/
Pages: 163-167
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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ATTRIBUTIONS 313

Module: "Itse1359-1250r-Review"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51420/1.3/
Pages: 169-175
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-1260-Loop Modiers"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51430/1.4/
Pages: 177-187
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-1280-Function Arguments"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51433/1.5/
Pages: 189-205
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-1410-Overview of Python classes"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51443/1.6/
Pages: 207-224
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-1410r-Review"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51442/1.3/
Pages: 225-229
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-1450-Inheritance"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51465/1.3/
Pages: 231-238
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-1610-GUI Programming"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51474/1.5/
Pages: 239-253
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-1720-Doctest"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51550/1.3/
Pages: 255-265
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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314 ATTRIBUTIONS

Module: "Itse1359-1720r-Review"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51534/1.3/
Pages: 267-286
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-1900-Preface to Networking and Databases"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51585/1.3/
Pages: 287-290
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-1930-Dbm and Shelve Databases"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m51562/1.5/
Pages: 291-303
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-2110-Preface to Putting Python to Work"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m52497/1.4/
Pages: 305-306
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Module: "Itse1359-2510-Getting Started with the Online Python Tutor Code Visualizer"
By: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m53197/1.1/
Pages: 307-309
Copyright: R.G. (Dick) Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Python Scripting Language
Python Scripting Language

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