Variables and Types

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON

Hugo Bowne-Anderson
Data Scientist at DataCamp
Variable
Specific, case-sensitive name
Call up value through variable name

1.79 m - 68.7 kg

height = 1.79
weight = 68.7
height

1.79

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Calculate BMI
height = 1.79 68.7 / 1.79 ** 2
weight = 68.7
height
21.4413

1.79
weight / height ** 2

weight
BMI = 21.4413
height2

bmi = weight / height ** 2

bmi

21.4413

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Reproducibility
height = 1.79
weight = 68.7
bmi = weight / height ** 2
print(bmi)

21.4413

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Reproducibility
height = 1.79
weight = 74.2 # <-
bmi = weight / height ** 2
print(bmi)

23.1578

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Python Types
type(bmi)

float

day_of_week = 5
type(day_of_week)

int

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Python Types (2)
x = "body mass index"
y = 'this works too'
type(y)

str

z = True
type(z)

bool

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Python Types (3)
2 + 3

'ab' + 'cd'

'abcd'

Different type = different behavior!

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
 Python Lists
INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON

Hugo Bowne-Anderson
Data Scientist at DataCamp
Python Data Types
float - real numbers
int - integer numbers

str - string, text

bool - True, False

height = 1.73
tall = True

Each variable represents single value

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Problem
Data Science: many data points

Height of entire family

height1 = 1.73
height2 = 1.68
height3 = 1.71
height4 = 1.89

Inconvenient

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Python List
[a, b, c]

[1.73, 1.68, 1.71, 1.89]

[1.73, 1.68, 1.71, 1.89]

fam = [1.73, 1.68, 1.71, 1.89]

fam

[1.73, 1.68, 1.71, 1.89]

Name a collection of values

Contain any type

Contain different types

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Python List
[a, b, c]

fam = ["liz", 1.73, "emma", 1.68, "mom", 1.71, "dad", 1.89]

fam

['liz', 1.73, 'emma', 1.68, 'mom', 1.71, 'dad', 1.89]

fam2 = [["liz", 1.73],

["emma", 1.68],
["mom", 1.71],
["dad", 1.89]]
fam2

[['liz', 1.73], ['emma', 1.68], ['mom', 1.71], ['dad', 1.89]]

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
List type
type(fam)

list

type(fam2)

list

Specific functionality

Specific behavior

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
 Subsetting Lists
INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON

Hugo Bowne-Anderson
Data Scientist at DataCamp
Subsetting lists
fam = ["liz", 1.73, "emma", 1.68, "mom", 1.71, "dad", 1.89]
fam

['liz', 1.73, 'emma', 1.68, 'mom', 1.71, 'dad', 1.89]

fam[3]

1.68

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Subsetting lists
['liz', 1.73, 'emma', 1.68, 'mom', 1.71, 'dad', 1.89]

fam[6]

'dad'

fam[-1]

1.89

fam[7]

1.89

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Subsetting lists
['liz', 1.73, 'emma', 1.68, 'mom', 1.71, 'dad', 1.89]

fam[6]

'dad'

fam[-1] # <-

1.89

fam[7] # <-

1.89

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
List slicing
fam

['liz', 1.73, 'emma', 1.68, 'mom', 1.71, 'dad', 1.89]

fam[3:5]

[1.68, 'mom']

fam[1:4]

[1.73, 'emma', 1.68]

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
List slicing
fam

['liz', 1.73, 'emma', 1.68, 'mom', 1.71, 'dad', 1.89]

fam[:4]

['liz', 1.73, 'emma', 1.68]

fam[5:]

[1.71, 'dad', 1.89]

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
 Manipulating Lists
INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON

Hugo Bowne-Anderson
Data Scientist at DataCamp
List Manipulation
Change list elements
Add list elements

Remove list elements

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Changing list elements
fam = ["liz", 1.73, "emma", 1.68, "mom", 1.71, "dad", 1.89]
fam

['liz', 1.73, 'emma', 1.68, 'mom', 1.71, 'dad', 1.89]

fam[7] = 1.86
fam

['liz', 1.73, 'emma', 1.68, 'mom', 1.71, 'dad', 1.86]

fam[0:2] = ["lisa", 1.74]

fam

['lisa', 1.74, 'emma', 1.68, 'mom', 1.71, 'dad', 1.86]

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Adding and removing elements
fam + ["me", 1.79]

['lisa', 1.74,'emma', 1.68, 'mom', 1.71, 'dad', 1.86, 'me', 1.79]

fam_ext = fam + ["me", 1.79]

del fam[2]
fam

['lisa', 1.74, 1.68, 'mom', 1.71, 'dad', 1.86]

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Behind the scenes (1)
x = ["a", "b", "c"]

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Behind the scenes (1)
x = ["a", "b", "c"]
y = x
y[1] = "z"
y

['a', 'z', 'c']

['a', 'z', 'c']

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Behind the scenes (1)
x = ["a", "b", "c"]
y = x
y[1] = "z"
y

['a', 'z', 'c']

['a', 'z', 'c']

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Behind the scenes (1)
x = ["a", "b", "c"]
y = x
y[1] = "z"
y

['a', 'z', 'c']

['a', 'z', 'c']

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Behind the scenes (2)
x = ["a", "b", "c"]

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Behind the scenes (2)
x = ["a", "b", "c"]
y = list(x)
y = x[:]

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Behind the scenes (2)
x = ["a", "b", "c"]
y = list(x)
y = x[:]
y[1] = "z"
x

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

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
 Functions
INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON

Hugo Bowne-Anderson
Data Scientist at DataCamp
Functions
Nothing new!
type()

Piece of reusable code

Solves particular task

Call function instead of writing code yourself

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Example
fam = [1.73, 1.68, 1.71, 1.89]
fam

[1.73, 1.68, 1.71, 1.89]

max(fam)

1.89

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Example
fam = [1.73, 1.68, 1.71, 1.89]
fam

[1.73, 1.68, 1.71, 1.89]

max(fam)

1.89

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Example
fam = [1.73, 1.68, 1.71, 1.89]
fam

[1.73, 1.68, 1.71, 1.89]

max(fam)

1.89

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Example
fam = [1.73, 1.68, 1.71, 1.89]
fam

[1.73, 1.68, 1.71, 1.89]

max(fam)

1.89

tallest = max(fam)
tallest

1.89

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
round()
round(1.68, 1)

1.7

round(1.68)

help(round) # Open up documentation

Help on built-in function round in module builtins:

round(number, ndigits=None)
Round a number to a given precision in decimal digits.

The return value is an integer if ndigits is omitted or None.

Otherwise the return value has the same type as the number. ndigits may be negative.

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
round()
help(round)

Help on built-in function round in module builtins:

round(number, ndigits=None)
Round a number to a given precision in decimal digits.

The return value is an integer if ndigits is omitted or None.

Otherwise the return value has the same type as the number. ndigits may be negative.

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
round()
help(round)

Help on built-in function round in module builtins:

round(number, ndigits=None)
Round a number to a given precision in decimal digits.

The return value is an integer if ndigits is omitted or None.

Otherwise the return value has the same type as the number. ndigits may be negative.

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
round()
help(round)

Help on built-in function round in module builtins:

round(number, ndigits=None)
Round a number to a given precision in decimal digits.

The return value is an integer if ndigits is omitted or None.

Otherwise the return value has the same type as the number. ndigits may be negative.

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
round()
help(round)

Help on built-in function round in module builtins:

round(number, ndigits=None)
Round a number to a given precision in decimal digits.

The return value is an integer if ndigits is omitted or None.

Otherwise the return value has the same type as the number. ndigits may be negative.

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
round()
help(round)

Help on built-in function round in module builtins:

round(number, ndigits=None)
Round a number to a given precision in decimal digits.

The return value is an integer if ndigits is omitted or None.

Otherwise the return value has the same type as the number. ndigits may be negative.

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
round()
help(round)

Help on built-in function round in module builtins:

round(number, ndigits=None)
Round a number to a given precision in decimal digits.

The return value is an integer if ndigits is omitted or None.

Otherwise the return value has the same type as the number. ndigits may be negative.

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
round()
help(round)

Help on built-in function round in module builtins:

round(number, ndigits=None)
Round a number to a given precision in decimal digits.

The return value is an integer if ndigits is omitted or None.

Otherwise the return value has the same type as the number. ndigits may be negative.

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
round()
help(round)

Help on built-in function round in module builtins:

round(number, ndigits=None)
Round a number to a given precision in decimal digits.

The return value is an integer if ndigits is omitted or None.

Otherwise the return value has the same type as the number. ndigits may be negative.

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
round()
help(round)

Help on built-in function round in module builtins:

round(number, ndigits=None)
Round a number to a given precision in decimal digits.

The return value is an integer if ndigits is omitted or None.

Otherwise the return value has the same type as the number. ndigits may be negative.

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
round()
help(round)

Help on built-in function round in module builtins:

round(number, ndigits=None)
Round a number to a given precision in decimal digits.

The return value is an integer if ndigits is omitted or None.

Otherwise the return value has the same type as the number. ndigits may be negative.

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
round()
help(round)

Help on built-in function round in module builtins:

round(number, ndigits=None)
Round a number to a given precision in decimal digits.

The return value is an integer if ndigits is omitted or None.

Otherwise the return value has the same type as the number. ndigits may be negative.

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
round()
help(round)

Help on built-in function round in module builtins:

round(number, ndigits=None)
Round a number to a given precision in decimal digits.

The return value is an integer if ndigits is omitted or None.

Otherwise the return value has the same type as the number. ndigits may be negative.

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
round()
help(round)

Help on built-in function round in module builtins:

round(number, ndigits=None)
Round a number to a given precision in decimal digits.

The return value is an integer if ndigits is omitted or None.

Otherwise the return value has the same type as the number. ndigits may be negative.

round(number)

round(number, ndigits)

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Find functions
How to know?
Standard task -> probably function exists!

The internet is your friend

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
 Methods
INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON

Hugo Bowne-Anderson
Data Scientist at DataCamp
Built-in Functions
Maximum of list: max()
Length of list or string: len()

Get index in list: ?

Reversing a list: ?

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Back 2 Basics

sister = "liz"

height = 1.73

fam = ["liz", 1.73, "emma", 1.68,

"mom", 1.71, "dad", 1.89]

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Back 2 Basics

sister = "liz"

height = 1.73

fam = ["liz", 1.73, "emma", 1.68,

"mom", 1.71, "dad", 1.89]

Methods: Functions that

belong to objects

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Back 2 Basics

sister = "liz"

height = 1.73

fam = ["liz", 1.73, "emma", 1.68,

"mom", 1.71, "dad", 1.89]

Methods: Functions that

belong to objects

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
list methods
fam

['liz', 1.73, 'emma', 1.68, 'mom', 1.71, 'dad', 1.89]

fam.index("mom") # "Call method index() on fam"

fam.count(1.73)

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
str methods
sister

'liz'

sister.capitalize()

'Liz'

sister.replace("z", "sa")

'lisa'

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Methods
Everything = object
Object have methods associated, depending on type

sister.replace("z", "sa")

'lisa'

fam.replace("mom", "mommy")

AttributeError: 'list' object has no attribute 'replace'

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Methods
sister.index("z")

fam.index("mom")

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Methods (2)
fam

['liz', 1.73, 'emma', 1.68, 'mom', 1.71, 'dad', 1.89]

fam.append("me")
fam

['liz', 1.73, 'emma', 1.68, 'mom', 1.71, 'dad', 1.89, 'me']

fam.append(1.79)
fam

['liz', 1.73, 'emma', 1.68, 'mom', 1.71, 'dad', 1.89, 'me', 1.79]

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Summary
Functions

type(fam)

list

Methods: call functions on objects

fam.index("dad")

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
 Packages
INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON

Hugo Bowne-Anderson
Data Scientist at DataCamp
Motivation
Functions and methods are powerful

All code in Python distribution?

Huge code base: messy

Lots of code you won’t use

Maintenance problem

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Packages
Directory of Python Scripts

Each script = module

Specify functions, methods,

types

Thousands of packages
available
NumPy

Matplotlib

scikit-learn

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Install package
http://pip.readthedocs.org/en/stable/installing/
Download get-pip.py

Terminal:
python3 get-pip.py

pip3 install numpy

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Import package
import numpy import numpy as np
array([1, 2, 3]) np.array([1, 2, 3])

NameError: name 'array' is not defined array([1, 2, 3])

numpy.array([1, 2, 3]) from numpy import array

array([1, 2, 3])

array([1, 2, 3])
array([1, 2, 3])

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
from numpy import array
my_script.py

from numpy import array

fam = ["liz", 1.73, "emma", 1.68,

"mom", 1.71, "dad", 1.89]

...
fam_ext = fam + ["me", 1.79]

...
print(str(len(fam_ext)) + " elements in fam_ext")

...
np_fam = array(fam_ext)

Using NumPy, but not very clear

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
import numpy
import numpy as np

fam = ["liz", 1.73, "emma", 1.68,

"mom", 1.71, "dad", 1.89]

...
fam_ext = fam + ["me", 1.79]

...
print(str(len(fam_ext)) + " elements in fam_ext")

...
np_fam = np.array(fam_ext) # Clearly using NumPy

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
 NumPy
INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON

Hugo Bowne-Anderson
Data Scientist at DataCamp
Lists Recap
Powerful
Collection of values

Hold different types

Change, add, remove

Need for Data Science

Mathematical operations over collections

Speed

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Illustration
height = [1.73, 1.68, 1.71, 1.89, 1.79]
height

[1.73, 1.68, 1.71, 1.89, 1.79]

weight = [65.4, 59.2, 63.6, 88.4, 68.7]

weight

[65.4, 59.2, 63.6, 88.4, 68.7]

weight / height ** 2

TypeError: unsupported operand type(s) for ** or pow(): 'list' and 'int'

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Solution: NumPy
Numeric Python
Alternative to Python List: NumPy Array

Calculations over entire arrays

Easy and Fast

Installation
In the terminal: pip3 install numpy

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
NumPy
import numpy as np
np_height = np.array(height)
np_height

array([1.73, 1.68, 1.71, 1.89, 1.79])

np_weight = np.array(weight)
np_weight

array([65.4, 59.2, 63.6, 88.4, 68.7])

bmi = np_weight / np_height ** 2

bmi

array([21.85171573, 20.97505669, 21.75028214, 24.7473475 , 21.44127836])

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Comparison
height = [1.73, 1.68, 1.71, 1.89, 1.79]
weight = [65.4, 59.2, 63.6, 88.4, 68.7]
weight / height ** 2

TypeError: unsupported operand type(s) for ** or pow(): 'list' and 'int'

np_height = np.array(height)
np_weight = np.array(weight)
np_weight / np_height ** 2

array([21.85171573, 20.97505669, 21.75028214, 24.7473475 , 21.44127836])

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
NumPy: remarks
np.array([1.0, "is", True])

array(['1.0', 'is', 'True'], dtype='<U32')

NumPy arrays: contain only one type

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
NumPy: remarks
python_list = [1, 2, 3]
numpy_array = np.array([1, 2, 3])

python_list + python_list

[1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3]

numpy_array + numpy_array

array([2, 4, 6])

Different types: different behavior!

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
NumPy Subsetting
bmi

array([21.85171573, 20.97505669, 21.75028214, 24.7473475 , 21.44127836])

bmi[1]

20.975

bmi > 23

array([False, False, False, True, False])

bmi[bmi > 23]

array([24.7473475])

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
 2D NumPy Arrays
INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON

Hugo Bowne-Anderson
Data Scientist at DataCamp
Type of NumPy Arrays
import numpy as np
np_height = np.array([1.73, 1.68, 1.71, 1.89, 1.79])
np_weight = np.array([65.4, 59.2, 63.6, 88.4, 68.7])

type(np_height)

numpy.ndarray

type(np_weight)

numpy.ndarray

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
2D NumPy Arrays
np_2d = np.array([[1.73, 1.68, 1.71, 1.89, 1.79],
[65.4, 59.2, 63.6, 88.4, 68.7]])
np_2d

array([[ 1.73, 1.68, 1.71, 1.89, 1.79],

[65.4 , 59.2 , 63.6 , 88.4 , 68.7 ]])

np_2d.shape

(2, 5) # 2 rows, 5 columns

np.array([[1.73, 1.68, 1.71, 1.89, 1.79],

[65.4, 59.2, 63.6, 88.4, "68.7"]])

array([['1.73', '1.68', '1.71', '1.89', '1.79'],

['65.4', '59.2', '63.6', '88.4', '68.7']], dtype='<U32')

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Subsetting
0 1 2 3 4

array([[ 1.73, 1.68, 1.71, 1.89, 1.79], 0

[ 65.4, 59.2, 63.6, 88.4, 68.7]]) 1

np_2d[0]

array([1.73, 1.68, 1.71, 1.89, 1.79])

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Subsetting
0 1 2 3 4

array([[ 1.73, 1.68, 1.71, 1.89, 1.79], 0

[ 65.4, 59.2, 63.6, 88.4, 68.7]]) 1

np_2d[0][2]

1.71

np_2d[0, 2]

1.71

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Subsetting
0 1 2 3 4

array([[ 1.73, 1.68, 1.71, 1.89, 1.79], 0

[ 65.4, 59.2, 63.6, 88.4, 68.7]]) 1

np_2d[:, 1:3]

array([[ 1.68, 1.71],

[59.2 , 63.6 ]])

np_2d[1, :]

array([65.4, 59.2, 63.6, 88.4, 68.7])

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
 NumPy: Basic
Statistics
INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON

Hugo Bowne-Anderson
Data Scientist at DataCamp
Data analysis
Get to know your data
Little data -> simply look at it

Big data -> ?

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
City-wide survey
import numpy as np
np_city = ... # Implementation left out
np_city

array([[1.64, 71.78],
[1.37, 63.35],
[1.6 , 55.09],
...,
[2.04, 74.85],
[2.04, 68.72],
[2.01, 73.57]])

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
NumPy
np.mean(np_city[:, 0])

1.7472

np.median(np_city[:, 0])

1.75

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
NumPy
np.corrcoef(np_city[:, 0], np_city[:, 1])

array([[ 1. , -0.01802],
[-0.01803, 1. ]])

np.std(np_city[:, 0])

0.1992

sum(), sort(), ...

Enforce single data type: speed!

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON
Generate data
Arguments for np.random.normal()
distribution mean

distribution standard deviation

number of samples

height = np.round(np.random.normal(1.75, 0.20, 5000), 2)

weight = np.round(np.random.normal(60.32, 15, 5000), 2)

np_city = np.column_stack((height, weight))

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON