Python Cheat Sheet - Functions and Tricks

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Description Example Result

A map(func, iter) Executes the function on all elements of list(map(​lambda​ x: x[​0​], ['red'​, [​'r'​, ​'g'​, ​'b'​]
D the iterable 'green'​, ​'blue'​]))
V
A map(func, i1, ..., Executes the function on all k elements of list(map(​lambda​ x, y: str(x) + ​' '​ + [​'0 apples'​, ​'2
ik) the k iterables y + ​'s'​ , [​0​, ​2​, ​2​], [​'apple'​, oranges'​, ​'2
N
C 'orange'​, ​'banana'​])) bananas'​]
E
string.join(iter) Concatenates iterable elements ' marries '​.join(list([​'Alice'​, 'Alice marries Bob'
D separated by ​string 'Bob'​]))

F filter(func, Filters out elements in iterable for which list(filter(​lambda​ x: ​True ​if​ x>​17 [​18​]
U iterable) function returns False (or 0) else​ ​False​, [​1​, ​15​, ​17​, ​18]))
N
C string.strip() Removes leading and trailing print(​" \n \t 42 \t "​.strip()) 42
T whitespaces of string
I
O sorted(iter) Sorts iterable in ascending order sorted([​8​, ​3​, ​2​, ​42​, ​5​]) [​2​, ​3​, ​5​, ​8​, ​42​]
N
sorted(iter, Sorts according to the key function in sorted([​8​, ​3​, ​2​, ​42​, ​5​], key=​lambda [​42​, ​2​, ​3​, ​5​, ​8​]
S
key=key) ascending order x: ​0​ ​if​ x==​42​ ​else​ x)

help(func) Returns documentation of func help(str.upper()) '... to uppercase.'

zip(i1, i2, ...) Groups the i-th elements of iterators i1, i2, list(zip([​'Alice'​, ​'Anna'​], [​'Bob'​, [(​'Alice'​, ​'Bob'​),
… together 'Jon'​, ​'Frank'​])) (​'Anna'​, ​'Jon'​)]

Unzip Equal to: 1) unpack the zipped list, 2) zip list(zip(*[(​'Alice'​, ​'Bob'), [(​'Alice'​, ​'Anna'​),
the result (​'Anna'​, ​'Jon'​)] (​'Bob'​, ​'Jon'​)]

enumerate(iter) Assigns a counter value to each element list(enumerate([​'Alice'​, ​'Bob'​, [(​0​, ​'Alice'​), (​1​,
of the iterable 'Jon'​])) 'Bob'​), (​2​, ​'Jon'​)]

T python -m http.server Share files between PC and phone? Run command in PC’s shell. <P> is any port number 0–65535. Type < IP address of
R <P> PC>:<P> in the phone’s browser. You can now browse the files in the PC directory.
I
C Read comic import​ antigravity Open the comic series xkcd in your web browser
K
S
Zen of Python import​ this '...Beautiful is better than ugly. Explicit is ...'

Swapping numbers Swapping variables is a breeze in Python. a, b = ​'Jane'​, ​'Alice' a = ​'Alice'

No offense, Java! a, b = b, a b = ​'Jane'

Unpacking arguments Use a sequence as function arguments def​ ​f​(x, y, z)​:​ return​ x + y * z
via asterisk operator *. Use a dictionary f(*[​1​, ​3​, ​4​]) 13
(key, value) via double asterisk operator ** f(**{​'z'​ : ​4​, ​'x'​ : ​1​, ​'y' : ​3​}) 13

Extended Unpacking Use unpacking for multiple assignment a, *b = [​1​, ​2​, ​3​, ​4​, ​5​] a = ​1
feature in Python b = [​2​, ​3​, ​4, 5​]

Merge two dictionaries Use unpacking to merge two dictionaries x={​'Alice'​ : ​18​} z = {​'Alice'​: ​18​,
into a single one y={​'Bob'​ : ​27​, ​'Ann'​ : ​22​} 'Bob'​: ​27​, ​'Ann'​: ​22​}
z = {**x,**y}
 Python Cheat Sheet: 14 Interview Questions
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Question Code Question Code

Check if list l = [​3​, ​3​, ​4​, ​5​, ​2​, ​111​, ​5​] Get missing def​ ​get_missing_number​(lst):
contains print(​111​ ​in​ l) ​# True number in ​return​ set(range(lst[len(lst)​-1​])[​1​:]) - set(l)
integer x [1...100] l = list(range(​1​,​100​))
l.remove(​50​)
print(get_missing_number(l)) ​# 50

Find duplicate def​ ​find_duplicates​(elements): Compute def​ ​intersect​(lst1, lst2):

number in duplicates, seen = set(), set() the res, lst2_copy = [], lst2[:]
integer list ​for​ element ​in​ elements: intersection ​for​ el ​in​ lst1:
​if​ element ​in​ seen: of two lists ​if​ el ​in​ lst2_copy:
duplicates.add(element) res.append(el)
seen.add(element) lst2_copy.remove(el)
​return​ list(duplicates) ​return​ res

Check if two def​ ​is_anagram​(s1, s2): Find max l = [​4​, ​3​, ​6​, ​3​, ​4​, ​888​, ​1​, ​-11​, ​22​, ​3​]
strings are ​return​ set(s1) == set(s2) and min in print(max(l)) ​# 888
anagrams print(is_anagram(​"elvis"​, ​"lives"​)) ​# True unsorted list print(min(l)) ​# -11

Remove all lst = list(range(​10​)) + list(range(​10​)) Reverse def​ ​reverse​(string):

duplicates from lst = list(set(lst)) string using ​if​ len(string)<=​1​: ​return​ string
list print(lst) recursion ​return​ reverse(string[​1​:])+string[​0​]
# [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9] print(reverse(​"hello"​)) ​# olleh

Find pairs of def​ ​find_pairs​(l, x): Compute a, b = ​0​, ​1

integers in list pairs = [] the first n n = ​10
so that their ​for​ (i, el_1) ​in​ enumerate(l): Fibonacci for​ i ​in​ range(n):
sum is equal to ​for​ (j, el_2) ​in​ enumerate(l[i+​1​:]): numbers print(b)
integer x ​if​ el_1 + el_2 == x: a, b = b, a+b
pairs.append((el_1, el_2)) # 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, ...
​return​ pairs

Check if a def​ ​is_palindrome​(phrase): Sort list with def​ ​qsort​(L):

string is a ​return​ phrase == phrase[::​-1​] Quicksort ​if​ L == []: ​return​ []
palindrome print(is_palindrome(​"anna"​)) ​# True algorithm ​return​ qsort([x ​for​ x ​in​ L[​1​:] ​if​ x< L[​0​]]) + L[​0​:​1​] +
qsort([x ​for​ x ​in​ L[​1​:] ​if​ x>=L[​0​]])
lst = [​44​, ​33​, ​22​, ​5​, ​77​, ​55​, ​999​]
print(qsort(lst))
# [5, 22, 33, 44, 55, 77, 999]

Use list as # as a list ... Find all def​ ​get_permutations​(w):

stack, array, l = [3, 4] permutation ​if​ len(w)<=​1​:
and queue l += [​5​, ​6​] ​# l = [3, 4, 5, 6] s of string ​return​ set(w)
smaller = get_permutations(w[​1​:])
# ... as a stack ... perms = set()
l.append(​10​) ​# l = [4, 5, 6, 10] ​for​ x ​in​ smaller:
l.pop() ​# l = [4, 5, 6] ​for​ pos ​in​ range(​0​,len(x)+​1​):
perm = x[:pos] + w[​0​] + x[pos:]
# ... and as a queue perms.add(perm)
l.insert(​0​, ​5​) ​# l = [5, 4, 5, 6] ​return​ perms
l.pop() ​# l = [5, 4, 5] print(get_permutations(​"nan"​))
# {'nna', 'ann', 'nan'}
 Python Cheat Sheet: NumPy
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Name Description Example

a.shape The shape attribute of NumPy array a keeps a tuple of a = np.array([[​1​,​2​],[​1​,​1​],[​0​,​0​]])

integers. Each integer describes the number of elements of print(np.shape(a)) ​# (3, 2)
the axis.

a.ndim The ndim attribute is equal to the length of the shape tuple. print(np.ndim(a)) ​# 2

* The asterisk (star) operator performs the Hadamard product, a = np.array([[​2​, ​0​], [​0​, ​2​]])
i.e., multiplies two matrices with equal shape element-wise. b = np.array([[​1​, ​1​], [​1​, ​1​]])
print(a*b) ​# [[2 0] [0 2]]

np.matmul(a,b), a@b The standard matrix multiplication operator. Equivalent to the print(np.matmul(a,b))
@ operator. # [[2 2] [2 2]]

np.arange([start, ]stop, Creates a new 1D numpy array with evenly spaced values print(np.arange(​0​,​10​,​2​))
[step, ]) # [0 2 4 6 8]

np.linspace(start, stop, Creates a new 1D numpy array with evenly spread elements print(np.linspace(​0​,​10​,​3​))
num=​50​) within the given interval # [ 0. 5. 10.]

np.average(a) Averages over all the values in the numpy array a = np.array([[​2​, ​0​], [​0​, ​2​]])
print(np.average(a)) ​# 1.0

<slice> = <val> Replace the <slice> as selected by the slicing operator with a = np.array([​0​, ​1​, ​0​, ​0​, ​0​])
the value <val>. a[::​2​] = ​2
print(a) ​# [2 1 2 0 2]

np.var(a) Calculates the variance of a numpy array. a = np.array([​2​, ​6​])

print(np.var(a)) ​# 4.0

np.std(a) Calculates the standard deviation of a numpy array print(np.std(a)) ​# 2.0

np.diff(a) Calculates the difference between subsequent values in fibs = np.array([​0​, ​1​, ​1​, ​2​, ​3​, ​5​])
NumPy array a print(np.diff(fibs, n=​1​))
# [1 0 1 1 2]

np.cumsum(a) Calculates the cumulative sum of the elements in NumPy print(np.cumsum(np.arange(​5​)))

array a. # [ 0 1 3 6 10]

np.sort(a) Creates a new NumPy array with the values from a a = np.array([​10​,​3​,​7​,​1​,​0​])
(ascending). print(np.sort(a))
# [ 0 1 3 7 10]

np.argsort(a) Returns the indices of a NumPy array so that the indexed a = np.array([​10​,​3​,​7​,​1​,​0​])
values would be sorted. print(np.argsort(a))
# [4 3 1 2 0]

np.max(a) Returns the maximal value of NumPy array a. a = np.array([​10​,​3​,​7​,​1​,​0​])

print(np.max(a)) ​# 10

np.argmax(a) Returns the index of the element with maximal value in the a = np.array([​10​,​3​,​7​,​1​,​0​])
NumPy array a. print(np.argmax(a)) ​# 0

np.nonzero(a) Returns the indices of the nonzero elements in NumPy array a = np.array([​10​,​3​,​7​,​1​,​0​])
a. print(np.nonzero(a)) ​# [0 1 2 3]
 Python Cheat Sheet: Object Orientation Terms
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Description Example

Class A blueprint to create o​ bjects​. It defines the data (​attributes​) and functionality class Dog:
(​methods​) of the objects. You can access both attributes and methods via
the dot notation. # class attribute
is_hairy = True
Object A piece of encapsulated data with functionality in your Python program that
(=instance) ​ efinition. Often, an object corresponds to a
is built according to a c​ lass d # constructor
def __init__(self, name):
thing in the real world. An example is the object "Obama" that is created
# instance attribute
according to the class definition "Person". An object consists of an arbitrary
self.name = name
number of a ​ ttributes a
​ nd m
​ ethods​, e ​ ncapsulated w
​ ithin a single unit.
# method
Instantiation ​ bject​ of a c​ lass​. This is done with the
The process of creating an o
def bark(self):
constructor method __init__(self, …). print("Wuff")

Method A subset of the overall functionality of an ​object​. The method is defined

similarly to a function (using the keyword "def") in the c​ lass​ definition. An bello = Dog("bello")
object can have an arbitrary number of methods. paris = Dog("paris")

Self The first argument when defining any method is always the s ​ elf ​argument. print(bello.name)
"bello"
​ n which you call the m
This argument specifies the i​ nstance o ​ ethod​.

self ​gives the Python interpreter the information about the concrete print(paris.name)
"paris"
instance. To ​define ​a method, you use s ​ elf ​to modify the instance
attributes. But to ​call ​an instance method, you do not need to specify s
​ elf​.
class Cat:
Encapsulation Binding together data and functionality that manipulates the data.
# method overloading
Attribute A variable defined for a class (​class attribute​) or for an object (​instance attribute​). You def miau(self, times=1):
use attributes to package data into enclosed units (class or instance). print("miau " * times)

Class (=class variable, static variable, static attribute) ​A variable that is created fifi = Cat()
attribute statically in the ​class​ definition and that is shared by all class ​objects​.
fifi.miau()
Instance A variable that holds data that belongs only to a single instance. Other instances do "miau "
attribute not share this variable (in contrast to ​class attributes​). In most cases, you create an
(=instance instance attribute x in the constructor when creating the instance itself using the self fifi.miau(5)
variable) "miau miau miau miau miau "
keywords (e.g. self.x = <val>).
# Dynamic attribute
fifi.likes = "mice"
Dynamic An ​instance attribute​ that is defined dynamically during the execution of the program print(fifi.likes)
attribute and that is not defined within any ​method​. For example, you can simply add a new "mice"
attribute​ ​neew​ to any ​object​ o by calling ​o.neew = <val>​.
# Inheritance
Method You may want to define a method in a way so that there are multiple options class Persian_Cat(Cat):
overloading to call it. For example for class X, you define a ​method​ f(...) that can be called classification = "Persian"
in three ways: f(a), f(a,b), or f(a,b,c). To this end, you can define the method
mimi = Persian_Cat()
with default parameters (e.g. f(a, b=None, c=None).
print(mimi.miau(3))
"miau miau miau "
Inheritance Class​ A can inherit certain characteristics (like ​attributes​ or ​methods​) from class B.
For example, the class "Dog" may inherit the attribute "number_of_legs" from the
class "Animal". In this case, you would define the inherited class "Dog" as follows: print(mimi.classification)
"class Dog(Animal): ..."