Think Python
How to Think Like a Computer Scientist
Version 2.0.17
Think Python
How to Think Like a Computer Scientist
Version 2.0.17
Allen Downey
Green Tea Press
Needham, Massachusetts
Copyright © 2012 Allen Downey.
Green Tea Press
9 Washburn Ave
Needham MA 02492
Permission is granted to copy, distribute, and/or modify this document under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License, which is available at http:
//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/.
The original form of this book is LATEX source code. Compiling this LATEX source has the effect of gen-
erating a device-independent representation of a textbook, which can be converted to other formats
and printed.
The LATEX source for this book is available from http://www.thinkpython.com
Preface
The strange history of this book
In January 1999 I was preparing to teach an introductory programming class in Java. I had
taught it three times and I was getting frustrated. The failure rate in the class was too high
and, even for students who succeeded, the overall level of achievement was too low.
One of the problems I saw was the books. They were too big, with too much unnecessary
detail about Java, and not enough high-level guidance about how to program. And they all
suffered from the trap door effect: they would start out easy, proceed gradually, and then
somewhere around Chapter 5 the bottom would fall out. The students would get too much
new material, too fast, and I would spend the rest of the semester picking up the pieces.
Two weeks before the first day of classes, I decided to write my own book. My goals were:
• Keep it short. It is better for students to read 10 pages than not read 50 pages.
• Be careful with vocabulary. I tried to minimize the jargon and define each term at
first use.
• Build gradually. To avoid trap doors, I took the most difficult topics and split them
into a series of small steps.
• Focus on programming, not the programming language. I included the minimum
useful subset of Java and left out the rest.
I needed a title, so on a whim I chose How to Think Like a Computer Scientist.
My first version was rough, but it worked. Students did the reading, and they understood
enough that I could spend class time on the hard topics, the interesting topics and (most
important) letting the students practice.
I released the book under the GNU Free Documentation License, which allows users to
copy, modify, and distribute the book.
What happened next is the cool part. Jeff Elkner, a high school teacher in Virginia, adopted
my book and translated it into Python. He sent me a copy of his translation, and I had the
unusual experience of learning Python by reading my own book. As Green Tea Press, I
published the first Python version in 2001.
In 2003 I started teaching at Olin College and I got to teach Python for the first time. The
contrast with Java was striking. Students struggled less, learned more, worked on more
interesting projects, and generally had a lot more fun.
vi
Chapter 0. Preface
Over the last nine years I continued to develop the book, correcting errors, improving some
of the examples and adding material, especially exercises.
The result is this book, now with the less grandiose title Think Python. Some of the changes
are:
• I added a section about debugging at the end of each chapter. These sections present
general techniques for finding and avoiding bugs, and warnings about Python pit-
falls.
• I added more exercises, ranging from short tests of understanding to a few substantial
projects. And I wrote solutions for most of them.
• I added a series of case studies—longer examples with exercises, solutions, and
discussion. Some are based on Swampy, a suite of Python programs I wrote for
use in my classes. Swampy, code examples, and some solutions are available from
http://thinkpython.com.
• I expanded the discussion of program development plans and basic design patterns.
• I added appendices about debugging, analysis of algorithms, and UML diagrams
with Lumpy.
I hope you enjoy working with this book, and that it helps you learn to program and think,
at least a little bit, like a computer scientist.
Allen B. Downey
Needham MA
Allen Downey is a Professor of Computer Science at the Franklin W. Olin College of Engi-
neering.
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to Jeff Elkner, who translated my Java book into Python, which got this
project started and introduced me to what has turned out to be my favorite language.
Thanks also to Chris Meyers, who contributed several sections to How to Think Like a Com-
puter Scientist.
Thanks to the Free Software Foundation for developing the GNU Free Documentation Li-
cense, which helped make my collaboration with Jeff and Chris possible, and Creative
Commons for the license I am using now.
Thanks to the editors at Lulu who worked on How to Think Like a Computer Scientist.
Thanks to all the students who worked with earlier versions of this book and all the con-
tributors (listed below) who sent in corrections and suggestions.
vii
Contributor List
More than 100 sharp-eyed and thoughtful readers have sent in suggestions and corrections
over the past few years. Their contributions, and enthusiasm for this project, have been a
huge help.
If you have a suggestion or correction, please send email to feedback@thinkpython.com.
If I make a change based on your feedback, I will add you to the contributor list (unless
you ask to be omitted).
If you include at least part of the sentence the error appears in, that makes it easy for me to
search. Page and section numbers are fine, too, but not quite as easy to work with. Thanks!
• Lloyd Hugh Allen sent in a correction to Section 8.4.
• Yvon Boulianne sent in a correction of a semantic error in Chapter 5.
• Fred Bremmer submitted a correction in Section 2.1.
• Jonah Cohen wrote the Perl scripts to convert the LaTeX source for this book into beautiful
HTML.
• Michael Conlon sent in a grammar correction in Chapter 2 and an improvement in style in
Chapter 1, and he initiated discussion on the technical aspects of interpreters.
• Benoit Girard sent in a correction to a humorous mistake in Section 5.6.
• Courtney Gleason and Katherine Smith wrote horsebet.py, which was used as a case study
in an earlier version of the book. Their program can now be found on the website.
• Lee Harr submitted more corrections than we have room to list here, and indeed he should be
listed as one of the principal editors of the text.
• James Kaylin is a student using the text. He has submitted numerous corrections.
• David Kershaw fixed the broken catTwice function in Section 3.10.
• Eddie Lam has sent in numerous corrections to Chapters 1, 2, and 3. He also fixed the Makefile
so that it creates an index the first time it is run and helped us set up a versioning scheme.
• Man-Yong Lee sent in a correction to the example code in Section 2.4.
• David Mayo pointed out that the word “unconsciously" in Chapter 1 needed to be changed to
“subconsciously".
• Chris McAloon sent in several corrections to Sections 3.9 and 3.10.
• Matthew J. Moelter has been a long-time contributor who sent in numerous corrections and
suggestions to the book.
• Simon Dicon Montford reported a missing function definition and several typos in Chapter 3.
He also found errors in the increment function in Chapter 13.
• John Ouzts corrected the definition of “return value" in Chapter 3.
• Kevin Parks sent in valuable comments and suggestions as to how to improve the distribution
of the book.
• David Pool sent in a typo in the glossary of Chapter 1, as well as kind words of encouragement.
• Michael Schmitt sent in a correction to the chapter on files and exceptions.
viii
Chapter 0. Preface
• Robin Shaw pointed out an error in Section 13.1, where the printTime function was used in an
example without being defined.
• Paul Sleigh found an error in Chapter 7 and a bug in Jonah Cohen’s Perl script that generates
HTML from LaTeX.
• Craig T. Snydal is testing the text in a course at Drew University. He has contributed several
valuable suggestions and corrections.
• Ian Thomas and his students are using the text in a programming course. They are the first ones
to test the chapters in the latter half of the book, and they have made numerous corrections and
suggestions.
• Keith Verheyden sent in a correction in Chapter 3.
• Peter Winstanley let us know about a longstanding error in our Latin in Chapter 3.
• Chris Wrobel made corrections to the code in the chapter on file I/O and exceptions.
• Moshe Zadka has made invaluable contributions to this project. In addition to writing the first
draft of the chapter on Dictionaries, he provided continual guidance in the early stages of the
book.
• Christoph Zwerschke sent several corrections and pedagogic suggestions, and explained the
difference between gleich and selbe.
• James Mayer sent us a whole slew of spelling and typographical errors, including two in the
contributor list.
• Hayden McAfee caught a potentially confusing inconsistency between two examples.
• Angel Arnal is part of an international team of translators working on the Spanish version of
the text. He has also found several errors in the English version.
• Tauhidul Hoque and Lex Berezhny created the illustrations in Chapter 1 and improved many
of the other illustrations.
• Dr. Michele Alzetta caught an error in Chapter 8 and sent some interesting pedagogic com-
ments and suggestions about Fibonacci and Old Maid.
• Andy Mitchell caught a typo in Chapter 1 and a broken example in Chapter 2.
• Kalin Harvey suggested a clarification in Chapter 7 and caught some typos.
• Christopher P. Smith caught several typos and helped us update the book for Python 2.2.
• David Hutchins caught a typo in the Foreword.
• Gregor Lingl is teaching Python at a high school in Vienna, Austria. He is working on a Ger-
man translation of the book, and he caught a couple of bad errors in Chapter 5.
• Julie Peters caught a typo in the Preface.
• Florin Oprina sent in an improvement in makeTime, a correction in printTime, and a nice typo.
• D. J. Webre suggested a clarification in Chapter 3.
• Ken found a fistful of errors in Chapters 8, 9 and 11.
• Ivo Wever caught a typo in Chapter 5 and suggested a clarification in Chapter 3.
• Curtis Yanko suggested a clarification in Chapter 2.
ix
• Ben Logan sent in a number of typos and problems with translating the book into HTML.
• Jason Armstrong saw the missing word in Chapter 2.
• Louis Cordier noticed a spot in Chapter 16 where the code didn’t match the text.
• Brian Cain suggested several clarifications in Chapters 2 and 3.
• Rob Black sent in a passel of corrections, including some changes for Python 2.2.
• Jean-Philippe Rey at Ecole Centrale Paris sent a number of patches, including some updates
for Python 2.2 and other thoughtful improvements.
• Jason Mader at George Washington University made a number of useful suggestions and cor-
rections.
• Jan Gundtofte-Bruun reminded us that “a error” is an error.
• Abel David and Alexis Dinno reminded us that the plural of “matrix” is “matrices”, not “ma-
trixes”. This error was in the book for years, but two readers with the same initials reported it
on the same day. Weird.
• Charles Thayer encouraged us to get rid of the semi-colons we had put at the ends of some
statements and to clean up our use of “argument” and “parameter”.
• Roger Sperberg pointed out a twisted piece of logic in Chapter 3.
• Sam Bull pointed out a confusing paragraph in Chapter 2.
• Andrew Cheung pointed out two instances of “use before def.”
• C. Corey Capel spotted the missing word in the Third Theorem of Debugging and a typo in
Chapter 4.
• Alessandra helped clear up some Turtle confusion.
• Wim Champagne found a brain-o in a dictionary example.
• Douglas Wright pointed out a problem with floor division in arc.
• Jared Spindor found some jetsam at the end of a sentence.
• Lin Peiheng sent a number of very helpful suggestions.
• Ray Hagtvedt sent in two errors and a not-quite-error.
• Torsten Hübsch pointed out an inconsistency in Swampy.
• Inga Petuhhov corrected an example in Chapter 14.
• Arne Babenhauserheide sent several helpful corrections.
• Mark E. Casida is is good at spotting repeated words.
• Scott Tyler filled in a that was missing. And then sent in a heap of corrections.
• Gordon Shephard sent in several corrections, all in separate emails.
• Andrew Turner spotted an error in Chapter 8.
• Adam Hobart fixed a problem with floor division in arc.
x
Chapter 0. Preface
• Daryl Hammond and Sarah Zimmerman pointed out that I served up math.pi too early. And
Zim spotted a typo.
• George Sass found a bug in a Debugging section.
• Brian Bingham suggested Exercise 11.10.
• Leah Engelbert-Fenton pointed out that I used tuple as a variable name, contrary to my own
advice. And then found a bunch of typos and a “use before def.”
• Joe Funke spotted a typo.
• Chao-chao Chen found an inconsistency in the Fibonacci example.
• Jeff Paine knows the difference between space and spam.
• Lubos Pintes sent in a typo.
• Gregg Lind and Abigail Heithoff suggested Exercise 14.4.
• Max Hailperin has sent in a number of corrections and suggestions. Max is one of the authors
of the extraordinary Concrete Abstractions, which you might want to read when you are done
with this book.
• Chotipat Pornavalai found an error in an error message.
• Stanislaw Antol sent a list of very helpful suggestions.
• Eric Pashman sent a number of corrections for Chapters 4–11.
• Miguel Azevedo found some typos.
• Jianhua Liu sent in a long list of corrections.
• Nick King found a missing word.
• Martin Zuther sent a long list of suggestions.
• Adam Zimmerman found an inconsistency in my instance of an “instance” and several other
errors.
• Ratnakar Tiwari suggested a footnote explaining degenerate triangles.
• Anurag Goel suggested another solution for is_abecedarian and sent some additional correc-
tions. And he knows how to spell Jane Austen.
• Kelli Kratzer spotted one of the typos.
• Mark Griffiths pointed out a confusing example in Chapter 3.
• Roydan Ongie found an error in my Newton’s method.
• Patryk Wolowiec helped me with a problem in the HTML version.
• Mark Chonofsky told me about a new keyword in Python 3.
• Russell Coleman helped me with my geometry.
• Wei Huang spotted several typographical errors.
• Karen Barber spotted the the oldest typo in the book.
xi
• Nam Nguyen found a typo and pointed out that I used the Decorator pattern but didn’t men-
tion it by name.
• Stéphane Morin sent in several corrections and suggestions.
• Paul Stoop corrected a typo in uses_only.
• Eric Bronner pointed out a confusion in the discussion of the order of operations.
• Alexandros Gezerlis set a new standard for the number and quality of suggestions he submit-
ted. We are deeply grateful!
• Gray Thomas knows his right from his left.
• Giovanni Escobar Sosa sent a long list of corrections and suggestions.
• Alix Etienne fixed one of the URLs.
• Kuang He found a typo.
• Daniel Neilson corrected an error about the order of operations.
• Will McGinnis pointed out that polyline was defined differently in two places.
• Swarup Sahoo spotted a missing semi-colon.
• Frank Hecker pointed out an exercise that was under-specified, and some broken links.
• Animesh B helped me clean up a confusing example.
• Martin Caspersen found two round-off errors.
• Gregor Ulm sent several corrections and suggestions.
• Dimitrios Tsirigkas suggested I clarify an exercise.
• Carlos Tafur sent a page of corrections and suggestions.
• Martin Nordsletten found a bug in an exercise solution.
• Lars O.D. Christensen found a broken reference.
• Victor Simeone found a typo.
• Sven Hoexter pointed out that a variable named input shadows a built-in function.
• Viet Le found a typo.
• Stephen Gregory pointed out the problem with cmp in Python 3.
• Matthew Shultz let me know about a broken link.
• Lokesh Kumar Makani let me know about some broken links and some changes in error mes-
sages.
• Ishwar Bhat corrected my statement of Fermat’s last theorem.
• Brian McGhie suggested a clarification.
• Andrea Zanella translated the book into Italian, and sent a number of corrections along the
way.
xii
Chapter 0. Preface
Contents
Preface
v
1 The way of the program
1
1.1
The Python programming language
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
1.2
What is a program? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3
1.3
What is debugging? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3
1.4
Formal and natural languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5
1.5
The first program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6
1.6
Debugging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7
1.7
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7
1.8
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9
2 Variables, expressions and statements
11
2.1
Values and types
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11
2.2
Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12
2.3
Variable names and keywords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12
2.4
Operators and operands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13
2.5
Expressions and statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14
2.6
Interactive mode and script mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14
2.7
Order of operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15
2.8
String operations
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15
2.9
Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16
2.10 Debugging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16
2.11 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17
2.12
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
18
xiv
Contents
3 Functions
19
3.1
Function calls
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
19
3.2
Type conversion functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
19
3.3
Math functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
20
3.4
Composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21
3.5
Adding new functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21
3.6
Definitions and uses
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
22
3.7
Flow of execution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
23
3.8
Parameters and arguments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
23
3.9
Variables and parameters are local
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
24
3.10
Stack diagrams
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
25
3.11
Fruitful functions and void functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
26
3.12 Why functions? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
26
3.13
Importing with from
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
27
3.14 Debugging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
27
3.15 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
28
3.16
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
29
4 Case study: interface design
31
4.1
TurtleWorld
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
31
4.2
Simple repetition
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
32
4.3
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
33
4.4
Encapsulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
34
4.5
Generalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
34
4.6
Interface design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
35
4.7
Refactoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
36
4.8
A development plan
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
37
4.9
docstring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
37
4.10 Debugging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
38
4.11 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
38
4.12
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
39
Contents
xv
5 Conditionals and recursion
41
5.1
Modulus operator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
41
5.2
Boolean expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
41
5.3
Logical operators
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
42
5.4
Conditional execution
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
42
5.5
Alternative execution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
43
5.6
Chained conditionals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
43
5.7
Nested conditionals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
43
5.8
Recursion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
44
5.9
Stack diagrams for recursive functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
45
5.10
Infinite recursion
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
46
5.11 Keyboard input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
46
5.12 Debugging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
47
5.13 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
48
5.14
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
49
6 Fruitful functions
51
6.1
Return values
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
51
6.2
Incremental development
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
52
6.3
Composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
54
6.4
Boolean functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
54
6.5
More recursion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
55
6.6
Leap of faith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
57
6.7
One more example
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
57
6.8
Checking types
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
58
6.9
Debugging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
59
6.10 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
60
6.11
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
60
xvi
Contents
7
Iteration
63
7.1
Multiple assignment
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
63
7.2
Updating variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
64
7.3
The while statement
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
64
7.4
break
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
65
7.5
Square roots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
66
7.6
Algorithms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
67
7.7
Debugging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
68
7.8
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
68
7.9
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
69
8 Strings
71
8.1
A string is a sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
71
8.2
len
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
71
8.3
Traversal with a for loop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
72
8.4
String slices
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
73
8.5
Strings are immutable
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
74
8.6
Searching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
74
8.7
Looping and counting
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
75
8.8
String methods
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
75
8.9
The in operator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
76
8.10
String comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
76
8.11 Debugging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
77
8.12 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
78
8.13
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
79
9 Case study: word play
81
9.1
Reading word lists
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
81
9.2
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
82
9.3
Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
82
9.4
Looping with indices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
83
9.5
Debugging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
85
9.6
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
85
9.7
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
86
Contents
xvii
10 Lists
87
10.1 A list is a sequence
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
87
10.2
Lists are mutable
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
87
10.3
Traversing a list
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
89
10.4
List operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
89
10.5
List slices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
89
10.6
List methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
90
10.7 Map, filter and reduce
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
91
10.8 Deleting elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
92
10.9
Lists and strings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
93
10.10 Objects and values
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
93
10.11 Aliasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
94
10.12 List arguments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
95
10.13 Debugging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
96
10.14 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
97
10.15 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
98
11 Dictionaries
101
11.1 Dictionary as a set of counters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
102
11.2
Looping and dictionaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
103
11.3
Reverse lookup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
104
11.4 Dictionaries and lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
105
11.5 Memos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
106
11.6 Global variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
108
11.7
Long integers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
109
11.8 Debugging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
109
11.9 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
110
11.10 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
111
xviii
Contents
12 Tuples
113
12.1
Tuples are immutable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
113
12.2
Tuple assignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
114
12.3
Tuples as return values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
115
12.4 Variable-length argument tuples
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
115
12.5
Lists and tuples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
116
12.6 Dictionaries and tuples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
117
12.7 Comparing tuples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
118
12.8
Sequences of sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
119
12.9 Debugging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
120
12.10 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
121
12.11 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
121
13 Case study: data structure selection
123
13.1 Word frequency analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
123
13.2
Random numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
124
13.3 Word histogram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
125
13.4 Most common words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
126
13.5 Optional parameters
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
126
13.6 Dictionary subtraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
127
13.7
Random words
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
127
13.8 Markov analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
128
13.9 Data structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
129
13.10 Debugging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
131
13.11 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
132
13.12 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
132
14 Files
133
14.1
Persistence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
133
14.2
Reading and writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
133
14.3
Format operator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
134
14.4
Filenames and paths
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
135
Contents
xix
14.5 Catching exceptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
136
14.6 Databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
137
14.7
Pickling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
137
14.8
Pipes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
138
14.9 Writing modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
139
14.10 Debugging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
140
14.11 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
141
14.12 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
141
15 Classes and objects
143
15.1 User-defined types
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
143
15.2 Attributes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
144
15.3
Rectangles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
145
15.4
Instances as return values
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
146
15.5 Objects are mutable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
146
15.6 Copying
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
147
15.7 Debugging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
148
15.8 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
149
15.9
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
149
16 Classes and functions
151
16.1
Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
151
16.2
Pure functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
151
16.3 Modifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
153
16.4
Prototyping versus planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
154
16.5 Debugging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
155
16.6 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
155
16.7
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
156
xx
Contents
17 Classes and methods
157
17.1 Object-oriented features
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
157
17.2
Printing objects
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
158
17.3 Another example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
159
17.4 A more complicated example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
160
17.5
The init method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
160
17.6
The __str__ method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
161
17.7 Operator overloading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
161
17.8
Type-based dispatch
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
162
17.9
Polymorphism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
163
17.10 Debugging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
164
17.11 Interface and implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
164
17.12 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
165
17.13 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
165
18 Inheritance
167
18.1 Card objects
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
167
18.2 Class attributes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
168
18.3 Comparing cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
169
18.4 Decks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
170
18.5
Printing the deck
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
171
18.6 Add, remove, shuffle and sort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
171
18.7
Inheritance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
172
18.8 Class diagrams
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
173
18.9 Debugging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
174
18.10 Data encapsulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
175
18.11 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
176
18.12 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
177
Contents
xxi
19 Case study: Tkinter
179
19.1 GUI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
179
19.2
Buttons and callbacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
180
19.3 Canvas widgets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
181
19.4 Coordinate sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
182
19.5 More widgets
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
182
19.6
Packing widgets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
183
19.7 Menus and Callables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
185
19.8
Binding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
186
19.9 Debugging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
188
19.10 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
189
19.11 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
190
A Debugging
193
A.1
Syntax errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
193
A.2
Runtime errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
195
A.3
Semantic errors
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
198
B Analysis of Algorithms
201
B.1
Order of growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
202
B.2
Analysis of basic Python operations
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
204
B.3
Analysis of search algorithms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
205
B.4
Hashtables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
206
C Lumpy
211
C.1
State diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
211
C.2
Stack diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
212
C.3
Object diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
213
C.4
Function and class objects
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
215
C.5
Class Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
216
xxii
Contents
Chapter 1
The way of the program
The goal of this book is to teach you to think like a computer scientist. This way of think-
ing combines some of the best features of mathematics, engineering, and natural science.
Like mathematicians, computer scientists use formal languages to denote ideas (specifi-
cally computations). Like engineers, they design things, assembling components into sys-
tems and evaluating tradeoffs among alternatives. Like scientists, they observe the behav-
ior of complex systems, form hypotheses, and test predictions.
The single most important skill for a computer scientist is problem solving. Problem solv-
ing means the ability to formulate problems, think creatively about solutions, and express
a solution clearly and accurately. As it turns out, the process of learning to program is an
excellent opportunity to practice problem-solving skills. That’s why this chapter is called,
“The way of the program.”
On one level, you will be learning to program, a useful skill by itself. On another level, you
will use programming as a means to an end. As we go along, that end will become clearer.
1.1 The Python programming language
The programming language you will learn is Python. Python is an example of a high-level
language; other high-level languages you might have heard of are C, C++, Perl, and Java.
There are also low-level languages, sometimes referred to as “machine languages” or “as-
sembly languages.” Loosely speaking, computers can only run programs written in low-
level languages. So programs written in a high-level language have to be processed before
they can run. This extra processing takes some time, which is a small disadvantage of
high-level languages.
The advantages are enormous. First, it is much easier to program in a high-level language.
Programs written in a high-level language take less time to write, they are shorter and
easier to read, and they are more likely to be correct. Second, high-level languages are
portable, meaning that they can run on different kinds of computers with few or no modi-
fications. Low-level programs can run on only one kind of computer and have to be rewrit-
ten to run on another.
2
Chapter 1. The way of the program
SOURCE
CODE
INTERPRETER
OUTPUT
Figure 1.1: An interpreter processes the program a little at a time, alternately reading lines
and performing computations.
CODE
OBJECT
EXECUTOR
CODE
SOURCE
COMPILER
OUTPUT
Figure 1.2: A compiler translates source code into object code, which is run by a hardware
executor.
Due to these advantages, almost all programs are written in high-level languages. Low-
level languages are used only for a few specialized applications.
Two kinds of programs process high-level languages into low-level languages: interpreters
and compilers. An interpreter reads a high-level program and executes it, meaning that it
does what the program says. It processes the program a little at a time, alternately reading
lines and performing computations. Figure 1.1 shows the structure of an interpreter.
A compiler reads the program and translates it completely before the program starts run-
ning. In this context, the high-level program is called the source code, and the translated
program is called the object code or the executable. Once a program is compiled, you
can execute it repeatedly without further translation. Figure 1.2 shows the structure of a
compiler.
Python is considered an interpreted language because Python programs are executed by an
interpreter. There are two ways to use the interpreter: interactive mode and script mode.
In interactive mode, you type Python programs and the interpreter displays the result:
>>> 1 + 1
2
The chevron, >>>, is the prompt the interpreter uses to indicate that it is ready. If you type
1 + 1, the interpreter replies 2.
Alternatively, you can store code in a file and use the interpreter to execute the contents of
the file, which is called a script. By convention, Python scripts have names that end with
.py.
To execute the script, you have to tell the interpreter the name of the file. If you have a
script named dinsdale.py and you are working in a UNIX command window, you type
python dinsdale.py. In other development environments, the details of executing scripts
are different. You can find instructions for your environment at the Python website http:
//python.org.
Working in interactive mode is convenient for testing small pieces of code because you can
type and execute them immediately. But for anything more than a few lines, you should
save your code as a script so you can modify and execute it in the future.
1.2. What is a program?
3
1.2 What is a program?
A program is a sequence of instructions that specifies how to perform a computation. The
computation might be something mathematical, such as solving a system of equations or
finding the roots of a polynomial, but it can also be a symbolic computation, such as search-
ing and replacing text in a document or (strangely enough) compiling a program.
The details look different in different languages, but a few basic instructions appear in just
about every language:
input: Get data from the keyboard, a file, or some other device.
output: Display data on the screen or send data to a file or other device.
math: Perform basic mathematical operations like addition and multiplication.
conditional execution: Check for certain conditions and execute the appropriate code.
repetition: Perform some action repeatedly, usually with some variation.
Believe it or not, that’s pretty much all there is to it. Every program you’ve ever used,
no matter how complicated, is made up of instructions that look pretty much like these.
So you can think of programming as the process of breaking a large, complex task into
smaller and smaller subtasks until the subtasks are simple enough to be performed with
one of these basic instructions.
That may be a little vague, but we will come back to this topic when we talk about algo-
rithms.
1.3 What is debugging?
Programming is error-prone. For whimsical reasons, programming errors are called bugs
and the process of tracking them down is called debugging.
Three kinds of errors can occur in a program: syntax errors, runtime errors, and semantic
errors. It is useful to distinguish between them in order to track them down more quickly.
1.3.1 Syntax errors
Python can only execute a program if the syntax is correct; otherwise, the interpreter dis-
plays an error message. Syntax refers to the structure of a program and the rules about that
structure. For example, parentheses have to come in matching pairs, so (1 + 2) is legal,
but 8) is a syntax error.
In English, readers can tolerate most syntax errors, which is why we can read the poetry
of e. e. cummings without spewing error messages. Python is not so forgiving. If there
is a single syntax error anywhere in your program, Python will display an error message
and quit, and you will not be able to run your program. During the first few weeks of your
programming career, you will probably spend a lot of time tracking down syntax errors.
As you gain experience, you will make fewer errors and find them faster.
4
Chapter 1. The way of the program
1.3.2 Runtime errors
The second type of error is a runtime error, so called because the error does not appear until
after the program has started running. These errors are also called exceptions because they
usually indicate that something exceptional (and bad) has happened.
Runtime errors are rare in the simple programs you will see in the first few chapters, so it
might be a while before you encounter one.
1.3.3 Semantic errors
The third type of error is the semantic error. If there is a semantic error in your program, it
will run successfully in the sense that the computer will not generate any error messages,
but it will not do the right thing. It will do something else. Specifically, it will do what you
told it to do.
The problem is that the program you wrote is not the program you wanted to write. The
meaning of the program (its semantics) is wrong. Identifying semantic errors can be tricky
because it requires you to work backward by looking at the output of the program and
trying to figure out what it is doing.
1.3.4 Experimental debugging
One of the most important skills you will acquire is debugging. Although it can be frus-
trating, debugging is one of the most intellectually rich, challenging, and interesting parts
of programming.
In some ways, debugging is like detective work. You are confronted with clues, and you
have to infer the processes and events that led to the results you see.
Debugging is also like an experimental science. Once you have an idea about what is going
wrong, you modify your program and try again. If your hypothesis was correct, then you
can predict the result of the modification, and you take a step closer to a working program.
If your hypothesis was wrong, you have to come up with a new one. As Sherlock Holmes
pointed out, “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however im-
probable, must be the truth.” (A. Conan Doyle, The Sign of Four)
For some people, programming and debugging are the same thing. That is, programming
is the process of gradually debugging a program until it does what you want. The idea is
that you should start with a program that does something and make small modifications,
debugging them as you go, so that you always have a working program.
For example, Linux is an operating system that contains thousands of lines of code, but
it started out as a simple program Linus Torvalds used to explore the Intel 80386 chip.
According to Larry Greenfield, “One of Linus’s earlier projects was a program that would
switch between printing AAAA and BBBB. This later evolved to Linux.” (The Linux Users’
Guide Beta Version 1).
Later chapters will make more suggestions about debugging and other programming prac-
tices.
1.4. Formal and natural languages
5
1.4 Formal and natural languages
Natural languages are the languages people speak, such as English, Spanish, and French.
They were not designed by people (although people try to impose some order on them);
they evolved naturally.
Formal languages are languages that are designed by people for specific applications. For
example, the notation that mathematicians use is a formal language that is particularly
good at denoting relationships among numbers and symbols. Chemists use a formal lan-
guage to represent the chemical structure of molecules. And most importantly:
Programming languages are formal languages that have been designed to
express computations.
Formal languages tend to have strict rules about syntax. For example, 3 + 3 = 6 is a
syntactically correct mathematical statement, but 3+ = 3$6 is not. H2O is a syntactically
correct chemical formula, but 2Zz is not.
Syntax rules come in two flavors, pertaining to tokens and structure. Tokens are the basic
elements of the language, such as words, numbers, and chemical elements. One of the
problems with 3+ = 3$6 is that $ is not a legal token in mathematics (at least as far as I
know). Similarly, 2Zz is not legal because there is no element with the abbreviation Zz.
The second type of syntax rule pertains to the structure of a statement; that is, the way the
tokens are arranged. The statement 3+ = 3 is illegal because even though + and = are
legal tokens, you can’t have one right after the other. Similarly, in a chemical formula the
subscript comes after the element name, not before.
Exercise 1.1. Write a well-structured English sentence with invalid tokens in it. Then write an-
other sentence with all valid tokens but with invalid structure.
When you read a sentence in English or a statement in a formal language, you have to
figure out what the structure of the sentence is (although in a natural language you do this
subconsciously). This process is called parsing.
For example, when you hear the sentence, “The penny dropped,” you understand that
“the penny” is the subject and “dropped” is the predicate. Once you have parsed a sen-
tence, you can figure out what it means, or the semantics of the sentence. Assuming that
you know what a penny is and what it means to drop, you will understand the general
implication of this sentence.
Although formal and natural languages have many features in common—tokens, struc-
ture, syntax, and semantics—there are some differences:
ambiguity: Natural languages are full of ambiguity, which people deal with by using con-
textual clues and other information. Formal languages are designed to be nearly or
completely unambiguous, which means that any statement has exactly one meaning,
regardless of context.
redundancy: In order to make up for ambiguity and reduce misunderstandings, natural
languages employ lots of redundancy. As a result, they are often verbose. Formal
languages are less redundant and more concise.
6
Chapter 1. The way of the program
literalness: Natural languages are full of idiom and metaphor.
If I say, “The penny
dropped,” there is probably no penny and nothing dropping (this idiom means that
someone realized something after a period of confusion). Formal languages mean
exactly what they say.
People who grow up speaking a natural language—everyone—often have a hard time ad-
justing to formal languages. In some ways, the difference between formal and natural
language is like the difference between poetry and prose, but more so:
Poetry: Words are used for their sounds as well as for their meaning, and the whole poem
together creates an effect or emotional response. Ambiguity is not only common but
often deliberate.
Prose: The literal meaning of words is more important, and the structure contributes more
meaning. Prose is more amenable to analysis than poetry but still often ambiguous.
Programs: The meaning of a computer program is unambiguous and literal, and can be
understood entirely by analysis of the tokens and structure.
Here are some suggestions for reading programs (and other formal languages). First, re-
member that formal languages are much more dense than natural languages, so it takes
longer to read them. Also, the structure is very important, so it is usually not a good idea
to read from top to bottom, left to right. Instead, learn to parse the program in your head,
identifying the tokens and interpreting the structure. Finally, the details matter. Small er-
rors in spelling and punctuation, which you can get away with in natural languages, can
make a big difference in a formal language.
1.5 The first program
Traditionally, the first program you write in a new language is called “Hello, World!” be-
cause all it does is display the words “Hello, World!”. In Python, it looks like this:
print 'Hello, World!'
This is an example of a print statement, which doesn’t actually print anything on paper. It
displays a value on the screen. In this case, the result is the words
Hello, World!
The quotation marks in the program mark the beginning and end of the text to be dis-
played; they don’t appear in the result.
In Python 3, the syntax for printing is slightly different:
print('Hello, World!')
The parentheses indicate that print is a function. We’ll get to functions in Chapter 3.
For the rest of this book, I’ll use the print statement. If you are using Python 3, you will
have to translate. But other than that, there are very few differences we have to worry
about.
1.6. Debugging
7
1.6 Debugging
It is a good idea to read this book in front of a computer so you can try out the examples as
you go. You can run most of the examples in interactive mode, but if you put the code in a
script, it is easier to try out variations.
Whenever you are experimenting with a new feature, you should try to make mistakes.
For example, in the “Hello, world!” program, what happens if you leave out one of the
quotation marks? What if you leave out both? What if you spell print wrong?
This kind of experiment helps you remember what you read; it also helps with debugging,
because you get to know what the error messages mean. It is better to make mistakes now
and on purpose than later and accidentally.
Programming, and especially debugging, sometimes brings out strong emotions. If you
are struggling with a difficult bug, you might feel angry, despondent or embarrassed.
There is evidence that people naturally respond to computers as if they were people. When
they work well, we think of them as teammates, and when they are obstinate or rude, we
respond to them the same way we respond to rude, obstinate people (Reeves and Nass,
The Media Equation: How People Treat Computers, Television, and New Media Like Real People
and Places).
Preparing for these reactions might help you deal with them. One approach is to think of
the computer as an employee with certain strengths, like speed and precision, and partic-
ular weaknesses, like lack of empathy and inability to grasp the big picture.
Your job is to be a good manager: find ways to take advantage of the strengths and mitigate
the weaknesses. And find ways to use your emotions to engage with the problem, without
letting your reactions interfere with your ability to work effectively.
Learning to debug can be frustrating, but it is a valuable skill that is useful for many ac-
tivities beyond programming. At the end of each chapter there is a debugging section, like
this one, with my thoughts about debugging. I hope they help!
1.7 Glossary
problem solving: The process of formulating a problem, finding a solution, and express-
ing the solution.
high-level language: A programming language like Python that is designed to be easy for
humans to read and write.
low-level language: A programming language that is designed to be easy for a computer
to execute; also called “machine language” or “assembly language.”
portability: A property of a program that can run on more than one kind of computer.
interpret: To execute a program in a high-level language by translating it one line at a time.
compile: To translate a program written in a high-level language into a low-level language
all at once, in preparation for later execution.
8
Chapter 1. The way of the program
source code: A program in a high-level language before being compiled.
object code: The output of the compiler after it translates the program.
executable: Another name for object code that is ready to be executed.
prompt: Characters displayed by the interpreter to indicate that it is ready to take input
from the user.
script: A program stored in a file (usually one that will be interpreted).
interactive mode: A way of using the Python interpreter by typing commands and expres-
sions at the prompt.
script mode: A way of using the Python interpreter to read and execute statements in a
script.
program: A set of instructions that specifies a computation.
algorithm: A general process for solving a category of problems.
bug: An error in a program.
debugging: The process of finding and removing any of the three kinds of programming
errors.
syntax: The structure of a program.
syntax error: An error in a program that makes it impossible to parse (and therefore im-
possible to interpret).
exception: An error that is detected while the program is running.
semantics: The meaning of a program.
semantic error: An error in a program that makes it do something other than what the
programmer intended.
natural language: Any one of the languages that people speak that evolved naturally.
formal language: Any one of the languages that people have designed for specific pur-
poses, such as representing mathematical ideas or computer programs; all program-
ming languages are formal languages.
token: One of the basic elements of the syntactic structure of a program, analogous to a
word in a natural language.
parse: To examine a program and analyze the syntactic structure.
print statement: An instruction that causes the Python interpreter to display a value on
the screen.
1.8. Exercises
9
1.8 Exercises
Exercise 1.2. Use a web browser to go to the Python website http: // python. org . This page
contains information about Python and links to Python-related pages, and it gives you the ability to
search the Python documentation.
For example, if you enter print in the search window, the first link that appears is the documenta-
tion of the print statement. At this point, not all of it will make sense to you, but it is good to know
where it is.
Exercise 1.3. Start the Python interpreter and type help() to start the online help utility. Or you
can type help('print') to get information about the print statement.
If this example doesn’t work, you may need to install additional Python documentation or set an
environment variable; the details depend on your operating system and version of Python.
Exercise 1.4. Start the Python interpreter and use it as a calculator. Python’s syntax for math
operations is almost the same as standard mathematical notation. For example, the symbols +, - and
/ denote addition, subtraction and division, as you would expect. The symbol for multiplication is
*.
If you run a 10 kilometer race in 43 minutes 30 seconds, what is your average time per mile? What
is your average speed in miles per hour? (Hint: there are 1.61 kilometers in a mile).
10
Chapter 1. The way of the program
Chapter 2
Variables, expressions and
statements
2.1 Values and types
A value is one of the basic things a program works with, like a letter or a number. The
values we have seen so far are 1, 2, and 'Hello, World!'.
These values belong to different types: 2 is an integer, and 'Hello, World!' is a string,
so-called because it contains a “string” of letters. You (and the interpreter) can identify
strings because they are enclosed in quotation marks.
If you are not sure what type a value has, the interpreter can tell you.
>>> type('Hello, World!')

>>> type(17)

Not surprisingly, strings belong to the type str and integers belong to the type int. Less
obviously, numbers with a decimal point belong to a type called float, because these num-
bers are represented in a format called floating-point.
>>> type(3.2)

What about values like '17' and '3.2'? They look like numbers, but they are in quotation
marks like strings.
>>> type('17')

>>> type('3.2')

They’re strings.
When you type a large integer, you might be tempted to use commas between groups of
three digits, as in 1,000,000. This is not a legal integer in Python, but it is legal:
12
Chapter 2. Variables, expressions and statements
message
n
pi
17
’And now for something completely different’
3.1415926535897932
Figure 2.1: State diagram.
>>> 1,000,000
(1, 0, 0)
Well, that’s not what we expected at all! Python interprets 1,000,000 as a comma-
separated sequence of integers. This is the first example we have seen of a semantic error:
the code runs without producing an error message, but it doesn’t do the “right” thing.
2.2 Variables
One of the most powerful features of a programming language is the ability to manipulate
variables. A variable is a name that refers to a value.
An assignment statement creates new variables and gives them values:
>>> message = 'And now for something completely different'
>>> n = 17
>>> pi = 3.1415926535897932
This example makes three assignments. The first assigns a string to a new variable named
message; the second gives the integer 17 to n; the third assigns the (approximate) value of
π to pi.
A common way to represent variables on paper is to write the name with an arrow pointing
to the variable’s value. This kind of figure is called a state diagram because it shows what
state each of the variables is in (think of it as the variable’s state of mind). Figure 2.1 shows
the result of the previous example.
The type of a variable is the type of the value it refers to.
>>> type(message)

>>> type(n)

>>> type(pi)

2.3 Variable names and keywords
Programmers generally choose names for their variables that are meaningful—they docu-
ment what the variable is used for.
Variable names can be arbitrarily long. They can contain both letters and numbers, but
they have to begin with a letter. It is legal to use uppercase letters, but it is a good idea to
begin variable names with a lowercase letter (you’ll see why later).
2.4. Operators and operands
13
The underscore character, _, can appear in a name. It is often used in names with multiple
words, such as my_name or airspeed_of_unladen_swallow.
If you give a variable an illegal name, you get a syntax error:
>>> 76trombones = 'big parade'
SyntaxError: invalid syntax
>>> more@ = 1000000
SyntaxError: invalid syntax
>>> class = 'Advanced Theoretical Zymurgy'
SyntaxError: invalid syntax
76trombones is illegal because it does not begin with a letter. more@ is illegal because it
contains an illegal character, @. But what’s wrong with class?
It turns out that class is one of Python’s keywords. The interpreter uses keywords to
recognize the structure of the program, and they cannot be used as variable names.
Python 2 has 31 keywords:
and
del
from
not
while
as
elif
global
or
with
assert
else
if
pass
yield
break
except
import
print
class
exec
in
raise
continue finally
is
return
def
for
lambda
try
In Python 3, exec is no longer a keyword, but nonlocal is.
You might want to keep this list handy. If the interpreter complains about one of your
variable names and you don’t know why, see if it is on this list.
2.4 Operators and operands
Operators are special symbols that represent computations like addition and multiplica-
tion. The values the operator is applied to are called operands.
The operators +, -, *, / and ** perform addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and
exponentiation, as in the following examples:
20+32
hour-1
hour*60+minute
minute/60
5**2
(5+9)*(15-7)
In some other languages,^ is used for exponentiation, but in Python it is a bitwise operator
called XOR. I won’t cover bitwise operators in this book, but you can read about them at
http://wiki.python.org/moin/BitwiseOperators.
In Python 2, the division operator might not do what you expect:
>>> minute = 59
>>> minute/60
0
The value of minute is 59, and in conventional arithmetic 59 divided by 60 is 0.98333, not 0.
The reason for the discrepancy is that Python is performing floor division. When both of
the operands are integers, the result is also an integer; floor division chops off the fraction
part, so in this example it rounds down to zero.
14
Chapter 2. Variables, expressions and statements
In Python 3, the result of this division is a float. The new operator // performs floor
division.
If either of the operands is a floating-point number, Python performs floating-point divi-
sion, and the result is a float:
>>> minute/60.0
0.98333333333333328
2.5 Expressions and statements
An expression is a combination of values, variables, and operators. A value all by itself
is considered an expression, and so is a variable, so the following are all legal expressions
(assuming that the variable x has been assigned a value):
17
x
x + 17
A statement is a unit of code that the Python interpreter can execute. We have seen two
kinds of statement: print and assignment.
Technically an expression is also a statement, but it is probably simpler to think of them
as different things. The important difference is that an expression has a value; a statement
does not.
2.6
Interactive mode and script mode
One of the benefits of working with an interpreted language is that you can test bits of
code in interactive mode before you put them in a script. But there are differences between
interactive mode and script mode that can be confusing.
For example, if you are using Python as a calculator, you might type
>>> miles = 26.2
>>> miles * 1.61
42.182
The first line assigns a value to miles, but it has no visible effect. The second line is an ex-
pression, so the interpreter evaluates it and displays the result. So we learn that a marathon
is about 42 kilometers.
But if you type the same code into a script and run it, you get no output at all. In script
mode an expression, all by itself, has no visible effect. Python actually evaluates the ex-
pression, but it doesn’t display the value unless you tell it to:
miles = 26.2
print miles * 1.61
This behavior can be confusing at first.
A script usually contains a sequence of statements. If there is more than one statement, the
results appear one at a time as the statements execute.
For example, the script
2.7. Order of operations
15
print 1
x = 2
print x
produces the output
1
2
The assignment statement produces no output.
Exercise 2.1. Type the following statements in the Python interpreter to see what they do:
5
x = 5
x + 1
Now put the same statements into a script and run it. What is the output? Modify the script by
transforming each expression into a print statement and then run it again.
2.7 Order of operations
When more than one operator appears in an expression, the order of evaluation depends
on the rules of precedence. For mathematical operators, Python follows mathematical
convention. The acronym PEMDAS is a useful way to remember the rules:
• Parentheses have the highest precedence and can be used to force an expression to
evaluate in the order you want. Since expressions in parentheses are evaluated first,
2 * (3-1) is 4, and (1+1)**(5-2) is 8. You can also use parentheses to make an
expression easier to read, as in (minute * 100) / 60, even if it doesn’t change the
result.
• Exponentiation has the next highest precedence, so 2**1+1 is 3, not 4, and 3*1**3 is
3, not 27.
• Multiplication and Division have the same precedence, which is higher than
Addition and Subtraction, which also have the same precedence. So 2*3-1 is 5, not
4, and 6+4/2 is 8, not 5.
• Operators with the same precedence are evaluated from left to right (except exponen-
tiation). So in the expression degrees / 2 * pi, the division happens first and the
result is multiplied by pi. To divide by 2π, you can use parentheses or write degrees
/ 2 / pi.
I don’t work very hard to remember rules of precedence for other operators. If I can’t tell
by looking at the expression, I use parentheses to make it obvious.
2.8 String operations
In general, you can’t perform mathematical operations on strings, even if the strings look
like numbers, so the following are illegal:
'2'-'1'
'eggs'/'easy'
'third'*'a charm'
16
Chapter 2. Variables, expressions and statements
The + operator works with strings, but it might not do what you expect: it performs con-
catenation, which means joining the strings by linking them end-to-end. For example:
first = 'throat'
second = 'warbler'
print first + second
The output of this program is throatwarbler.
The * operator also works on strings; it performs repetition. For example, 'Spam'*3 is
'SpamSpamSpam'. If one of the operands is a string, the other has to be an integer.
This use of + and * makes sense by analogy with addition and multiplication. Just as 4*3
is equivalent to 4+4+4, we expect 'Spam'*3 to be the same as 'Spam'+'Spam'+'Spam', and
it is. On the other hand, there is a significant way in which string concatenation and repe-
tition are different from integer addition and multiplication. Can you think of a property
that addition has that string concatenation does not?
2.9 Comments
As programs get bigger and more complicated, they get more difficult to read. Formal
languages are dense, and it is often difficult to look at a piece of code and figure out what
it is doing, or why.
For this reason, it is a good idea to add notes to your programs to explain in natural lan-
guage what the program is doing. These notes are called comments, and they start with
the # symbol:
# compute the percentage of the hour that has elapsed
percentage = (minute * 100) / 60
In this case, the comment appears on a line by itself. You can also put comments at the end
of a line:
percentage = (minute * 100) / 60
# percentage of an hour
Everything from the # to the end of the line is ignored—it has no effect on the program.
Comments are most useful when they document non-obvious features of the code. It is
reasonable to assume that the reader can figure out what the code does; it is much more
useful to explain why.
This comment is redundant with the code and useless:
v = 5
# assign 5 to v
This comment contains useful information that is not in the code:
v = 5
# velocity in meters/second.
Good variable names can reduce the need for comments, but long names can make com-
plex expressions hard to read, so there is a tradeoff.
2.10 Debugging
At this point the syntax error you are most likely to make is an illegal variable name, like
class and yield, which are keywords, or odd~job and US$, which contain illegal charac-
ters.
2.11. Glossary
17
If you put a space in a variable name, Python thinks it is two operands without an operator:
>>> bad name = 5
SyntaxError: invalid syntax
For syntax errors, the error messages don’t help much. The most common messages are
SyntaxError: invalid syntax and SyntaxError: invalid token, neither of which is
very informative.
The runtime error you are most likely to make is a “use before def;” that is, trying to use
a variable before you have assigned a value. This can happen if you spell a variable name
wrong:
>>> principal = 327.68
>>> interest = principle * rate
NameError: name 'principle' is not defined
Variables names are case sensitive, so LaTeX is not the same as latex.
At this point the most likely cause of a semantic error is the order of operations. For exam-
ple, to evaluate 12π , you might be tempted to write
>>> 1.0 / 2.0 * pi
But the division happens first, so you would get π/2, which is not the same thing! There is
no way for Python to know what you meant to write, so in this case you don’t get an error
message; you just get the wrong answer.
2.11 Glossary
value: One of the basic units of data, like a number or string, that a program manipulates.
type: A category of values. The types we have seen so far are integers (type int), floating-
point numbers (type float), and strings (type str).
integer: A type that represents whole numbers.
floating-point: A type that represents numbers with fractional parts.
string: A type that represents sequences of characters.
variable: A name that refers to a value.
statement: A section of code that represents a command or action. So far, the statements
we have seen are assignments and print statements.
assignment: A statement that assigns a value to a variable.
state diagram: A graphical representation of a set of variables and the values they refer to.
keyword: A reserved word that is used by the compiler to parse a program; you cannot
use keywords like if, def, and while as variable names.
operator: A special symbol that represents a simple computation like addition, multipli-
cation, or string concatenation.
18
Chapter 2. Variables, expressions and statements
operand: One of the values on which an operator operates.
floor division: The operation that divides two numbers and chops off the fraction part.
expression: A combination of variables, operators, and values that represents a single re-
sult value.
evaluate: To simplify an expression by performing the operations in order to yield a single
value.
rules of precedence: The set of rules governing the order in which expressions involving
multiple operators and operands are evaluated.
concatenate: To join two operands end-to-end.
comment: Information in a program that is meant for other programmers (or anyone read-
ing the source code) and has no effect on the execution of the program.
2.12 Exercises
Exercise 2.2. Assume that we execute the following assignment statements:
width = 17
height = 12.0
delimiter = '.'
For each of the following expressions, write the value of the expression and the type (of the value of
the expression).
1. width/2
2. width/2.0
3. height/3
4. 1 + 2 * 5
5. delimiter * 5
Use the Python interpreter to check your answers.
Exercise 2.3. Practice using the Python interpreter as a calculator:
1. The volume of a sphere with radius r is 43πr
3. What is the volume of a sphere with radius 5?
Hint: 392.7 is wrong!
2. Suppose the cover price of a book is $24.95, but bookstores get a 40% discount. Shipping costs
$3 for the first copy and 75 cents for each additional copy. What is the total wholesale cost for
60 copies?
3. If I leave my house at 6:52 am and run 1 mile at an easy pace (8:15 per mile), then 3 miles at
tempo (7:12 per mile) and 1 mile at easy pace again, what time do I get home for breakfast?
Chapter 3
Functions
3.1 Function calls
In the context of programming, a function is a named sequence of statements that performs
a computation. When you define a function, you specify the name and the sequence of
statements. Later, you can “call” the function by name. We have already seen one example
of a function call:
>>> type(32)

The name of the function is type. The expression in parentheses is called the argument of
the function. The result, for this function, is the type of the argument.
It is common to say that a function “takes” an argument and “returns” a result. The result
is called the return value.
3.2 Type conversion functions
Python provides built-in functions that convert values from one type to another. The int
function takes any value and converts it to an integer, if it can, or complains otherwise:
>>> int('32')
32
>>> int('Hello')
ValueError: invalid literal for int(): Hello
int can convert floating-point values to integers, but it doesn’t round off; it chops off the
fraction part:
>>> int(3.99999)
3
>>> int(-2.3)
-2
float converts integers and strings to floating-point numbers:
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Chapter 3. Functions
>>> float(32)
32.0
>>> float('3.14159')
3.14159
Finally, str converts its argument to a string:
>>> str(32)
'32'
>>> str(3.14159)
'3.14159'
3.3 Math functions
Python has a math module that provides most of the familiar mathematical functions. A
module is a file that contains a collection of related functions.
Before we can use the module, we have to import it:
>>> import math
This statement creates a module object named math. If you print the module object, you
get some information about it:
>>> print math

The module object contains the functions and variables defined in the module. To access
one of the functions, you have to specify the name of the module and the name of the
function, separated by a dot (also known as a period). This format is called dot notation.
>>> ratio = signal_power / noise_power
>>> decibels = 10 * math.log10(ratio)
>>> radians = 0.7
>>> height = math.sin(radians)
The first example uses log10 to compute a signal-to-noise ratio in decibels (assuming that
signal_power and noise_power are defined). The math module also provides log, which
computes logarithms base e.
The second example finds the sine of radians. The name of the variable is a hint that sin
and the other trigonometric functions (cos, tan, etc.) take arguments in radians. To convert
from degrees to radians, divide by 360 and multiply by 2π:
>>> degrees = 45
>>> radians = degrees / 360.0 * 2 * math.pi
>>> math.sin(radians)
0.707106781187
The expression math.pi gets the variable pi from the math module. The value of this
variable is an approximation of π, accurate to about 15 digits.
If you know your trigonometry, you can check the previous result by comparing it to the
square root of two divided by two:
>>> math.sqrt(2) / 2.0
0.707106781187
3.4. Composition
21
3.4 Composition
So far, we have looked at the elements of a program—variables, expressions, and
statements—in isolation, without talking about how to combine them.
One of the most useful features of programming languages is their ability to take small
building blocks and compose them. For example, the argument of a function can be any
kind of expression, including arithmetic operators:
x = math.sin(degrees / 360.0 * 2 * math.pi)
And even function calls:
x = math.exp(math.log(x+1))
Almost anywhere you can put a value, you can put an arbitrary expression, with one ex-
ception: the left side of an assignment statement has to be a variable name. Any other
expression on the left side is a syntax error (we will see exceptions to this rule later).
>>> minutes = hours * 60
# right
>>> hours * 60 = minutes
# wrong!
SyntaxError: can't assign to operator
3.5 Adding new functions
So far, we have only been using the functions that come with Python, but it is also possible
to add new functions. A function definition specifies the name of a new function and the
sequence of statements that execute when the function is called.
Here is an example:
def print_lyrics():
print "I'm a lumberjack, and I'm okay."
print "I sleep all night and I work all day."
def is a keyword that indicates that this is a function definition. The name of the function
is print_lyrics. The rules for function names are the same as for variable names: letters,
numbers and some punctuation marks are legal, but the first character can’t be a number.
You can’t use a keyword as the name of a function, and you should avoid having a variable
and a function with the same name.
The empty parentheses after the name indicate that this function doesn’t take any argu-
ments.
The first line of the function definition is called the header; the rest is called the body.
The header has to end with a colon and the body has to be indented. By convention, the
indentation is always four spaces (see Section 3.14). The body can contain any number of
statements.
The strings in the print statements are enclosed in double quotes. Single quotes and double
quotes do the same thing; most people use single quotes except in cases like this where a
single quote (which is also an apostrophe) appears in the string.
If you type a function definition in interactive mode, the interpreter prints ellipses (...) to
let you know that the definition isn’t complete:
22
Chapter 3. Functions
>>> def print_lyrics():
...
print "I'm a lumberjack, and I'm okay."
...
print "I sleep all night and I work all day."
...
To end the function, you have to enter an empty line (this is not necessary in a script).
Defining a function creates a variable with the same name.
>>> print print_lyrics

>>> type(print_lyrics)

The value of print_lyrics is a function object, which has type 'function'.
The syntax for calling the new function is the same as for built-in functions:
>>> print_lyrics()
I'm a lumberjack, and I'm okay.
I sleep all night and I work all day.
Once you have defined a function, you can use it inside another function. For example, to
repeat the previous refrain, we could write a function called repeat_lyrics:
def repeat_lyrics():
print_lyrics()
print_lyrics()
And then call repeat_lyrics:
>>> repeat_lyrics()
I'm a lumberjack, and I'm okay.
I sleep all night and I work all day.
I'm a lumberjack, and I'm okay.
I sleep all night and I work all day.
But that’s not really how the song goes.
3.6 Definitions and uses
Pulling together the code fragments from the previous section, the whole program looks
like this:
def print_lyrics():
print "I'm a lumberjack, and I'm okay."
print "I sleep all night and I work all day."
def repeat_lyrics():
print_lyrics()
print_lyrics()
repeat_lyrics()
This program contains two function definitions: print_lyrics and repeat_lyrics. Func-
tion definitions get executed just like other statements, but the effect is to create function
objects. The statements inside the function do not get executed until the function is called,
and the function definition generates no output.
3.7. Flow of execution
23
As you might expect, you have to create a function before you can execute it. In other
words, the function definition has to be executed before the first time it is called.
Exercise 3.1. Move the last line of this program to the top, so the function call appears before the
definitions. Run the program and see what error message you get.
Exercise 3.2. Move the function call back to the bottom and move the definition of print_lyrics
after the definition of repeat_lyrics. What happens when you run this program?
3.7 Flow of execution
In order to ensure that a function is defined before its first use, you have to know the order
in which statements are executed, which is called the flow of execution.
Execution always begins at the first statement of the program. Statements are executed one
at a time, in order from top to bottom.
Function definitions do not alter the flow of execution of the program, but remember that
statements inside the function are not executed until the function is called.
A function call is like a detour in the flow of execution. Instead of going to the next state-
ment, the flow jumps to the body of the function, executes all the statements there, and
then comes back to pick up where it left off.
That sounds simple enough, until you remember that one function can call another. While
in the middle of one function, the program might have to execute the statements in another
function. But while executing that new function, the program might have to execute yet
another function!
Fortunately, Python is good at keeping track of where it is, so each time a function com-
pletes, the program picks up where it left off in the function that called it. When it gets to
the end of the program, it terminates.
What’s the moral of this sordid tale? When you read a program, you don’t always want
to read from top to bottom. Sometimes it makes more sense if you follow the flow of
execution.
3.8 Parameters and arguments
Some of the built-in functions we have seen require arguments. For example, when you
call math.sin you pass a number as an argument. Some functions take more than one
argument: math.pow takes two, the base and the exponent.
Inside the function, the arguments are assigned to variables called parameters. Here is an
example of a user-defined function that takes an argument:
def print_twice(bruce):
print bruce
print bruce
This function assigns the argument to a parameter named bruce. When the function is
called, it prints the value of the parameter (whatever it is) twice.
This function works with any value that can be printed.
24
Chapter 3. Functions
>>> print_twice('Spam')
Spam
Spam
>>> print_twice(17)
17
17
>>> print_twice(math.pi)
3.14159265359
3.14159265359
The same rules of composition that apply to built-in functions also apply to user-defined
functions, so we can use any kind of expression as an argument for print_twice:
>>> print_twice('Spam '*4)
Spam Spam Spam Spam
Spam Spam Spam Spam
>>> print_twice(math.cos(math.pi))
-1.0
-1.0
The argument is evaluated before the function is called, so in the examples the expressions
'Spam '*4 and math.cos(math.pi) are only evaluated once.
You can also use a variable as an argument:
>>> michael = 'Eric, the half a bee.'
>>> print_twice(michael)
Eric, the half a bee.
Eric, the half a bee.
The name of the variable we pass as an argument (michael) has nothing to do with the
name of the parameter (bruce). It doesn’t matter what the value was called back home (in
the caller); here in print_twice, we call everybody bruce.
3.9 Variables and parameters are local
When you create a variable inside a function, it is local, which means that it only exists
inside the function. For example:
def cat_twice(part1, part2):
cat = part1 + part2
print_twice(cat)
This function takes two arguments, concatenates them, and prints the result twice. Here is
an example that uses it:
>>> line1 = 'Bing tiddle '
>>> line2 = 'tiddle bang.'
>>> cat_twice(line1, line2)
Bing tiddle tiddle bang.
Bing tiddle tiddle bang.
When cat_twice terminates, the variable cat is destroyed. If we try to print it, we get an
exception:
>>> print cat
NameError: name 'cat' is not defined
3.10. Stack diagrams
25
line1
line2
’tiddle bang.’
part1
part2
cat
bruce
’Bing tiddle ’
’Bing tiddle ’
’tiddle bang.’
’Bing tiddle tiddle bang.’
’Bing tiddle tiddle bang.’

cat_twice
print_twice
Figure 3.1: Stack diagram.
Parameters are also local. For example, outside print_twice, there is no such thing as
bruce.
3.10 Stack diagrams
To keep track of which variables can be used where, it is sometimes useful to draw a stack
diagram. Like state diagrams, stack diagrams show the value of each variable, but they
also show the function each variable belongs to.
Each function is represented by a frame. A frame is a box with the name of a function
beside it and the parameters and variables of the function inside it. The stack diagram for
the previous example is shown in Figure 3.1.
The frames are arranged in a stack that indicates which function called which, and so
on. In this example, print_twice was called by cat_twice, and cat_twice was called
by __main__, which is a special name for the topmost frame. When you create a variable
outside of any function, it belongs to __main__.
Each parameter refers to the same value as its corresponding argument. So, part1 has the
same value as line1, part2 has the same value as line2, and bruce has the same value as
cat.
If an error occurs during a function call, Python prints the name of the function, and the
name of the function that called it, and the name of the function that called that, all the way
back to __main__.
For example, if you try to access cat from within print_twice, you get a NameError:
Traceback (innermost last):
File "test.py", line 13, in __main__
cat_twice(line1, line2)
File "test.py", line 5, in cat_twice
print_twice(cat)
File "test.py", line 9, in print_twice
print cat
NameError: name 'cat' is not defined
This list of functions is called a traceback. It tells you what program file the error occurred
in, and what line, and what functions were executing at the time. It also shows the line of
code that caused the error.
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Chapter 3. Functions
The order of the functions in the traceback is the same as the order of the frames in the
stack diagram. The function that is currently running is at the bottom.
3.11 Fruitful functions and void functions
Some of the functions we are using, such as the math functions, yield results; for lack of a
better name, I call them fruitful functions. Other functions, like print_twice, perform an
action but don’t return a value. They are called void functions.
When you call a fruitful function, you almost always want to do something with the result;
for example, you might assign it to a variable or use it as part of an expression:
x = math.cos(radians)
golden = (math.sqrt(5) + 1) / 2
When you call a function in interactive mode, Python displays the result:
>>> math.sqrt(5)
2.2360679774997898
But in a script, if you call a fruitful function all by itself, the return value is lost forever!
math.sqrt(5)
This script computes the square root of 5, but since it doesn’t store or display the result, it
is not very useful.
Void functions might display something on the screen or have some other effect, but they
don’t have a return value. If you try to assign the result to a variable, you get a special
value called None.
>>> result = print_twice('Bing')
Bing
Bing
>>> print result
None
The value None is not the same as the string 'None'. It is a special value that has its own
type:
>>> print type(None)

The functions we have written so far are all void. We will start writing fruitful functions in
a few chapters.
3.12 Why functions?
It may not be clear why it is worth the trouble to divide a program into functions. There
are several reasons:
• Creating a new function gives you an opportunity to name a group of statements,
which makes your program easier to read and debug.
• Functions can make a program smaller by eliminating repetitive code. Later, if you
make a change, you only have to make it in one place.
3.13. Importing with from
27
• Dividing a long program into functions allows you to debug the parts one at a time
and then assemble them into a working whole.
• Well-designed functions are often useful for many programs. Once you write and
debug one, you can reuse it.
3.13
Importing with from
Python provides two ways to import modules; we have already seen one:
>>> import math
>>> print math

>>> print math.pi
3.14159265359
If you import math, you get a module object named math. The module object contains
constants like pi and functions like sin and exp.
But if you try to access pi directly, you get an error.
>>> print pi
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "", line 1, in
NameError: name 'pi' is not defined
As an alternative, you can import an object from a module like this:
>>> from math import pi
Now you can access pi directly, without dot notation.
>>> print pi
3.14159265359
Or you can use the star operator to import everything from the module:
>>> from math import *
>>> cos(pi)
-1.0
The advantage of importing everything from the math module is that your code can be
more concise. The disadvantage is that there might be conflicts between names defined in
different modules, or between a name from a module and one of your variables.
3.14 Debugging
If you are using a text editor to write your scripts, you might run into problems with spaces
and tabs. The best way to avoid these problems is to use spaces exclusively (no tabs). Most
text editors that know about Python do this by default, but some don’t.
Tabs and spaces are usually invisible, which makes them hard to debug, so try to find an
editor that manages indentation for you.
Also, don’t forget to save your program before you run it. Some development environ-
ments do this automatically, but some don’t. In that case the program you are looking at in
the text editor is not the same as the program you are running.
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Chapter 3. Functions
Debugging can take a long time if you keep running the same, incorrect, program over and
over!
Make sure that the code you are looking at is the code you are running. If you’re not sure,
put something like print 'hello' at the beginning of the program and run it again. If you
don’t see hello, you’re not running the right program!
3.15 Glossary
function: A named sequence of statements that performs some useful operation. Func-
tions may or may not take arguments and may or may not produce a result.
function definition: A statement that creates a new function, specifying its name, param-
eters, and the statements it executes.
function object: A value created by a function definition. The name of the function is a
variable that refers to a function object.
header: The first line of a function definition.
body: The sequence of statements inside a function definition.
parameter: A name used inside a function to refer to the value passed as an argument.
function call: A statement that executes a function. It consists of the function name fol-
lowed by an argument list.
argument: A value provided to a function when the function is called. This value is as-
signed to the corresponding parameter in the function.
local variable: A variable defined inside a function. A local variable can only be used
inside its function.
return value: The result of a function. If a function call is used as an expression, the return
value is the value of the expression.
fruitful function: A function that returns a value.
void function: A function that doesn’t return a value.
module: A file that contains a collection of related functions and other definitions.
import statement: A statement that reads a module file and creates a module object.
module object: A value created by an import statement that provides access to the values
defined in a module.
dot notation: The syntax for calling a function in another module by specifying the mod-
ule name followed by a dot (period) and the function name.
composition: Using an expression as part of a larger expression, or a statement as part of
a larger statement.
flow of execution: The order in which statements are executed during a program run.
3.16. Exercises
29
stack diagram: A graphical representation of a stack of functions, their variables, and the
values they refer to.
frame: A box in a stack diagram that represents a function call. It contains the local vari-
ables and parameters of the function.
traceback: A list of the functions that are executing, printed when an exception occurs.
3.16 Exercises
Exercise 3.3. Python provides a built-in function called len that returns the length of a string, so
the value of len('allen') is 5.
Write a function named right_justify that takes a string named s as a parameter and prints the
string with enough leading spaces so that the last letter of the string is in column 70 of the display.
>>> right_justify('allen')
allen
Exercise 3.4. A function object is a value you can assign to a variable or pass as an argument. For
example, do_twice is a function that takes a function object as an argument and calls it twice:
def do_twice(f):
f()
f()
Here’s an example that uses do_twice to call a function named print_spam twice.
def print_spam():
print 'spam'
do_twice(print_spam)
1. Type this example into a script and test it.
2. Modify do_twice so that it takes two arguments, a function object and a value, and calls the
function twice, passing the value as an argument.
3. Write a more general version of print_spam, called print_twice, that takes a string as a
parameter and prints it twice.
4. Use the modified version of do_twice to call print_twice twice, passing 'spam' as an
argument.
5. Define a new function called do_four that takes a function object and a value and calls the
function four times, passing the value as a parameter. There should be only two statements in
the body of this function, not four.
Solution: http: // thinkpython. com/ code/ do_ four. py .
Exercise 3.5. This exercise can be done using only the statements and other features we have learned
so far.
1. Write a function that draws a grid like the following:
30
Chapter 3. Functions
+ - - - - + - - - - +
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
+ - - - - + - - - - +
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
+ - - - - + - - - - +
Hint: to print more than one value on a line, you can print a comma-separated sequence:
print '+', '-'
If the sequence ends with a comma, Python leaves the line unfinished, so the value printed
next appears on the same line.
print '+',
print '-'
The output of these statements is '+ -'.
A print statement all by itself ends the current line and goes to the next line.
2. Write a function that draws a similar grid with four rows and four columns.
Solution: http: // thinkpython. com/ code/ grid. py . Credit: This exercise is based on an
exercise in Oualline, Practical C Programming, Third Edition, O’Reilly Media, 1997.
Chapter 4
Case study: interface design
Code examples from this chapter are available from http://thinkpython.com/code/
polygon.py.
4.1 TurtleWorld
To accompany this book, I have written a package called Swampy. You can download
Swampy from http://thinkpython.com/swampy; follow the instructions there to install
Swampy on your system.
A package is a collection of modules; one of the modules in Swampy is TurtleWorld,
which provides a set of functions for drawing lines by steering turtles around the screen.
If Swampy is installed as a package on your system, you can import TurtleWorld like this:
from swampy.TurtleWorld import *
If you downloaded the Swampy modules but did not install them as a package, you can ei-
ther work in the directory that contains the Swampy files, or add that directory to Python’s
search path. Then you can import TurtleWorld like this:
from TurtleWorld import *
The details of the installation process and setting Python’s search path depend on your
system, so rather than include those details here, I will try to maintain current information
for several systems at http://thinkpython.com/swampy
Create a file named mypolygon.py and type in the following code:
from swampy.TurtleWorld import *
world = TurtleWorld()
bob = Turtle()
print bob
wait_for_user()
32
Chapter 4. Case study: interface design
The first line imports everything from the TurtleWorld module in the swampy package.
The next lines create a TurtleWorld assigned to world and a Turtle assigned to bob. Printing
bob yields something like:

This means that bob refers to an instance of a Turtle as defined in module TurtleWorld.
In this context, “instance” means a member of a set; this Turtle is one of the set of possible
Turtles.
wait_for_user tells TurtleWorld to wait for the user to do something, although in this case
there’s not much for the user to do except close the window.
TurtleWorld provides several turtle-steering functions: fd and bk for forward and back-
ward, and lt and rt for left and right turns. Also, each Turtle is holding a pen, which is
either down or up; if the pen is down, the Turtle leaves a trail when it moves. The functions
pu and pd stand for “pen up” and “pen down.”
To draw a right angle, add these lines to the program (after creating bob and before calling
wait_for_user):
fd(bob, 100)
lt(bob)
fd(bob, 100)
The first line tells bob to take 100 steps forward. The second line tells him to turn left.
When you run this program, you should see bob move east and then north, leaving two
line segments behind.
Now modify the program to draw a square. Don’t go on until you’ve got it working!
4.2 Simple repetition
Chances are you wrote something like this (leaving out the code that creates TurtleWorld
and waits for the user):
fd(bob, 100)
lt(bob)
fd(bob, 100)
lt(bob)
fd(bob, 100)
lt(bob)
fd(bob, 100)
We can do the same thing more concisely with a for statement. Add this example to
mypolygon.py and run it again:
for i in range(4):
print 'Hello!'
You should see something like this:
4.3. Exercises
33
Hello!
Hello!
Hello!
Hello!
This is the simplest use of the for statement; we will see more later. But that should be
enough to let you rewrite your square-drawing program. Don’t go on until you do.
Here is a for statement that draws a square:
for i in range(4):
fd(bob, 100)
lt(bob)
The syntax of a for statement is similar to a function definition. It has a header that ends
with a colon and an indented body. The body can contain any number of statements.
A for statement is sometimes called a loop because the flow of execution runs through the
body and then loops back to the top. In this case, it runs the body four times.
This version is actually a little different from the previous square-drawing code because it
makes another turn after drawing the last side of the square. The extra turn takes a little
more time, but it simplifies the code if we do the same thing every time through the loop.
This version also has the effect of leaving the turtle back in the starting position, facing in
the starting direction.
4.3 Exercises
The following is a series of exercises using TurtleWorld. They are meant to be fun, but they
have a point, too. While you are working on them, think about what the point is.
The following sections have solutions to the exercises, so don’t look until you have finished
(or at least tried).
1. Write a function called square that takes a parameter named t, which is a turtle. It
should use the turtle to draw a square.
Write a function call that passes bob as an argument to square, and then run the
program again.
2. Add another parameter, named length, to square. Modify the body so length of the
sides is length, and then modify the function call to provide a second argument. Run
the program again. Test your program with a range of values for length.
3. The functions lt and rt make 90-degree turns by default, but you can provide a
second argument that specifies the number of degrees. For example, lt(bob, 45)
turns bob 45 degrees to the left.
Make a copy of square and change the name to polygon. Add another parameter
named n and modify the body so it draws an n-sided regular polygon. Hint: The
exterior angles of an n-sided regular polygon are 360/n degrees.
4. Write a function called circle that takes a turtle, t, and radius, r, as parameters and
that draws an approximate circle by invoking polygon with an appropriate length
and number of sides. Test your function with a range of values of r.