🐍 Python for Data Science – Basics Summary

🔰 Introduction
 Course assumes some coding experience.
 Covers Python syntax, variables, arithmetic, and basic functions.

📌 Python Basics
✅ Variable Assignment
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spam_amount = 0
 = is the assignment operator.
 No need to declare type or initialize variables beforehand.
✅ Print Function
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print(spam_amount)
 print() outputs to console.
✅ Comments
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# This is a comment
✅ Reassignment and Arithmetic
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spam_amount = spam_amount + 4
 You can reassign variables using arithmetic expressions.

🔁 Conditional Statements
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if spam_amount > 0:
print("But I don't want ANY spam!")
  if starts a code block (indentation matters!).
 Colons : signal the start of an indented block.

🧵 Strings and Operators

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viking_song = "Spam " * spam_amount
print(viking_song)
 Strings can be repeated using *.
 Operator overloading allows * to work with strings and numbers.

🔢 Data Types
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type(0) → int
type(19.95) → float
 int: whole numbers
 float: decimals
 type() checks data type

➕ Arithmetic Operators

Operat Example (a = 5, Resul

Name
or b = 2) t

+ Addition a+b→7

- Subtraction a - b → 3

Multiplicatio
* a * b → 10
n

/ True Division a / b → 2.5 Float

Floor
// a // b → 2 Int
Division

% Modulus a%b→1

** Exponentiati a ** b → 25
Operat Example (a = 5, Resul
Name
or b = 2) t

on

-a Negation -a → -5

🧠 Order of Operations (PEMDAS)

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total = (hat_height + my_height) / 100
 Use parentheses () to control calculation order.

🛠 Built-in Functions
 min(a, b, c): Smallest value
 max(a, b, c): Largest value
 abs(x): Absolute value
 int(): Converts to integer
 float(): Converts to float
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int('807') + 1 → 808

----------

🧠 Functions in Python – Short Notes

📘 Getting Help in Python
 help() is a built-in function used to get documentation about other
functions.
 Example:
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help(round)
 Avoid calling the function inside help (e.g., help(round())); pass the
function name, not its result.

🔧 Understanding Function Signatures

 round(number, ndigits=None)
o number: required argument

o ndigits: optional, defaults to None

 print(value, ..., sep=' ', end='\n', file=sys.stdout, flush=False)

o Has multiple optional keyword arguments.

Defining Functions
 Syntax:
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def function_name(parameters):
# block of code
return result
 Example:
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def least_difference(a, b, c):
return min(abs(a-b), abs(b-c), abs(a-c))

📄 Docstrings
 Description added just after function definition using triple quotes """.
  Helps describe what the function does.
 Example:
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def greet():
"""This function prints a greeting."""
print("Hello!")
 help(greet) will now show the docstring.

❌ Functions Without return

 If no return is specified, function returns None.
 Used when function has side effects like print().

🧩 Default Arguments
 Provide default values to parameters:
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def greet(who="Colin"):
print("Hello,", who)
 Can override defaults by passing arguments:
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greet("Kaggle") # Output: Hello, Kaggle

🔁 Functions as Arguments
 You can pass functions as arguments to other functions.
 Example:
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def call(fn, arg):
return fn(arg)
  Higher-order functions: functions that take other functions as inputs or
return them.

📈 Using key with max()

 max() can take a key function to determine comparison basis:
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def mod_5(x):
return x % 5

max(100, 51, 14, key=mod_5) # Returns 14

------------

🟩 Booleans in Python
  bool type has two values: True and False
 Created by:
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x = True
type(x) # <class 'bool'>

🟨 Comparison Operators

Operati
Meaning
on

a == b a equals b

a != b a not equal to b

a<b a less than b

a>b a greater than b

a less than or equal to

a <= b
b

a greater than or equal

a >= b
to b

Examples:
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'3' == 3 # False
3.0 == 3 # True

🟧 Functions Using Comparisons

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def can_run_for_president(age):
return age >= 35

🟥 Modulus and Boolean Use Case

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def is_odd(n):
return (n % 2) == 1
❗ Use == for comparison, not =

🟦 Combining Boolean Values

 Use: and, or, not
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def can_run_for_president(age, is_natural_born_citizen):
return is_natural_born_citizen and (age >= 35)
Order of operations:
 not > and > or
✔ Use parentheses to clarify precedence.

🟪 Example: Weather Preparedness

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prepared_for_weather = (
have_umbrella
or ((rain_level < 5) and have_hood)
or (not (rain_level > 0 and is_workday))
)

🟫 Conditionals (if, elif, else)

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def inspect(x):
if x == 0:
print("zero")
elif x > 0:
print("positive")
else:
 print("negative")
 Use colons : and indentation to define blocks
 elif = “else if”; optional and repeatable

🟥 Boolean Conversion
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bool(1) # True
bool(0) # False
bool("hi") # True
bool("") # False
 Non-zero numbers and non-empty strings/lists → True
 0, "", [], etc. → False
Used implicitly:
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if 0:
print("won’t run")
elif "spam":
print("spam") # This prints

✅ Lists
 Definition: Ordered, mutable collections.
 Creation:
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primes = [2, 3, 5, 7]
 Types: Can contain any data type, even other lists.
 Indexing:
o list[0] – first element

o list[-1] – last element

 Slicing:
o list[start:end] – elements from start to end-1

o list[:3], list[3:], list[1:-1], etc.

 Mutability:
o Lists can be modified using assignment:

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planets[3] = 'Malacandra'
planets[:3] = ['Mur', 'Vee', 'Ur']
 Useful Functions:
o len(), sorted(), sum(), min(), max()

 Common Methods:
o append() – adds to the end

o pop() – removes and returns the last item

o index() – finds the index of an item

o in operator – checks membership

🧠 Objects & Methods

 Objects: Everything in Python is an object.
 Attributes: Non-function properties (e.g., x.imag)
 Methods: Functions attached to objects (e.g., x.bit_length())

📦 Tuples
 Definition: Ordered, immutable collections.
 Creation:
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t = (1, 2, 3)
t = 1, 2, 3 # same
 Immutability:
o Cannot change elements (t[0] = 100 → ❌ TypeError)

 Use case: Often used to return multiple values from a function.

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x = 0.125
numerator, denominator = x.as_integer_ratio()

🔁 Loops Overview
Loops allow repeated execution of code.

🪐 for Loop
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planets = ['Mercury', 'Venus', 'Earth', ...]
for planet in planets:
print(planet, end=' ')
 Iterates over items in any iterable: list, tuple, string, etc.
 Structure: for <var> in <iterable>:

🧮 Looping Over Other Types

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# Tuple
multiplicands = (2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 5)
product = 1
for mult in multiplicands:
product *= mult # 360

# String
s = 'someText'
for char in s:
if char.isupper():
print(char, end='')
 Works with tuples, strings, or anything that supports iteration.

🔢 range()
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for i in range(5):
print(i)
 Produces numbers from 0 to n-1
 Can also use range(start, stop, step)

🔁 while Loop
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i=0
while i < 10:
print(i)
i += 1
 Repeats while the condition is True.

🔄 List Comprehensions
Compact way to create lists.
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squares = [n**2 for n in range(10)]
# Equivalent to:
squares = []
for n in range(10):
squares.append(n**2)
With condition:
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short_planets = [planet for planet in planets if len(planet) < 6]
With transformation + condition:
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[planet.upper() + '!' for planet in planets if len(planet) < 6]

🔍 List Comprehension as Filtering/Counting Tool

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def count_negatives(nums):
return len([num for num in nums if num < 0])
Or even:
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def count_negatives(nums):
return sum([num < 0 for num in nums])
(Because True is 1 and False is 0 in Python.)

🧘‍♂️Final Advice (from Zen of Python)

 Readability counts.
 Explicit is better than implicit.
Use concise tools like comprehensions—but always prefer clarity.

Strings
Definition & Syntax
 Can be enclosed in single or double quotes:
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'hello' == "hello"
 Use escaping (\) to include quotes or special characters:
\', \", \\, \n (newline)
Multi-line & Print
 Triple-quoted strings allow literal newlines:
python
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"""line1
line2"""
 print(..., end='') prevents auto-newline
Sequence behavior
 Support indexing, slicing, len(), iteration
 Immutable – cannot change in place
Common methods
 .upper(), .lower()
 .index(sub), .startswith(prefix), .endswith(suffix)
Splitting & Joining
 .split() → list of words
 sep.join(list) → string with sep between items
Formatting
 Concatenate with +, but better:
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"{} weighs about {:.2} kg".format(var, num)
 Supports positional formatting, number formatting, commas, percent,
exponents

Dictionaries
Definition
 Key→value mappings:
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d = {'one': 1, 'two': 2}
Access & Modify
 Access via d[key]; add/change via assignment:
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d['three'] = 3
Comprehensions
 Create dicts from iterables:
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{p: p[0] for p in planets}
Membership & Iteration
 key in d checks presence
 Looping iterates keys:
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for k in d:
print(k, d[k])
Convenient methods
 .keys(), .values(), .items() for keys, values, and key-value pairs
 Use .items() to loop with unpacking:
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for k, v in d.items():
...

🚀 Imports in Python
 Standard vs. external libraries:
o Standard library modules (like math) are built-in.

o External packages (e.g., numpy, pandas) can be installed via pip.

 Import syntax:
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import math
import math as mt # alias
from math import log, pi # specific names
from math import * # discouraged: can cause name conflicts
  Why avoid import *:
o Overwrites names from other modules

o Harder to track name origins and debug

 Submodules:
o Modules can contain other modules:

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numpy.random.randint(...)

🔍 Exploring Unknown Library Objects

When working with unfamiliar objects (e.g., numpy.ndarray), use these tools:
1. type(obj) → shows class/type
2. dir(obj) → lists attributes and methods
3. help(obj) → detailed documentation
Example:
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rolls = numpy.random.randint(...)
type(rolls) # → numpy.ndarray
dir(rolls) # → methods like mean(), shape
help(rolls.mean) # explains what it does

✨ Operator Overloading
 Python allows custom behavior for operators (+, <, in, etc.) via special
methods like __add__, __lt__, __contains__.
 Example differences:
o Lists: [1,2,3] + 10 → error

o NumPy arrays: array + 10 → adds 10 to every element

o TensorFlow Tensor: a + b → returns symbolic tensor, not immediate

value
 Overloaded operators make expressions intuitive (e.g., df[(df['pop'] > 1e6)
& (df['continent']=='SA')]), but they can hide complex behaviors.
🧭 Takeaways
 Use explicit imports and clear aliases to avoid conflicts.
 Explore unknown types with type(), dir(), help().
 Be aware that operators might behave differently depending on the object
(due to overloading).
 As you work with third-party libraries, learning these tools will help you
navigate and debug code effectively.