Seven Days Faculty Development and Training Programme on
GE8151 - Problem Solving and
Python Programming
FUNCTIONS
ADRI JOVIN J J
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR (SR. GR.)
DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
SRI RAMAKRISHNA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
WHO’S A GREAT TEACHER?
The mediocre teacher tells.
The good teacher explains.
The superior teacher demonstrates.
The great teacher inspires.
― William Arthur Ward
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OBJECTIVE
Creating a simple function with a parameter
Exploring functions with return values
Creating functions with multiple parameters
Control Flow/Sequence in Python
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EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Create functions with a parameter
Create functions with a return value
Create functions with multiple parameters
Understand the control flow in Python
Cognitive level expected: “apply”
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RECOMMENDED TEACHING-AID
Jupyter Notebook - Open Source (requires Anaconda
environment)
http://notebooks.azure.com - Free cloud platform (requires
Microsoft account, probably a hotmail.com/live.com
account)
Spyder – Open Source (requires Anaconda environment)
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LEARNING RESOURCES
Official Python 3 Documentation - https://docs.python.org/3/library/index.html
Dive Into Python - http://www.diveintopython3.net/
Think Python - http://greenteapress.com/wp/think-python-2e/
The Official Python Tutorial - https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/
Learn Python the Hard Way - http://learnpythonthehardway.org/book/
PEP 8 - https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0008/
Python Tutor - http://www.pythontutor.com/
Reserved Keywords in Python -
https://docs.python.org/3.0/reference/lexical_analysis.html#id8 [Don’t use]
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JUPYTER NOTEBOOK
http://notebooks.azure.com
Log-in with a Microsoft ID like
MSN/Hotmail/Live account
Easy to access from any where
24x7 availability
Easy transfer of notebooks
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JUPYTER NOTEBOOK
Create Libraries
Clone Libraries
Libraries may contain
number of Notebooks
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JUPYTER NOTEBOOK
Create Libraries
Clone Libraries
Libraries may contain
number of Notebooks
Jupyter Notebook format
(.ipynb files)
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JUPYTER NOTEBOOK
Create Libraries
Clone Libraries
Libraries may contain
number of Notebooks
Jupyter Notebook format
(.ipynb files)
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JUPYTER NOTEBOOK
Creating a new Notebook
Click + symbol > Name the
Notebook
Here, it is
“MY_FIRST_NOTEBOOK”
Click “New”
Note: Item Type must be
selected or the file will be
blank
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JUPYTER NOTEBOOK
Code Cell
Markdown Cell
Raw NBConvert Cell
Header Cell
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RUNNING A CELL
Methods for running the code in a cell
Click in the cell below and press "Ctrl+Enter" to run the code
or
Click in the cell below and press "Shift+Enter" to run the code and move to the next cell
Menu: Cell...
> Run Cells runs the highlighted cell(s)
> Run All Above runs the highlighted cell and above
> Run All Below runs the highlighted cell and below
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WORKING IN NOTEBOOK
EDIT MODE
text cells in editing mode show markdown code
Markdown cells keep editing mode appearance until the cell is run
code (python 3) cells in editing look the same after editing, but may show different run output
clicking another cell moves the green highlight that indicates which cell has active editing focus
CELLS NEED TO BE SAVED
the notebook will frequently auto save
best practice is to manually save after editing a cell using "Ctrl + S" or alternatively, Menu: File > Save
and Checkpoint
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ALTERING NOTEBOOK
ADD A CELL
Highlight any cell and then... add a new cell using Menu: Insert > Insert Cell Below or Insert Cell Above
Add with Keyboard Shortcut: "ESC + A" to insert above or "ESC + B" to insert below
CHOOSE CELL TYPE
Format cells as Markdown or Code via the toolbar dropdown or Menu: Cell > Cell Type > Code or Markdown
Cells default to Code when created but can be reformatted from code to Markdown and vice versa
CHANGE NOTEBOOK PAGE LANGUAGE
The course uses Python 3 but Jupyter Notebooks can be in Python 2 or 3 (and a language called R)
To change a notebook to Python 3 go to "Menu: Kernel > Change Kernel> Python 3"
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FUNCTIONS WITH ARGUMENTS
Functions are used for code tasks that are intended to be reused
Make code easier to develop and maintain
Python allows
−User Defined Functions
−Built-in Functions (e.g.: print())
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FUNCTIONS WITH ARGUMENTS
print()can be called using arguments (or without) and sends text to
standard output, such as the console.
print()uses parameters to define the variable arguments that can be
passed to the Function.
print()defines multiple string/numbers parameters which means we
can send a long list of arguments to print(), separated by commas.
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BASICS OF A USER DEFINED FUNCTION
define a function with def
use indentation (4 spaces)
define parameters
def some_function() :
optional parameters
return values (or none)
function scope (basics defaults)
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CERTAIN RULES
use a function name that starts with a letter or underscore (usually a
lower-case letter)
function names can contain letters, numbers or underscores
parenthesis () follow the function name
a colon : follows the parenthesis
the code for the function is indented under the function definition
(use 4 spaces for this course)
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SYNTAX
def some_function():
#code the function tasks indented here
The end of the function is denoted by returning to no indentation
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EXAMPLE
def say_hi():
print("Hello World!")
print("say hi!")
say_hi()
Output:
Hello World!
say hi!
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CALLING FUNCTIONS
Simple function can be called using the function name followed by
parentheses
print()
Example:
def say_hi():
print("Hello World!")
print("say hi!")
say_hi()
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TEST THIS…
Test:
def say_hi():
print("Hello World!")
print("say hi!")
def three_three():
print(33)
# calling the functions
say_hi()
print()
three_three()
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TEST RESULT…
Output:
Hello World!
say hi!
33
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TASK
Define and call a simple function shout()
shout() prints the phrase with "!" concatenated to the end
takes no arguments
indented function code does the following
define a variable for called phrase and initialize with a short phrase
prints phrase as all upper-case letters followed by "!"
call shout at the bottom of the cell after the function def
(Tip: no indentation should be used)
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FUNCTION WITH PARAMETERS
print()and type()are examples of built-in functions that have
parameters defined
type() has a parameter for a Python Object and sends back the
type of the object
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ARGUMENT VS PARAMETER
an argument is a value given for a parameter when calling a function
type is called providing an Argument - in this case the string "Hello"
type(“Hello”)
Parameters are defined inside of the parenthesis as part of a
function def statement
Parameters are typically copies of objects that are available for use
in function code
def say_this(phrase):
print(phrase)
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Hi Hello
DEFAULT ARGUMENT
Default Arguments are used if no argument is supplied
Default arguments are assigned when creating the parameter list
def say_this(phrase = "Hi"): Hi
print(phrase) Hello
say_this()
say_this("Hello")
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Hi Hello
TASK
Define shout_this()and call with variable argument
define variable words_to_shout as a string gathered from user
input()
Call shout_this() with words_to_shout as argument
get user input()for the string words_to_shout
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Hi Hello
FUNCTION WITH RETURN VALUE
type()returns an object type
type()can be called with a float the return value can be
stored in a variable
object_type = type(2.33)
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Hi Hello
FUNCTION WITH RETURN VALUE
return keyword in a function returns a value after exiting
the function
def msg_double(phrase):
double = phrase + " " + phrase
return double
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Hi Hello
TASK
Define function print_doctor() that takes a parameter
name
get user input for variable full_name
call the function using full_name as argument
print the return value
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Hi Hello
FUNCTION WITH MULTIPLE PARAMETERS
Functions can have multiple parameters separated by
commas
def make_schedule(period1, period2):
schedule = ("[1st] " + period1.title() + ", [2nd] " + period2.title())
return schedule
student_schedule = make_schedule("mathematics", "history")
print("SCHEDULE:", student_schedule)
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Hi Hello
TASK
Define make_schedule()adding a 3rd period to
Start with the above example code
add a parameter period_3
update function code to add period_3 to the schedule
call student_schedule()with an additional argument such as
'science'
print the schedule
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Hi Hello
SEQUENCE/FLOW OF EXECUTION
In programming, sequence refers to the order that code is
processed
Objects in Python, such as variables and functions, are not
available until they have been processed
Processing sequence flows from the top of a page of code to
the bottom
This often means that function definitions are placed at the
beginning of a page of code
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In the statement have_hat = hat_available('green') the function hat_available() needs to be called after the function has been defined
Hi Hello
SEQUENCE/FLOW OF EXECUTION
have_hat = hat_available('green') ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
print('hat available is', have_hat) NameError Traceback (most recent call last)
def hat_available(color): <ipython-input-1-95ed6a786fca> in <module>()
hat_colors = 'black, red, blue, ----> 1 have_hat = hat_available('green')
green, white, grey, brown, pink' 2 print('hat available is', have_hat)
return(color.lower() in 3 def hat_available(color):
hat_colors)
NameError: name 'hat_available' is not defined
In the statement have_hat = hat_available('green')the function
hat_available()needs to be called after the function has been defined
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Hi Hello
TASK
Change the Sequence to fix the NameError
have_hat = hat_available('green')
print('hat available is', have_hat)
def hat_available(color):
hat_colors = 'black, red, blue, green, white, grey, brown, pink'
return(color.lower() in hat_colors)
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Hi Hello
TASK
Create and test market()
market()takes 2 string arguments: commodity & price
market returns a string in sentence form
gather input for commodity_entry and price_entry to use in
calling market()
print the return value of market()
Example of output: Commodity Type: Basket costs Rs. 100/-
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Hi Hello
TRAINING WORKBOOK
https://notebooks.azure.com/adrijovin/libraries/functions-
ge8151
Disclaimer:
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Jupyter is a registered U.S. Patent & Trademark Office of Project Jupyter, USA
Python is a registered trademark of the Python Software Foundation, USA
Microsoft Azure is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation, USA
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