On this page we'll keep track of the Python types, functions, and operators that we've covered in class. You can also review the online Python References for more complete coverage, BUT NOTE there is way more python in the there then we will cover! The reference page below is all you should need to complete the exam.
| Mathematical Operators | Symbol | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| + | addition | 4 + 5 = 9 |
| - | subtraction | 9 - 5 = 4 |
| * | multiplication | 3*5 = 15 |
| / and // | division | 6/3 = 2.0 6/4 = 1.5 6//4 = 1 |
| % | mod/remainder | 5 % 3 = 2 |
| ** | exponentiation | 3**2 = 9, 2**3 = 8 |
| String Operators | + | concatenation | "ab"+"cd"="abcd" |
| * | repeat | "xo"*3 = "xoxoxo" |
| Comparison Operators | == | is equal to | 3 == 3 is True |
| != | is not equal to | 3 != 3 is False |
| >= | is greater than or equal to | 4 >= 3 is True |
| <= | is less than or equal to | 4 <= 3 is False |
| > | is strictly greater than | 4 > 3 is True |
| < | is strictly less than | 3 < 3 is False |
| Boolean Operators | ||
x=5 | not | flips/negates the value of a bool | (not x == 5) is False |
| and | returns True only if both parts of it are True | (x > 3 and x < 7) is True (x > 3 and x > 7) is False |
| or | returns True if at least one part of it is True | (x < 3 or x > 7) is False (x < 3 or x < 7) is True |
| Type Conversion Functions | ||
| int(x) | turn x into an integer value | int("123") == 123 int(5.8) == 5 int can fail, e.g., int("abc") raises an error |
| float(x) | turn x into an float value | float("2.46") == 2.46
float can fail, e.g., float("abc") raises an error |
| str(x) | turn x into a string value | str(432) == "432" |
| type(x) | the type of x | type(1) ==
int type(1.2) == float |
| String Index and Splicing | ||
s="colorful" | Example | |
| s[x] | index a character | s[0] == 'c' s[-3] == 'f' s[5] == 'f' |
| s[x:y] | splice of string, substring from index x up to but not including index y | s[2:5] == 'lor' s[:5] == 'color' s[4:-1] == 'rfu' s[5:] == 'ful' |
| String Functions | ||
s="colorful" | Name | Returns | Example |
| .find(str) | index of first occurrence | s.find("o") == 1 |
| s.find("e") == -1 | ||
| .rfind(str) | index of last occurrence | s.rfind("o") == 3 |
| s.rfind("e") == -1 | ||
| .index(str) | same as .find(str), error if str not in string | s.index("o") == 1 | .count(str) | number of occurrences | s.count("o") == 2 s.count("r") == 1 s.count("e") == 0 |
| .strip() | copy with leading/trailing whitespace removed | " big ".strip() == "big" |
| .split() | list of "words" in s | "big bad dog".split() == ["big","bad", "dog"] |
| .split(",") | list of "items " in s that are separated
by a comma
In general can split on any string, not just a comma, e.g., s.split(":") will split on a colon and s.split("gat") will split on the string "gat". | "this,old,man".split(",") == ["this", "old", "man"] |
| ' '.join(lst) | concatenate elements of lst, a list of strings, separated by ' ' or any string | ':'.join(['a','b','c']) == "a:b:c" |
| .startswith(str) | boolean if starts with string | s.startswith("color") == True s.startswith("cool") == False |
| .endswith(str) | boolean if ends with string | s.endswith("ful") == True s.endswith("color") == False |
| .upper() | uppercase of s | s.upper() == "COLORFUL" |
| .lower() | lowercase of s | "HELLO".lower() == "hello" |
| .isupper() | boolean is uppercase | 'A'.isupper() == True 'a'.isupper() == False |
| .islower() | boolean is lowercase | 'A'.islower() == False 'a'.islower() == True |
| .isalpha() | boolean is alphabetic character |
'3'.isalpha() == False '?'.isalpha() == False 'z'.isalpha() == True |
| .capitalize() | capitalized s | s.capitalize() == "Colorful" |
| Miscellaneous Functions | ||
| help(x) | documentation for module x | |
| len(x) | length of sequence x, e.g., String or List | len("duke") == 4 |
| list(str) | a list of the characters from string str | list("cards") == ['c','a','r','d','s'] |
| sorted(x) | return list that is sorted version of sequence/iterable x, doesn't change x | sorted("cat") == ['a','c','t'] |
| range(x) | a list of integers starting at 0 and going up to but not including x | range(5) == [0, 1, 2, 3, 4] |
| range(start, stop) | a list of integers starting at start and going up to but not including stop | range(3, 7) == [3, 4, 5, 6] |
| range(start, stop, inc) | a list of integers starting at start and going up to but not including stop with increment inc | range(3, 9, 2) == [3, 5, 7] |
| min(x, y, z) | minimum value of all arguments | min(3, 1, 2) == 1
min("z", "b", "a") == "a" |
| max(x, y, z) | maximum value of all arguments | max(3, 1, 2) == 3
max("z", "b", "a") == "z" |
| abs(x) | absolute value of the int or float x | abs(-33) == 33 abs(-33.5) == 33.5 |
| List index, splicing and concatenation (+) | ||
lst =[3, 6, 8, 1, 7] | Example | |
| lst[x] | index an element | lst[0] == 3 lst[-1] == 7 |
| lst[x:y] | splice of list, sublist from index x up to but not including index y | lst[1:3] == [6, 8] lst[:4] == [3, 6, 8, 1] lst[3:] == [1,7] |
| + operator | concatenate two lists | [3,4] + [1,3,2] == [3,4,1,3,2] |
| List Functions | ||
lst =[3, 6, 8, 1, 7] | sum(lst) | returns sum of elements in list lst | sum([1,2,4]) == 7 |
| max(lst) | returns maximal element in lst | max([5,3,1,7,2]) == 7 |
| lst.append(...) | append an element to lst, changing lst | [1,2,3].append(8) == [1,2,3,8] |
| lst.insert(pos,elt) | append elt to lst at position pos, changing lst
| [1,2,3].insert(1,8) == [1,8,2,3] |
| lst.extend(lst2) | append every element of lst2 to lst | [1,2,3].extend([8,9]) == [1,2,3,8,9] |
| lst.remove(elt) | remove first occurence of elt from lst
| [1,2,3,2,3,2].remove(2) == [1,3,2,3,2] |
| lst.sort() | sorts the elements of lst | lst = [3,6,8,1,7] lst.sort() lst is now [1, 3, 6, 7, 8] |
| lst.index(elt) | return index of elt in lst, error if elt not in lst | [1,5,3,8].index(5) == 1 |
| lst.count(elt) | return number of occurrences of elt in lst
| [1,2,1,2,3].count(1) == 2 |
| lst.pop() | remove and return last element in
lst, so has side-effect of altering list and returns
value.
| lst = [3,6,8,1,7] x = lst.pop() x is 7, lst is [3,6,8,1] |
| lst.pop(index) | remove and return element at position index in
lst, so has side-effect of altering list and returns
value. Default index is last value.
| lst = [3,6,8,1,7] x = lst.pop(1) x is 6, lst is [3,8,1,7] |
| Random Functions (import random) | ||
| random.choice(list_of_choices) | returns a random element from list_of_choices. Gives an error if list_of_choices has length 0. | |
| random.randint(start, end) | Returns a random integer between start and end. Unlike range() and list slicing, the largest value it can return is end, not end-1. | |
| random.random() | Returns a random float between 0 and 1. | |