+
Data Types, Errors and Debugging, Advanced Math
Operations & Formatting Output
CSCI-UA.002
+
Data Types
+ Data Types
Python needs to know how to set aside memory in your
computer based on what kind of information you want to
store
There are three basic types of data that we will be working
with during the first half of the term
Strings (character-based data)
Numbers
Logical Values (True / False)
+ Numeric Data Types
Integers
Whole numbers that do not contain a decimal point
Abbreviated as “ int” in Python
Example: 5, -5, 100, 10032
Floating Point Numbers
Numbers that contain a decimal point
Abbreviated as “float” in Python
Example: 5.0, -5.0, 100.99, 0.232132234
+ Numeric Data Types
You can store numeric data inside variables that you create.
Example:
num_1 = 5 # this is an int
num_2 = 4.99 # this is a
float
Keep in mind that you do not use separators or symbols when
storing numeric data. Example:
num_3 = $5,123.99 # error!
+ What’s the data type?
5.5
“Hello”
“5.5”
2.975
2.0
+ Numeric Data Types
Python is not a strictly typed language. This means that you
don’t need to pre-declare what kind of data your variables
will be holding.
This is also called “dynamic typing”.
+ Data Types across languages
Loosely Typed Strictly Typed
Python C
PHP C ++
JavaScript Java
Perl ActionScript
+ Strictly Typed Languages -
Examples
ActionScript Java
var name:String = “Harry”; String name = “Harry”;
var top_speed:Number = 50; int top_speed = 50;
var gravity:Number = 9.5; float gravity = 9.5;
+ User input and Math Expressions
We can capture input from the user (via the input() function)
and use that input in our calculations
However, the input() function “returns” a string – this means
that the data type that “comes out” of the input() function is a
series of printed characters
We need to convert the result of the input function from a
string into one of the two numeric data types that Python
supports (float and int)
+ Solution: The float() and int()
functions
float() and int() are data type conversation functions. They each take
one argument and convert that argument into the specified data type
Example:
# ask the user for their monthly salary
monthly_salary = input(‘how much do you make in a
month?’)
# convert the salary into a float
monthly_salary_float = float(monthly_salary)
# calculate the yearly salary
yearly_salary = monthly_salary_float * 12
# print the result
print (‘that means you make’, yearly_salary, ‘in a
year’)
+ Nesting data type conversions
In the previous example we performed our data type
conversion in two lines
We could have done that in a single line using a technique
called “nesting”
Example:
mynum = float( input(‘give me a number!’) )
+ Nesting data type conversions
+ Programming C hallenge
Ask the user for two numbers.
You can assume they will be
floating point numbers.
Compute the following and
print it out to the user:
The sum of the numbers
The product of the
numbers
The difference between the
numbers
The first number divided by
the second number
+ Programming C hallenge - C oins
Write a program that asks the
user for a number of pennies,
nickels, dimes and quarters
Calculate the total amount of
money that the user has and
print it out
+ ProgrammingC hallenge – Subway
Ride Calculator
Write a program that asks the
user for the value of their
current Metro card
Compute how many rides they
have left on their card. Only
provide whole number results
(i.e. you cannot have 3.5 rides
left on a card)
+
Errors, Bugs and Debugging
+ The Software Error
“...an analyzing process must
equally have been performed
in order to furnish the
Analytical Engine with the
necessary operative data; and
that herein may also lie a
possible source of error.
Granted that the actual
mechanism is unerring in
its processes, the cards may
give it wrong orders.”
- Lady Augusta Ada King,
Countess of Lovelace (1843)
+ Mechanical Malfunctions
“It has been just so in all of my
inventions. The first step is an
intuition, and comes with a
burst, then difficulties arise—
this thing gives out and [it is]
then that 'Bugs' — as such little
faults and difficulties are called
—show themselves and
months of intense watching,
study and labor are requisite
before commercial success or
failure is certainly reached.”
- Thomas Edison, 1878
+ “ Debugging ” 1947, Harvard Mark II
Computer
+ “ Debugging
”
De-bugging a program is the process of finding and resolving
errors.
+ Types of Errors
Syntax errors: The code does not follow the rules of the
language; for example, a single quote is used where a double
quote is needed; a colon is missing; a keyword is used as a
variable name.
Runtime errors: In this case, your code is fine but the program
does not run as expected (it “crashes”). For example, if your
program is meant to divide two numbers, but does not test for a
zero divisor, a run-time error would occur when the program
attempts to divide by zero.
Logic errors: These can be the hardest to find. In this case, the
program is correct from a syntax perspective; and it runs; but the
result is unanticipated or outright wrong. For example, if your
program prints “2+2 = 5” the answer is clearly wrong
+ Example Errors
print (“hello, world!’)
+ Example Errors
print (“hello, world!’) Syntax error (delimiters don’t
match)
+ Example Errors
Source Execution
num = input ('give me a give me a number: apple
number: ’)
Traceback (most recent
call last):
num_float = float(num)
File "/Users/
new_num = 10 + num_float HarryPotter/Documents/
madlibs01.py", line 6, in
print (new_num) <module>
new_num = 10 + num
TypeError:
unsupported
operand type(s)
for +:
'int' and 'str'
+
(that was a runtime error)
The program ran, but when given bad data it crashed
+ Example Errors
Source Execution
num_1 = float (input give me a num: 5
(‘give me a num: ’) )
give me another num: 2
num_2 = float (input
(‘give me another the sum is: 3.0
num: ’) )
print (‘the sum is: ‘,
num_1 – num_2)
+
(that was a logic error)
The program ran, but it didn’t do what it set out to do (i.e. it gave us
the wrong answer)
+ Basic Debugging Techniques
Set small, incremental goals for your program. Don’t try and write large
programs all at once.
Stop and test your work often as you go. Celebrate small successes
Use comments to have Python ignore certain lines that are giving you
trouble
+
Advanced Math Operations
+ Division O perations
Python contains two different division operators
The “/” operator is used to calculate the floating-point result
of a division operation
The “//” operator is used to calculate the integer result of a
division operation (essentially throwing away the remainder).
This operation will always round down.
Most times you will use the floating point division operator
(“/”)
+ Division O perations
print (5/2) # 2.5
print (5//2) # 2
print (-5/2) #
-2.5
print (-5//2) # -3
+ O rder of O perations
Python supports the standard
order of operations (PEMDAS)
You can use parenthetical
notation inside your math
expressions to group
operations
Ex:
((5+10+20)/60) *
100
+ Programming C hallenge
Write a program that asks the
user for three price values.
Calculate the average price in
a single variable and output it
to the user
+ C alculating an average in a
single step
average_score = (100 + 50 + 88) / 300
+ Exponents
You can raise any number to a power by using the “**”
operator
Example: 24
2 ** 4
+ ProgrammingC hallenge:
Calculating the area of a square
+ Remainder O perator (modulo)
The modulo operator (“%”) returns the remainder portion of
a division operation
Example:
5/2 # 2.5
5%2 # 1
+ ProgrammingC hallenge: Time
Calculations
Ask the user to input a number of
seconds as a whole number.
Then express the time value
inputted as a combination of
minutes and seconds.
Enter seconds: 110
That’s 1 minute and 50
seconds
+ C onverting Math Formulas into
Programming Statements
Most math formulas need to be converted into a format that
Python can understand before they can be evaluated
+ C onverting Math Formulas into
Programming Statements
10b 10 * b
(3)(12) 3 * 12
4xy 4*x*y
x
y=3*x/2
y3
2
+ ProgrammingC hallenge:
Investment Planning
In this exercise you will ask the user to input the following
values
How much money they want to generate
An interest rate value
How long they’d like to invest their money
Calculate how much they will need as an initial investment
Example:
You will need dollars to generate dollars at
% over years.
+ ProgrammingC hallenge:
Investment Planning
F P = Present Value
P F = Future Value
(1 r) R = Rate or Return
n
N = Number of Years
+ Mixed Type Expressions
Python allows you to mix ints and floats when performing
calculations.
The result of a mixed-type expression will evaluate based on
the operands used in the expression
+ Mixed Type Expressions
Operand 1 Operand 2 Result
int int int
float float float
float int float
+ Line C ontinuation
Sometimes expressions can get to be very long
You can use the “\” symbol to indicate to Python that you’d
like to continue the expression onto another line
Example:
x = 5 + 2 / \
7
+ 8 – 12
This also works for print() function calls as well
+ Formatting Output with the
print() function
+ Line endings
When using the print() function you probably have noticed
that Python automatically places a newline character at the
end of each line
You can override this behavior and have Python use a
character of your choice by using the optional ‘end’ argument
when using the print() function
Example:
print (‘one’, end=‘’)
print (‘two’, end=‘’)
+ Separating print() function
arguments
By default, Python will place a space between arguments that
you use in print() function calls
You can override this behavior by using the optional ‘sep’
argument
Example:
print (‘one’, ‘two’, sep=‘*’)
# output: one*two
+ C ombing both lineendings
and separators
You can use both the ‘sep’ and the ‘end’ arguments at the
same time in the same print() function call.
Example:
print (‘a’, ‘b’, ‘c’, sep=‘*’, end=‘’)
+ Escape C haracters
Most programming languages support an “escape character”
that allows you to perform special actions inside the confines of
a delimiter.
In Python the escape character is the “\” character
It causes Python to treat the next character as a “special”
character – in most cases this means that you will ignore the next
character and prevent it from interfering with your delimiter
Example:
print ('Hi, I\'m Harry Potter, your professor')
+ Escape C haracters
There are a number of special characters you can use in
conjunction with the escape character to perform special
string operations.
Example – “\n” – forces a line break.
print (‘line 1\nline 2\nline 3\n’)
# line 1
# line 2
# line 3
+ Escape C haracters
Example – “\t” – forces a tab:
x = 5
y = 4
print ('X', '\t', 'Y', '\t', 'X*Y’)
print (x, '\t', y, '\t', x*y)
X Y X*Y
5 4 20
+ Programming C hallenge
Write a program that asks the user to enter in 3 products and
3 prices.
Format your output to look like the following:
Product Price
product1 price1
product2 price2
product3 price3
+ String C oncatenation
You can’t “ add” strings together, but you can “concatenate”
them into a single compound string
Example:
a = input(‘firstname’)
b = input(‘last
name’)
c = b + ‘,’ +
a print (c)
+ String Repetition
You can also “multiply” a string by an integer value to
produce a larger string
Example:
lyrics = 'Fa ' + 'La ' * 8
print (lyrics)
# Fa La La La La La La La
La
+
The format() function
+ Format ing Strings
The format() function can be used to format a string before
you decide to print it out to the user
format() takes two arguments – a number and a formatting
pattern (expressed as a string)
format() returns a string which can be treated like any other
string (i.e. you can print it out immediately, store its value in a
variable, etc)
+ The Format function
The first argument passed to the format function is the item
that you wish to format
The second argument passed to the function is the formatting
“pattern” you wish to apply to this item
This pattern varies based on what you would like to do to the
item in question
Once the pattern is applied to the item the format function
will return a string version of your item with the formatting
pattern applied
+ String Format ing
One common use of string formatting is to generate a string
that contains a known # of characters
For example, say you have the strings “Harry” and
“Computer Science”. You might want to generate output that
looks like the following given these items:
Name Department
Harry Computer Science
In this case we need to ensure that the strings “Name” and
“Harry” are the same width so that the strings that come after
them (“Department” and “Computer Science”) line up
correctly.
+ String Format ing
You can use the format() function to “ pad” a string with extra
spaces at the beginning or the end of the string.
For example:
x = format(‘Harry’, ‘<20s’)
This will generate a new string (x) that contains the string
‘Harry’ plus 15 spaces at the end of the string. The total
length of the string in this case will be 20 characters.
The ‘<‘ character in the formatting pattern tells Python to left
justify the string and place the extra spaces at the end of the
new string
+ String Format ing
You can also have Python right justify the string and place the
spaces at the beginning of the new string by doing the
following:
b = format(‘Harry’, ‘>20s’)
+ String Format ing
x = “Hello, World!”
y = format(x, ‘>20s’)
print (x)
>> Hello, World!
print (y)
>> Hello, World!
+ Format ing Numbers
The format() function can also be used to generate a
printable string version of a float or integer number
format() takes two arguments – a number and a formatting
pattern (expressed as a string)
format() returns a string which can be treated like any other
string (i.e. you can print it out immediately, store its value in a
variable, etc)
+ Limiting decimal precision
a = 1/6
print (a) 0.16666666666666666
b = format (a, '.2f') 0.17
print (b)
+ Format ing pat erns
a = 10000/6
b = format (a, ‘.2f’) # format a as a 2 digit
float
c = format (a, ‘.5f’)
d = format (a, # format a as a 5 digit float
‘,.5f’) # 5 digit float + comma separators
e = format (a,
‘>20,.2f’) # 2 digit float, commas + 20
character minimum field width,
justified to the right
+ Format ing Percentag
es
a = 0.52
print (format(a, '%')) 52.000000%
print (format(a, '.2%')) 52.00%
print (format(a, ‘.0%’)) 52%
+ Format ing Integ
ers
a = 20000
print (format(a, ',d')) 20,000
print (format(a, ’>20,d')) 20,000
+ Programming C hallenge
Write a program that generates the 2 times table, like this:
Number 1 Number 2 N1 * N2
2 1 2
2 2 4
2 3 6
2 4 8
