
This page summarises the syntax of the Python language. When using Python always remember two key rules:
- Rule #1: Python is white-space dependent; code blocks are indented using spaces.
- Rule #2: Python language is case sensitive. It matters for variables, functions and any keyword in general.
Annotations
# Single Line Comment """ Multi-line comment by 101Computing.net """
Variables & Assignment Operator
myInteger = 1 myFloat = 3.14 myString = "Hello World" myList = ["John","James","Laura"]
Input
# Text Input
playerName = input("What's your name?")
# Number/Integer Input
playerAge = int(input("How old are you?"))
# Number/Decimal Input
cost = float(input("How much does it cost?"))
Output
print("Hello World")
print("Hello " + playerName)
print("You are " + str(playerAge) + " years old.")
Casting
str(100) # To convert a value to a string
int("100") # To convert from a string to an integer
float("3.14") # To convert from a string to a float
score = 5
print("Your score = " + str(score))
String Manipulation
# String Concatenation
playerName = "John"
myString = "Hello " + playerName + "!"
score = 5
print("Your score = " + str(score))
# Changing the case of a string
myString = "Hello World"
print(myString.upper()) # to print HELLO WORLD
print(myString.lower()) # to print hello world
# Extracting Characters of a String
myString = "Hello World"
print(myString[0]) # "H"
print(myString[0:5]) # "Hello"
print(myString[-5:]) # "World"
# Finding out the length of a string
print(len(myString)) # 11
# Splitting a string into a list of values
names = "John;James;Laura"
data = names.split(";")
print(data[0]) # This would print: John
Random Library
#Import the random library import random #Generate a random number between 1 and 100 randomNumber = random.randint(1,100) #Pick a value in a list at random names = ["John","James","Luke"] randomName = random.choice(names)
Arithmetic Operators
x = a + b # Add x = a – b # Take away x = a / b # Divide x = a * b # Multiply x = a ** 2 # to the power of x = a // b # Quotient DIV x = a % b # Remainder MOD x += 1 # Increment x by 1 x -= 1 # Decrement x by 1 x *= 2 # Multiply x by 2 x /= 2 # Divide x by 2
Rounding a Number
pi = 3.14159
pi2 = round(pi,2)
print("Pi rounded to two decimal places: " + str(pi2)) # 3.14
IF Statements / Selection
Warning: Use the 4 spaces rule!!! (Indentation)
if numberOfLives == 0:
print("Game Over!")
if number == 7:
print("Seven")
else:
print("Not seven!")
if number < 0:
print("Negative Number")
elif number == 0:
print("Zero")
else:
print("Positive Number")
if number == 7:
print("Seven")
elif number == 8:
print("Eight")
elif number == 9:
print("Nine")
else:
print("Not seven, eight or nine")
Comparison Operators
The main comparison operators are:
| Comparison Operator | Meaning | Example |
| == | is equal to | 4==4 |
| != | is different from | 4!=7 |
| < | is lower than | 3<5 |
| > | is greater than | 9>2 |
| <= | is lower or equal to | 3<=5 5<=5 |
| >= | is greater or equal to | 9>=2 5>=5 |
Comparison operators are used to check if a condition is true or false.
Boolean operators such as AND, OR and NOT can also be used to check multiple conditions at the same time.
e.g.
if timer>0 and numberOfLives>0:
print("Carry on playing!")
else:
print("Game Over")
Loops / Iteration
Warning: Use the 4 spaces rule!!! (Indentation)
for i in range(1,11): # Using a range
print i
for i in range(0,101,5): # Using a step - e.g. count in 5
print i
daysOfTheWeek = ["Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday"]
#Iterate through all the values of a list
for i in range(0,len(daysOfTheWeek)):
print(daysOfTheWeek[i])
#Iterate through all the values of a list - Alternative method
for day in daysOfTheWeek :
print(day)
string = "Hello World"
for character in string: # Using a string
print(character)
i=0
while i<=100:
print i
i = i + 1
# To exit from a loop at any time:
break
Lists
days = ["Mon","Tue","Wed","Thu","Fri","Sat"]
days.append("Sun")
print(days[0]) # "Mon"
print(days[1]) # "Tue"
print(days[2]) # "Wed"
…
print(days[6]) # "Sun"
#Finding out the number of items in a list (length of a list)
print(len(days)) # 7
#Iterate through all the values of a list
for i in range(0,len(days)):
print(days[i])
#Iterate through all the values of a list - Alternative method
for value in days:
print(value)
Procedures
Warning: Use the 4 spaces rule!!! (Indentation)
def displayBanner(message) :
print("---------------")
print(message)
print("---------------")
displayBanner("Hello World!")
Functions
Warning: Use the 4 spaces rule!!! (Indentation)
def add(x, y) :
sum = x + y
return sum
total = add(1,3)
print(total) # this would display 4
File Handling – (Over)Writing a text file
file = open("myTextFile.txt","w")
file.write("Hello World\n");
file.close()
Be careful, when using the write command, you are overwriting the content of your file. If instead of overwriting the content of your file you want to append (write at the end of the file) check the next tab: “Append to a text file”.
File Handling – Appending data to a text file
file = open("myTextFile.txt","a")
file.write("Hello World\n");
file.close()
File Handling – Reading a text file line by line
file = open("myTextFile.txt","r")
for line in file:
print(line)
file.close()
File Handling – Reading a CSV file line by line
CSV files (Comma Separated Values) are text files that store data where each record is stored on a line and each field is separated using a divider symbol such as a comma “,”, a semi-colon “;” or a pipe “|”.
In this case when reading a line of the text file you can use the split() method to then access each field one by one.
file = open("myTextFile.txt","r")
for line in file:
data = line.split(";")
print(data[0] + " - " + data[1] + " - " + data[2])
file.close()
File Handling – Reading a text file using a list
file = open("myTextFile.txt","r")
lines = file.readlines()
file.close()
for line in lines:
print(line)
Input Validation: Presence Check
name = input("Enter your name:")
if name=="":
print("Empty name!")
else:
print("Thank you!")
Input Validation: Type Check – Integer?
number = input("Type a number:")
if number.isdigit():
print("This is a number")
else:
print("This is not a whole number")
Input Validation: Range Check
number = int(input("Type a number between 1 and 5:"))
if number>=1 and number<=5:
print("Valid number")
else:
print("Invalid number")
Input Validation: Lookup Check
drive = input("Can you drive?").lower()
if drive in ["yes","no"]:
print("Valid answer")
else:
print("Invalid answer")
Input Validation: Character Check
email = input("Type your e-mail address:")
if "@" in email:
print("Valid e-mail address")
else:
print("Invalid e-mail address")
Input Validation: Length Check
password = input("Type a password:")
if len(password)>=8:
print("Valid password")
else:
print("Invalid password")
Try Again! Using a While Loop:
name = input("Enter your name:")
while name=="":
print("You must enter your name! Please try again!")
name = input("Enter your name:")
print("Welcome " + name)
You can investigate more advance approaches to implement validation subroutines on this blog post.
Othello (a.k.a. Reversi) is a strategy board game for two players, played on an 8×8 board. There are sixty-four identical game pieces called discs which are white on one side and black on the other. Players take turns placing discs on the board with their assigned color facing up. During a play, any discs of the opponent’s color that are in a straight line and bounded by the disc just placed and another disk of the current player’s color are turned over to the current player’s color.
Moroccan mosaic, aka Zellige (الزليج‎‎), is a form of Islamic art and one of the main characteristics of Moroccan architecture. It consists of geometrically patterned mosaics, used to ornament walls, ceilings, fountains, floors, pools and tables. Each mosaic is a tilework made from individually chiseled geometric tiles set into a plaster base.





In this challenge we are going to create a cat’s age convertor find out how old a cat is in “human years”. This is very useful to understand more about cats and the care they need and to find out at what stage of life a cat is.
“Guess how many sweets are in the jar” is a fundraising game. A large see-through jar is filled with a carefully counted number of sweets. People then try to guess how many sweets are in the jar. Each contestant has to donate a small amount of money to have a go. Guesses are recorded (name + guess). At the end of the game, the nearest guesser wins the content of the jar.
In mathematics, one of the most interesting number patterns is Pascal’s Triangle. It is named after Blaise Pascal (1623 – 1662), a famous French Mathematician and Philosopher.




