PYTHON : COURSE OUTLINE
Duration: 5 Days
Overview
Upon completion of this class, the student will be able to write non trivial Python programs dealing with a wide variety of subject matter domains. Topics include language components, working with a professional IDE, control flow constructs, strings, I/O, collections, classes, modules, and regular expressions. The course is supplemented with many hands-on labs, solutions, and code examples.
Audience
Anyone who needs to learn how to write programs in Python or wants solid exposure to Python as their first programming language.
Prerequisites
Optimally, students will have experience with at least one programming or scripting language e.g., C, C++, Java, etc. This being said, students with a technical inclination with experience developing projects like spreadsheets, SPSS scripts, Bash scripts, or macros are welcome to join. Python is a great first language–it is very approachable and easy to learn.
Course Outline
1. An Introduction to Python
- A Brief History of Python
- Python Versions
- Installing Python
- Environment Variables
- Executing Python from the Command Line
- IDLE
- Editing Python Files
- Python Documentation
- Getting Help
- Dynamic Types
- Python Reserved Words
- Naming Conventions
2. Basic Python Syntax
- Basic Syntax
- Comments
- String Values
- String Methods
- The format Method
- String Operators
- Numeric Data Types
- Conversion Functions
- Simple Input and Output
- The % Method
- The print Function
3. Language Components
- Indenting Requirements
- The if Statement
- Relational Operators
- Logical Operators
- Bit Wise Operators
- The while Loop
- break and continue
- The for Loop
4. Collections
- Lists
- Tuples
- Sets
- Dictionaries
- Sorting Dictionaries
- Copying Collections
5. Functions
- Defining Your Own Functions
- Parameters
- Function Documentation
- Keyword and Optional Parameters
- Passing Collections to a Function
- Variable Number of Arguments
- Scope
- Functions – First Class Citizens”
- Passing Functions to a Function
- Mapping Functions in a Dictionary
- Lambda
- Inner Functions
- Closures
6. Modules
- Modules
- Standard Modules – sys
- Standard Modules – math
- Standard Modules – time
- The dir Function
7. Exceptions
- Errors
- Run Time Errors
- The Exception Model
- Exception Hierarchy
- Handling Multiple Exceptions
- raise
- assert
- Writing Your Own Exception Classes
8. Input and Output
- Data Streams
- Creating Your Own Data Streams
- Access Modes
- Writing Data to a File
- Reading Data From a File
- Additional File Methods
- Using Pipes as Data Streams
- Handling IO Exceptions
- Working with Directories
- Metadata
- The pickle Module
9. Classes in Python
- Classes in Python
- Principles of Object Orientation
- Creating Classes
- Instance Methods
- File Organization
- Special Methods
- Class Variables
- Inheritance
- Polymorphism
- Type Identification
- Custom Exception Classes
10. Regular Expressions
- Simple Character Matches
- Special Characters
- Character Classes
- Quantifiers
- The Dot Character
- Greedy Matches
- Grouping
- Matching at Beginning or End
- Match Objects
- Substituting
- Splitting a String
- Compiling Regular Expressions
- Flags