Python

This tutorial explains how to create loops in Python by using the “while” statement. Included below are the syntax and examples. In programming (and thus, in Python), a loop is a statement which will execute a block of code repeatedly until a condition is met, or the loop is broken out of manually. This article will look at Python Loops and conventions to use when writing them. Looping with the while statement, Syntax and Example Here is a basic loop which will increment (add 1) the variable ‘i’ … Read more

There is a useful function in Python called ‘sleep()’. It’s part of the ‘time’ module and allows you to pause, sleep, wait, or stop a Python script or application. Python can be used to make useful command-line tools to streamline your workflow, but sometimes you need to wait for the user, or for a pre-defined amount of time. For example, you may want to prompt the user to press a key when they have finished reading instructions or give them time to override a default … Read more

In Python, there’s an easy way to sort lists: using the sort() method. This tutorial explains how to use sort(), with examples. We’ve covered the following in Python: Removing list items Checking if items are in lists Finding items in lists Now it’s time to find out how to sort a list. Syntax for the sort() Method list.sort(reverse=True|False, key=sortFunction) Note that: ‘reverse’ should be a True/False boolean value and is optional reverse=True will sort the list descending The default is reverse=False True/False values case sensitive in Python! … Read more

This tutorial explains how to find items within a list in Python and return the values, using “filter”. Previously we covered checking whether items exist in a list in Python, but that could only tell us whether they were present, or not (with a boolean return value containing the result). If you are searching a list for a specific value, you already know what the value of the matching items will be so the above method is sufficient. However, what if you are searching by a set of … Read more

This tutorial will teach you how to install pip3, the package manager for Python, on Ubuntu Linux. Pip is a Python Package Manager. It’s currently at version 3 – hence, Pip3. Python is useful on its own, but it’s even more useful when you can start leveraging other people’s pre-written code. The default repository used by Pip is the Python Package Index (PyPI) (https://pypi.org/). PyPI contains a collection of other users’ code for performing a multitude of tasks, from drawing graphs to artificial intelligence. Checking if Pip is Already Installed … Read more

Python is widely used for both scripting and automation on Linux, as well as building web and standalone applications. Python is designed to be easy to learn, easy to write, and easy to read. It’s a great multi-purpose programming language. Boolean Values This article covers how boolean operators work in Python. In programming, a boolean value is either TRUE or FALSE. When comparing values in Python, a boolean value is returned allowing you to store the result of the comparison, or take a certain action … Read more

This tutorial explains how to check the version of Python that is installed on your system. The commands work on Windows, Linux & macOS, and with Python2 or Python3. Python is an incredibly popular and powerful programming language worldwide for everything from website development, content aggregation tools, link shortening, and writing scripts, to data analysis, virtual assistants, and machine learning. There are various versions available with different release dates, so how do you know which version is running on your machine? Here’s a quick guide … Read more

This tutorial will teach you how to find the length of a list (array) in Python using some code examples. There are four data structures built into Python: tuples, sets, dictionaries, and lists. They are important for programmers because they allow for iteration over their contents. When we talk about data structures such as lists in Python, we are referring to a collection data type. Lists in Python can be ordered and changed. Also, unlike the sets collection type, a list allows for duplicated entries, … Read more

Even outside of programming, people perform list reversal regularly, for example, to re-order eBay items from high to low then low to high. It is a handy operation, and Python provides several ways to accomplish it. Method 1: Using the built-in reverse() function This method has the advantage of being simple and easy to understand when using someone else’s code. For example, if we have stored our list in “staffNames”: staffNames = [“Abigail”, “Chris”, “Denise”, “Fred”] staffNames.reverse() When executed, this method doesn’t automatically give a … Read more

Python offers several different types of arrays for storing data. Lists are arrays which allow you to store items. These list items can be altered, and are stored in a specific order. There are several methods you should consider for searching a list in Python– searching for a specific value match, or searching for list items that match a certain condition or set of conditions. You can also remove items from a list in Python. Checking if a List Contains an Item Using the ‘in’ … Read more