Forem: roe0478

Python Building Blocks: Literals, and Variables

roe0478 — Fri, 13 Jan 2023 15:48:08 +0000

Well Happy New Year Everyone!!! Before I continue with what I'm learning I just wanted to give a quick shout out to all the programmers both aspiring and vets. I hope 2023 is prosperous for you all and let's own this year.
Let's own our destiny.
Let's get it done!

We talked about reserved words and syntax errors in my last entry. Today I will share more of my learning on the building blocks of Python.

Fixed values such as numbers, letters, strings; these are what are called "string literals" and they allow us to do things. Without them, we cannot ask Python to do a whole lot. Because we haven't given it anything to work with.

examples of literals:

>>>print(1234)
1234

>>>print(13.9)
13.9

>>>print("Hello World")
Hello World

These literals work hand in hand with variables.

If you recall in my last post, we gave Python instructions speaking in its language.

Variables are very important in Python. I learned that variables are a piece of memory where we as programmers can store data and then use that data at a later time. Using last sessions example:

x = “Python”
print(x)

Speaking in a way that Python can understand, we say hey: take this small piece of computer memory and label it "x" then store the name "Python" into this small piece of memory labeled x. Lastly, print whatever the value of x is.

So we stored some data then used that data at a later time by printing it to the screen.

We as programmers get to choose what we name our variables. The data within that variable can be changed down the line in a later statement as well. We use what is called an assignment operator (=) to "assign" data to a piece of memory. That data can be a number, string, Boolean (True or False) among others.

Example of changing the contents of a variable:

x = “Python”
print(x)
Python

x = "Airplane"
print(x)
Airplane

Our variable called x starts out with the value assignment of "Python" and we printed it to the screen. But then we changed the data inside the x variable to "Airplane" and printed it to the screen. So, it wiped the value of "Python" and reassigned the value of "Airplane" to x. Done and Done!!

There is much more great information to absorb on variables and how they can be used. I will continue to fill you in as I learn. Until next time have a great day/week everyone!

Reserved Words and Syntax Errors

roe0478 — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 21:34:49 +0000

Throughout my learning of Python, I will try to provide some nuggets on the rules of the game. There are rules that we must follow to communicate successfully with Python. Today we are going to talk about one of those rules as well as what happens when a rule is broken.

Reserved words -

The Internet states that in a computer language, a reserved word (also known as a reserved identifier) is a word that cannot be used as an identifier, such as the name of a variable, function, or label – it is "reserved from use". This is a syntactic definition, and a reserved word may have no user-defined meaning.

This basically means that you cannot use these words to name or identify something. A few examples of these reserved words are:
False, None, if, class, True, return, while, for, continue

For a full list of reserved words check this link out! [(https://flexiple.com/python/python-reserved-words/)]

Personally, it almost feels like these words are reserved because this IS the actual language Python speaks or their vocabulary system it uses to communicate with us??? Comment below if I’m on to something or not. I could be having a blow my mind moment but not too sure as of this writing. Now let's briefly discuss what happens when python cannot understand what we are asking it to do.

Syntax Errors:

Syntax errors are actually very important in programming. I didn't really understand how significant they are. To have a “watchman” of sorts to have your back and make sure your program will run. Don't...mind if I doo...

Tecnopedia states that a syntax error in computer science is an error in the syntax of a coding or programming language, entered by a programmer. Syntax errors are caught by a software program called a compiler, and the programmer must fix them before the program is compiled and then run.

The compiler seems to have an important job... (side note: doesn't the compiler seem like it should be a TV show?? I mean..."The Compiler”. But say it with a raspy narrator voice. It would be one of those primetime shows on NBC or something.)..moving on.
You can find more on syntax errors here:
[(https://www.techopedia.com/definition/13391/syntax-error)]

One thing I have been learning; to be a successful programmer we need to make sure our mindset about syntax errors is in the right place. That is, syntax errors are our friends. They let us know that something is wrong before we can move on in our code. We will feel like the computer hates us. We will feel like we can't do this, and nothing is working. Take it from me, I made up some curse words. (Trying to get them added to the dictionary as we speak.)

Syntax errors are a way for the computer to tell us that it doesn't understand what we are trying to say. This gives us the opportunity to not only scan, find and fix the problem - We also learn from those errors. Our neuro receptors remember and after time will correct them allowing a freer flowing code session.

Python language is like other programming languages. You can give it a set of instructions if you know how to talk the language. For example:

x = “Python”
print(x)

Speaking in a way that Python can understand, we say hey: take this small piece of computer memory and label it x then store the name "Python" into this small piece of memory labeled x. Lastly, print whatever the value of x is. This will print “Python” to the screen.

However,

return = “Python”
print(return)

This will not print because we are using a reserved word return as a variable. And we will get a syntax error letting us know why it doesn’t understand.

I'm excited to learn more about how we communicate with python speaking its language and how we can use syntax errors to our advantage.

Thank you for reading Everyone!!
See ya next time....

Birth of Python

roe0478 — Tue, 08 Nov 2022 20:24:18 +0000

In 1989, A gentleman by the name of Guido van Rossum was looking for a way to keep himself occupied over the Christmas holiday (xmas shopping wasn't enough hey?). He decided to write an interpreter for a new scripting language that had been swirling around his brain for a while. It is noted that Van Rossum named the programming language from being a big fan of Monty Python's Flying Circus.

In 1999, Van Rossum submitted a funding proposal to DARPA called "computer programming for everybody". In doing this he settled in and defined the goals of python as:

easy and intuitive language that is powerful
open source for everyone to contribute to its development
code that is very understandable
task oriented allowing for short development times

Today entities like Netflix, Google, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, NASA and the Jet Propulsion Labs all use Python in some form.

What makes Python so amazing?

Python features an easy-to-read syntax that is simple and concise.
Python is popular among businesses because of its scalability; businesses using Python to build scalable applications can handle a large quantity of traffic with comfort.
You can create web apps, gaming apps, enterprise apps machine learning, artificial intelligence among others.

What can we do?
In no certain order, here are a few things we can do in the real world of using python:
Web Development, Game Development, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, Data Science and Data Visualization, Automation and Robotics, CAD Applications, Business Applications and more.

So yeah, this language is awesome and actively being used in many different areas of business and technology. It's nice to get a brief history of where it all began and where it stands today. Because I for one would not want to learn something that is irrelevant. Python is anything but.

With such a colorful history and robust list of what it can be used for, it is no wonder why it is a top programming language in the world. The only thing left is to get to it and start learning these building blocks. Thank you all for taking the time to read.

Python: My Learning Journey

roe0478 — Wed, 02 Nov 2022 15:29:54 +0000

Hi there,

My name is Terrell, and I am an aspiring software engineer. I am starting this writing to accomplish a few tasks.

The first is to put what I'm learning into a format that reenforces the skills that I am developing. What skills you ask?? PYTHON the wonderful world of automation, data manipulation and of course API's.

Truth be told.... I um...don't really know what all of that means. But finding out what these terms mean is the purpose of this blog along with reason 2 of why I'm doing this.

It is to hopefully help others who are learning Python as well. I have dabbled in HTML, CSS and JavaScript. I found the first two to be pretty easy to learn. JavaScript....well we won't talk about that right now. I'm having a good day, lol.

Anyways, when I started learning about Python I was immediately engaged and wanted to know more. I've heard that Python is super easy to learn and user friendly and it is a great beginner language. Well...I'm a beginner so heck yeah!

As with anything worth doing. This won't be a cakewalk. I will certainly oof on understanding certain concepts, tools and best practices. (I'm taking to you PEP 8 standards)

But my hope is with struggle comes understanding. and from this understanding comes skill. This way we can get past the technicalities and start solving issues.

So, stay tuned, odds are I will have more questions than answers. But the great thing is we can answer them together. Be well.